29^th March 2025

AELTC vs. IC of GB

The day started off with sunshine and blue skies. Perfectly timed after many chilling winter league matches on court and the start of the summer schedule already in the diary. Everyone was looking forward to this event not only because of the venue but due to the mix of different age groups, open, 45’s and 55’s including doubles followed by mixed doubles.

My role as captain was made easy by starting off with coffee and croissant on the terrace, meeting and mixing with the IC players followed by a group photo on the steps of the clubhouse entrance.

We then strolled over to the very impressive indoor complex. For those who haven’t already seen it, the 6 indoor courts are surrounded by very inviting outdoor Har-Tru courts together with indoor parking, business facilities and more changing rooms.

The games began without delay and tight points were instantly in action with long rallies, put away volleys, unreachable serves and the odd ace. From the balcony and score boards I was told later that it wasn’t evident which side was ahead. However, after 4 hours of battling with tactical chat, hand signals and encouraging racquet tapping between points it became apparent that we were a clear 2nd. The AELTC had fielded a strong team who were world class and match tight when it counted.

Champagne followed by a delicious lunch was served and a few words were given by myself, fellow AELTC captain Emily Arbuthnott with a very nice Wimbledon book for us all to take away.

Rupert North, Captain, IC of GB team

The teams were:

AELTC                                                             IC

Jamie Baker                                                  Rob Leck

Ed Corrie                                                       Rupert North (Cpt)

Aidan Graveson                                           Nik Snapes

Mark Loosemore                                         Mark Woolley

Emily Arbuthnott (Cpt)                               Georgie Axon

Susie Dart                                                      Georgie Desch

Julie Hobbs                                                   Michelle Dutton

Jess Ren                                                         Mili Shah

29^th March 2025

Fixture: IC of GB v UKAFLTA

Venue: Halton Tennis Club

Result: IC of GB Win

The match was played at Halton Tennis Club on the indoor courts due to the outside courts being refurbished. The teams comprised of 3 pairs unlike previous years as more players were interested in playing in this match. 

The camaraderie and competitiveness from both teams were as evident this year as in previous years and the matches were played in a true sportsmanlike manner. 

All of the matches were close but after two rounds the UKAFLTA team ably led by Ben Rogers were 4-2 up. 

Due to the closeness of the first two rounds and the time taken to complete those matches it was decided to play a pro set, the first to 8 games with a two game lead for the final round. 

After keenly contested matches Lewis Barnes and Felipe Bunster won their match 8-6 and Tristan Farron-Mahon and Jamie Muirhead won their match 8-4. 

All players then converged to watch the final match finish as it was then down to Allan Pengelly and Charles Durham to win their match and for the IC of GB team to retain the trophy. 

Allan Pengelly served out a very hard fought final game after breaking their opponents’ serve in the previous game to secure the win for the IC of GB team. 

We were then entertained to dinner in Halton House, a fitting end to a very enjoyable afternoon. My sincere thanks to Ben Rogers for all the arrangements for the tennis and the dinner and for the donation of the new trophy. 

My congratulations to both teams on a hard fought match and my thanks to my team for playing in this fixture and for the outstanding way you all completed. 

Peter Harding (Match Manager)

Fixture: Wallenberg Trophy (no. 23)

Date: 13-15 September 2024

Venue: Rochusclub, Dusseldorf

Result: Germany 1st place, France 2nd place, Sweden 3rd place, Great Britain 4th place.

Each year IC teams from Great Britain, France Sweden and Germany meet and compete for the Wallenberg Trophy. Teams of four players consisting of one woman 35+, one woman 45+, one man 45+ and one man 55+ each play singles and then 2 rubbers of mixed doubles against counterparts. The mixed pairings are determined by age (the younger pair play together, as do the older pair).

Great Britain fielded a strong team of Seb Jackson, Charles Durham (c) , Dearbhla Kelly and Teresa Catlin.

The captains meeting concluded that no discernible advantage would be had by seeding the countries as each IC had a mixture of talent. Making the draw out of a fictional Bavarian Tyrolean hat, saw Great Britain drawn against a particularly strong German side and Sweden against France.

The setting was Rochusclub Dusseldorfer Tennis Club, who provided us with lovely hospitality, a beautiful playing environment and bright sunshine for the weekend.

Despite our strong team and sterling performances from all, we were up against 2 former Masters world ranked no.1 males in Christian Schaffkes and Christian Greuter, along with 2 ex professional ladies in Svenja Huttner and Claudia Hoffman-Timm. We managed to win only one of the singles and one of the mixed doubles to lose 4-2 overall.

France won the other semi final in a close fought match v Sweden.

The evening brought with it a lovely steak, some consoling, friendly conversation, a few speeches and gifts and some entertaining stories involving highly ranked professional tennis players from eons past.

Onto the rapid turnaround Sunday and 3rd/4th place playoff versus Sweden, with 1st and 2nd place being battled out by Germany and France. Short sets (starting 2-2) were the order of the day to enable matches to be finished on time.

Charles came in second against an older and some might say wiser and faster opponent who has also been ranked World no.1 losing 6-4 7-5 but which lasted an inordinate amount of time. Seb and Teresa on the other hand, having grown accustomed to the environment both won their singles with reasonable comfort and

within an efficient time frame. Dearbhla however also lost to a very strong young lady Nadja Roma leaving us at 2-2 prior to the mixed doubles.

Charles and Teresa confidently strode to victory in the older mixed doubles whilst the relative youngsters Seb and Dearbhla lost 7-5 6-4 to a strong Swedish pair, leaving us at 3-3. With the offer of a joint third place on the table the GB team brushed aside the idea of an easy draw and decided to roll the dice in a deciding championship tie break to 10. Having won both of their mixed doubles rubbers it was decided that Charles and Teresa would take on the best that the Swedish team could muster. A close and momentum swinging championship tie break resulted in a 10-7 loss for the GB side.

Meanwhile Germany and France also played a championship tie break to decide the victors with the home nation winning 10-5.

A fantastic event and team spirit made the loss just bearable bringing the short and intensive schedule to an end at lunch time on Sunday. All players and supporters then made their way home via planes, trains and automobiles.

Particular thanks go to Alex Kurucz and Lutf Steinhoefel for very helpful and charming organisation of the event, transport and hospitality.

Great Britain are looking forward to hosting this event in 2025.

Fixture: IC of GB vs Yorkshire

Venue: Ilkley Tennis Centre

Match Result: IC of GB won 4-2

The annual match was played at Ilkley LTC the home of the Ilkley Challenger tournament,on the newly surfaced indoor courts due to the untimely rain in the afternoon.The hospitality shown by the club was fantastic. Out of the six matches ,2 went to a third set shoot out with the IC winning the match 4-2. The IC team consisted of Neil Howitt ,Andy Hutchinson,Eric Knowles,Steve Walter,Mel Harling and Claire Morrell with Cath Davies playing for the Yorkshire team. The match was played in great spirit and was of the highest standard throughout the afternoon.The day ended with superb food at a local Italian restaurant . The next day the players swapped rackets for golf clubs and were joined by IC member Simon Ickringill for a round of golf at Skipton golf club,a great venue with amazing views of the Yorkshire dales.

Match Scores (IC of GB members first)

Neil Howitt and Eric Knowles bt Richard Hutchinson and Paul Layfield 7-5. 6-4

Andrew Hutchinson and Steve Walter bt Gareth Hutchinson and Cord Spilker 6-4 3-6 10-8

Mel Harling and Claire Morrell lost to Cath Berry and Karen Mitchell 6-3 5-7 1-10

Andrew Hutchinson and Claire Morrell bt Paul Layfield and Karen Mitchell 7-6 6-3

Steve Walter and Mel Harling lost to Richard Hutchinson and Cath Davies  0-6 4-6

Neil Howitt and Eric Knowles bt Gareth Hutchinson and Cord Spilker 6-2 6-3 

A breezy, slightly overcast, but warm day was the scene for the final day of the International Club of Great Britain’s Centenary Week at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. As the finalists prepared for their last matches on the hallowed grass courts, supporters arrived to a gentle buzz of excitement at the prospect of some mouthwatering ties throughout the day ahead.

Germany took the Mercelis Trophy in two matches while Spain were the eventual winners of the Windmill Cup, with the Final going absolutely to the wire and being decided on a Championship tie-break after the four singles and two doubles matches finished 8-8 on sets.

Germany defeated Australia to claim the title and playing on Championship Court 18, they won both singles for the victory, avoiding the need to play doubles. 

In two quick matches Antonia Lottner easily beat Australia’s Loretta Sheales, who was a replacement due to injury, 6-0 6-0 in the first singles, followed quickly by Gitte Moller in the second who also won in straight sets 6-4 6-4. 

After clinching their win, Lottner commented: “Playing on Court 18 today was a bit of a surprise. We thought we would be playing on Court 2 and then we got the message this morning that we were playing on the bigger one. I played at Wimbledon this year, so I have played on those courts before, but it was even more special to play there today. 

“It has been such a nice week. For me it was the first time I have played in an International Club tournament, and I didn’t know what to expect to be honest. I also didn’t know my teammates before I came, so I thought it would be a bit different. But as soon as I met them it was brilliant - it’s been super chilled and we’ve had a great time with a nice team spirit which made the whole thing much easier. And to get the win is just brilliant!

“It’s always super special to be here at the All England Club. This is my third time on site – of course this is a different tournament but just to play on grass is super special. We don’t play on grass in Germany, so I feel vey lucky. 

“Just being here on site when it’s so quiet is great because it gave us the opportunity to just have a look around. During Wimbledon it’s always so busy so it was really nice to experience it like this. I really liked the hill – during the tournament I went past it and it was so loud and crowded, which isn’t for me. But this week I have spent time there chilling, drinking coffee and I’ve really enjoyed the calm of it.”

Moller added: “It was super special to be on Court 18 today. I have my daughter with me today, so it was great to play in front of her. She’s been a big part of the team!

“We’ve been staying in a house just over the other side of the courts and we’ve made it the German house, so we’ve had a lot of fun! We had one day off so we went into the city and saw the attractions with my daughter, which was exciting too.

“We’re really looking forward to the dinner tonight and being presented with the Trophy!”

The Windmill Cup was played out between top seeds Spain and second seeds Italy on Championships Courts 16 and 17. In a really competitive and tightly fought fixture, both teams were desperate to not give anything away. In the first match it was so tight that the first two games took nearly an hour to complete. After the first two singles it was one match apiece, setting up a really exciting fixture for the Final. Lorenzo Pennisi had taken the first rubber 6-1 3-6 (10-6) for Italy against Gorka Fraille and Spaniard, Jose Vicente won the second 6-4 6-4 against Stefano Tarallo.

In the third singles Adelchi Virgili from Italy overcame José Antonio Sanchez De Luna in three sets 6-4 6-7(4) (10-3) before Spain’s Daniel Muñoz De La Nava beat Italy’s Luca Vanni 0-6 7-6 (10-7) to set up yet another doubles decider in the tournament.

Italy won the first doubles match easily with Vanni and Virgili defeating Sanchez De Luna and Muñoz De La Nava 6-2 6-2 to take the overall score to 7-6 sets to Italy. In the remaining match Pennisi and Andrea Monti were competing against Vicente and Fraille as the clouds cleared to make way for brilliant evening sunshine, casting long shadows on the court. Spain won the first set 7-5 before Italy took the second 6-2, making it 7-8 on sets to Italy. Spain won the first Championship tiebreak to draw the fixture at 8-8 and set up the winner takes all super tiebreak with a player from both the open and over 45s category in each team.

Vicente and Muñoz De La Nava were picked for Spain, who won the toss, while Pennisi and Vanni made up the Italian team. Vicente served first for Spain and held to go 1-0. Vanni’s powerful serve enabled Italy to level at 1-1 before Pennisi made it 2-1 for Italy. The next two points went Spain’s way before Italy clawed one back on serve for 3-3. A break on the seventh point gave Spain the edge and they proceeded to win the next four points. As the match got more tense, Italy broke Muñoz De La Nava’s serve to make it 4-8 to the number one seeds, but it was a touch too late and Spain won the remaining two points to clinch the overall title in emphatic style!

After some quick celebrations, Spanish captain Javier Linares cheered: “It was amazing today. All of our matches from the quarterfinal have been decided by a super tiebreak and one of them we were losing 6-2 5-0 against Australia, but we managed to overcome that and win.

“We aren’t specialists on grass courts, so it’s more difficult for us to play against Australia, Great Britain and the USA. But we know Italy are fighters on the court, so I’m really pleased and proud that we got the win! 

“We have had the best week. What more can I say – we’ve played tennis at Wimbledon and we’ve won – what more can we ask for?!”

There were also two consolation finals today, with Belgium men’s team winning the Orsini 4-1 over Mexico and USA ladies’ team securing the Winnie Woolridge with a 2-1 victory over Czech Republic. 

Having won the singles matches 4-1, Belgium needed to win just one set in the doubles to secure the title, which they duly did 7-5. 

With one win each in the singles the ladies title was decided by the doubles with USA going 6-3 3-0 up early on. But the Czech Republic fought back to take the second set 7-5 and then lost 7-10 in the Championship tiebreak.

Following the close of a very successful competition, Adrian Blackman Tournament Director commented:

“It’s been a very enjoyable week running this tournament and has been a pleasure to be involved in the planning right from the start. It’s taken a few years to organise and now that it’s come, it’s been a huge job for all of the Committee, but I think all of us have found it really rewarding and it’s just been great to see so many people from so many different countries come together, play tennis and have wonderful social events. I think it’s been everything we pictured it would be and more.

“We’ve had a great team who have worked really well together and been so positive throughout the whole week, making sure that we delivered everything we needed to and I’m really proud to be a part of that.

“My core highlight of the week is that it has truly been a proper festival of tennis, epitomising the IC spirit with a wonderful standard of tennis and great camaraderie between the teams on and off court.”

The full list of results can be found here.

The semi-finals were played in brilliant sunshine on day five at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club as Italy and Spain and Australia and Germany proceeded to the Final in the Windmill Cup and Mercelis Trophy respectively.

Italy started early in the Windmill Cup needing to win just one set in their resumed doubles match against Denmark, which they duly did. On the other side of the draw, Spain also started early as they needed to win their first doubles match against Australia to secure their quarterfinal win.

After a short break, Italy took to Court 1 to face France in the semi-finals. Andrea Monti took the first singles for Italy 7-6 (6) 6-3, before Christophe Gibiard drew level for France in the second match winning in three sets 7-6(4) 2-6 (10-4).

Straight set wins followed for Italy in the remaining two singles with Adelchi Virgili defeating Axel Damiens and the powerful Luca Vanni beating Thibaut Charron, taking an unassailable lead to secure their spot in the Final tomorrow.

Post fixture Adelchi commented: “Yesterday was a very tough match, against Denmark. My opponent was very smart, and he played the conditions really well. It was windy, cold and it was fast sometimes, because the court was a little bit wet, sometimes slow, so he was so good with those conditions. I was a little nervous but in the end, I played good, important points and we finished all the singles yesterday and today we had to play the doubles. We had to win one set – we did it! Me and my team mate Luca Vanni; he’s an incredible player. He played at Wimbledon six times, two times in the main draw and four times in qualifying so he’s a great player. I am so lucky to have him in my team.

“Today after the doubles I was feeling much better. It’s sunny and I’m like Superman taking the energy from the sun! I was more confident with my game and my opponent from France was a little tired. He played tough matches yesterday in the singles and doubles and I played so good today.

“Spain are the number one seeds, so I know their players because I was playing with two of them during my ATP career so we know each other. It will be a very tough match. Every match will be very competitive, so I’ll try to play my best and bring the same feelings that I had today to tomorrow; we will see! We need to put out our Italian creativity to win tomorrow.

“I played in an IC event for the first time in 2014, so exactly ten years ago. Our President Marco Gilardelli is really passionate about the IC and has been involved with the IC for fifty years, so he called me ten years ago, we met and we won with Italy in Mexico City, so we hope to do the same again this year to mark ten years later! For this occasion, our captain contacted me and asked me if I was able to come. I stopped playing professionally a few years ago after a motorbike accident and so I thought why not – it’s a beautiful occasion, I have great memories from ten years ago. It’s a beautiful environment with a lot of people from other countries that I really love. I love the mixing and intercultural nature of the IC, so I’d really love to play again in the future. 

“Also, how can you say no to playing in Wimbledon. I was so close to making qualifying at The Championships twice, but I got injured so I finally get to play here. For me coming here and playing is like entering a temple.

“This week has been amazing. The organisation has been on point and I’ve seen people who I met ten years ago, so it’s been fantastic.”
 
In the other semi-final Spain defeated the Czech Republic in five matches. Jose Vicente beat Petr Koula 6-1 6-2 before Gorka Fraille overcame Frantisek Stejskal 6-1 7-6(4) in the second singles match. David Simuenek clawed one back for the Czech Republic winning in straight sets against Daniel Munoz De La Nava 7-6(5) 6-2. In the last singles match Spaniard José Antonio Sanchez de Luna beat Jan Michalek setting up a doubles decider where the top seeds needed to win just one set. They did just that to secure their place against the second seeds Italy in the Final.

Hosts Great Britain missed out on a Final spot after being defeated by Australia in the Mercelis Trophy on Court 3. Karen Lamb played first and took her opponent Louise Field to three sets losing narrowly in the Championships tiebreak 8-10. She’d lost the first set 3-6 but battled back with a convincing display in the second to take it 6-1. Emily Arbuthnott played in the second match against Alison Bai, losing 4-6 2-6, with the match much closer than the scoreline would suggest. 

Over on the next court unseeded Germany defeated sixth seeds Spain with the fixture decided by the doubles match which Germany won in straight sets 6-0 6-2. In the two singles matches Amanda Carreras of Spain beat Germany’s Antonia Lottner 2-6 6-1 (10-4) before Gitte Moller made it level for Germany with victory over Eva Bes 2-6 6-1 (10-6). 

After the fixture Gitte commented: “It’s just such a great pleasure to be here and play on the magic grass. The whole week has been fantastic.

“I haven’t seen Australia play as I’ve just been busy playing myself so I don’t know what to expect. We’ll just go out and have fun again.

“This is my first time playing at Wimbledon and it’s just so wonderful. The first days seemed really unreal to be here and play, so it’s been unbelievable, just such a lot of joy and fun to be here.”

There was also a Junior Tennis Tournament incorporated alongside today’s semi-final fixtures. Four teams of four players from Glasgow, Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative (WJTI), Edgbaston Priory and Team Adderstone in Northumberland competed in a round robin format on Wimbledon’s famous grass courts, providing a once in a lifetime opportunity for the 12 and 13-year-olds. Playing six games, the boys and girls got the chance to compete on this surface for the first time taking to the most famous grass courts in the world with Team Adderstone coming out on top as winners. 

The tournament is a showcase to all the 42 International Clubs around the world to highlight the opportunity to get tennis to the grassroots and to encourage them to grow and introduce junior tennis to their events going forwards, providing a platform from which it can develop into the communities. 

The Junior Programme is funded through the IC Philanthropy Foundation, which was inaugurated officially as a charity in 2015, after being founded in 2010. The Foundation currently runs 17 programmes in 15 countries across the world with the premise not to create new tennis champions but to use tennis as a vehicle to provide kids who are in danger of falling into crime or drugs an opportunity to develop certain skills. The programmes use tennis to teach the youngsters some of the sport’s core values such as respect and perseverance. 

The programmes differ from country to country depending on the needs of the individuals, with every programme having its own identity. Through the IC network every programme has a member of the IC in charge who manages the fundraising, execution of the programme and safeguarding and ensures that each programme has a positive impact on the kids it serves. 

The aim currently is to raise awareness of the Foundation and to make the 350 people who are part of the IC of GB’s Centenary Week aware of what the Foundation does and how they can get involved. This ranges from starting programmes, to fundraising and introducing potential donors to the charity. 

The IC Philanthropy Foundation Chairman, Felipe Bunster Galeno commented: “We really want our IC Members and Friends to feel part of the Foundation and be proud of what it does and achieves every year.

“I have two main ambitions for the charity, and they are that we have at least half of all IC’s running a programme. We currently have 15 ICs with a programme, so we need to source six more. And that’s not just finding countries that are willing to and want to do it, but it’s about sourcing the money so that we can sustain these programmes for at least two to three years and operate responsibly so we don’t let the kids down.

“My second ambition is to increase the number of countries who contribute to our fundraising efforts to at least five. Most of our programmes currently are funded by the activities that we do here in Great Britain, and I’d like to grow that pool.”

To showcase the work of the International Lawn Tennis Clubs, The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum has created two displays highlighting its history which will be in position until January 2025. The collections team took the opportunity to tell the story of the IC through memorabilia with one of the trophies on display alongside some of the famous ties, menus from dinners, minute books and incredible photographs dating back to the 1920s. This is the first time that the collectables have been on display for the public to see and hear more about how it was founded and its purpose - well worth a visit!

“It was very nice out there today. We did a great job considering we played against France, who were number one! It was 1-1 after the singles, so the doubles decided the match and we won, so it was great.

“I played here when I was a pro, and it’s so nice to be back. Grass is not my best surface, but we’ve made the semi-finals, so it can’t be too bad!

“It’s been a perfect week. The tournament and everything is wonderful; it’s so lovely to feel like a pro again!”

Hosts Great Britain also secured their place in the semi-finals with victory over Denmark. Karen Lamb worked really hard to overcome Karina Jacobgaard in three sets whilst Emily Arbuthnott beat Julie Noe 6-2 6-1. They will now face Australia in the semi-finals tomorrow.

Australia beat their local rivals New Zealand winning both singles to take the fixture and secure their place in the semis. 

In the Windmill Cup two fixtures were affected by the rain with both Denmark v Italy and Spain v Australia resuming in the morning. Italy are currently 3-1 up and need just one set to secure their semi-final spot. Meanwhile top seeds Spain need to win their first doubles to guarantee themselves a spot in the semis.

Third seeds France secured their spot in the last four with a very tight win over Netherlands. It came down to the number of sets won, with France securing victory 7-6 and setting up a tie against Denmark or Italy.

Hosts Great Britain succumbed to the Czech Republic in a really tight fixture. Having won three matches apiece, the Czech Republicans won by just one set. They will now face either Spain or Australia.

Also on display on the Thursday of Centenary Week was the inaugural wheelchair competition in an IC tournament. The first event featured teams from Great Britain, Spain and a mixed team of Ireland and Brazil. Playing a round robin using the fast four format with a tiebreak at 4-4 and a seven-point tiebreak if the sets are tied, the players showcased a competitive level of wheelchair tennis with Spain taking the overall win. Enrique Meseguer and Lola Ribes were both dominant in their respective singles fixtures and made a great pairing in the doubles, especially considering it was the first time they had both played on grass. Enrique now turns his attention back to clay as he heads to Paris to compete in the forthcoming Paralympics. 

After the win, Lola said: “It was amazing to be here in Wimbledon. It was the first time we have played on grass and the ambience and everything else is amazing. We are very happy, and we won so it’s great!

“We are very pleased to be involved with the wheelchair tennis for the first time as part of the IC family. We have also spoken to the other Spanish teams and supported each other today. It’s amazing to have this opportunity and for people to see wheelchair tennis and to have more visibility.”

Enrique added: “It’s also my first time playing Wimbledon, and I am very happy. I always watch it on television and to play here is a one-off for me. I’m so happy to have been able to play with Lola and to win it is perfect!

“I’m now going to be playing in the Paralympics in Paris, so it’s very special for me. Today I’m playing in Wimbledon and next week I’ll play in Roland Garros. It’s perfect! It’s a dream for me and I am very happy!”

The introduction of wheelchair tennis to the IC family was the idea of IC Council Chairman Peter Mcquibban. He appointed disability and wheelchair tennis experts Geoff Newton, the former IC of GB Chairman who led the 75th anniversary celebrations in 1999, and Mark Bullock, who this year was awarded the Brad Parks Award – the ITF’s highest award for lifetime contribution to wheelchair tennis, to organise the wheelchair tournament as part of the IC of GB Centenary Week celebrations. After the success of today’s event the hope is that wheelchair tennis will feature on more IC tournaments around the globe more regularly, raising awareness of the sport and providing social and competitive opportunities to keep retired players in the sport, whilst increasing visibility for those players and others and creating a platform for more players to play the game.

Interspersed amongst the tennis (and rain) today, players and their guests enjoyed a spot of croquet on the famous lawns, before boarding a Routemaster bus in the evening for an open top bus tour around London.

In the ladies’ Mercelis Cup, Ireland defeated South Africa 2-1 to set up a round two clash with fifth seeds Italy, which was played later on Wednesday with Italy coming out on top 2-0. A solid performance from Irish player Julie Byrne in the second singles pushed her opponent all the way before eventually losing narrowly 4-6 3-6.

After her gutsy display, Byrne commented: “It was good. The first set was over an hour and ten minutes - it was just going on serve and she was very very good. I thought it was a really good level and overall pretty happy with my performance. I was just outplayed and best of luck to them.

“It’s been a brilliant week. I think the level has been really high – I think the matches are very competitive but there’s also a lot of respect and everyone is looking out for each other as well. It’s fun competing at a high level, but also to have that social element after the matches as well is great. 

“I’m excited for the party tonight and the opportunity to chat to the other teams. 

“I played in my first IC tournament, I believe when I was 16, but it was back in Ireland. We played against the GB team, and this is my first senior one. It’s really nice to have a mixed team as well – there is a couple of people who I didn’t know before from our team, so it’s been good!

“It’s really cool playing on these grass courts. These opportunities don’t really come round that often, so to be able to play on them is amazing. I haven’t played much on grass before, so to play on the best grass courts in the world is a nice first tournament and a big honour!” 

Following a hard-fought set of matches on the first day of round two, Denmark and USA resumed their fixture at one match apiece on Wednesday. The Danes ultimately proved too strong for third seeds USA in the doubles match, progressing through to a quarter-final clash against hosts Great Britain, who themselves secured their quarter-final berth with a 2-0 win over Bermuda. The home team won in straight sets across both singles matches with Karen Lamb putting in a dominant 6-1 6-1 display and Emily Arbuthnott capturing the win 6-3 6-1. 

New Zealand overcame India 2-1 with victory in the doubles for Julia Sim and Kelly Taylor over Shivika Burman and Radikhar Kanitkar 6-1 6-2. They then faced Luxembourg later in the afternoon coming through 2-0 across both singles to set up a fixture against Australia.

Top seeds France are also through to the quarter-finals having beaten Hong Kong and Switzerland 2-0. Despite the scoreline it was a very close match with the first singles being decided in three sets and a tie break in the first. France will face sixth seeds Spain, who triumphed over South America with a 2-0 win.

In the men’s Windmill Cup, top seeds Spain advanced into the quarter-finals with a convincing 5-1 win over South America, dropping only one set en route to their next fixture against Australia. 

They overcame local rivals New Zealand 5-1 in a closely fought contest over the two days.

After the fixture Joseph Sirianni from Australia said: “It was a great performance by all of us, that’s for sure. To play New Zealand, we could have played that in our back yard basically, we’ve come all this way to play New Zealand! But we had a good day – it was fun. We always have a lot of banter. 

“All our team members played well, they performed – it was a good day. Up next we face top seeds Spain, which will be tough for us. I know a couple of the players, it’s going to be tough, but we’re out here for a bit of fun on Wimbledon’s famous grass courts. We’re looking forward to it.

“I used to play professionally so have played here before. It’s nice to be back and that’s why I put my hand up for this event to show my family as well, so it’s a bit of a holiday. It’s just unbelievable grounds to walk around, so for me it’s great memories and it’s just great to be back. All the teams are so appreciative of this opportunity.

“It’s a great week. I’ve got a two year old so we’re not able to experience as many events as I’d like! Everyone is enjoying themselves, especially my team Australia and I’m sure everyone will have a good time tonight, especially New Zealand!”

Hosts Great Britain secured their quarter-final berth with a compelling 6-0 victory over South Africa. They face the seventh seeds, Czech Republic in the next round.

Charles Durham who played doubles for Great Britain commented: “It was interesting out there today; slightly stressful as I haven’t played for a couple of days. Normally I play an awful lot of tennis all the time and just getting a bit of confidence took a while. Our opponents play together quite a lot – they’re good match players who read the game really well. Myself and Seb have never played together before so we were trying to work out each other’s expectations, which was very interesting. We managed to play well enough to creep over the line. There was some great stuff in there, but there was some very average stuff as well! 

“Seb and I didn’t learn each other’s expectations very quickly I don’t think! We were still getting used to each other at the start of the Champs tiebreak! And we then just went a little bit bigger on everything and to be honest we kept it a little bit more simple. We’d say we were going to do ‘I’ formations and going ‘I go here – you go there; they’re going to do that, we’ll do this.’ And I would say most of those didn’t work! So, we kept it simple, traditional but bigger and better and more oomph. And it did get us over the line!

“I play in the senior nationals and played here in the singles and doubles last year, so I am looking forward to the event in two weeks’ time, which should be really good fun. I really enjoy playing here, it’s lovely – particularly if the weather is nice. It’s unusual playing on grass, but the courts are so good, it’s not far off playing on a hard court in terms of quality in bounce. The bounce is a little bit lower than you’d expect at times near the net, but it’s fantastic and amazing conditions. It’s a beautiful setting; it doesn’t get much better than this when you’re playing tennis with a bunch of other old guys.

“This week has been really nice. Everyone is very friendly – no one is playing for ITF ranking points, we’re just playing for pride. And people take that very seriously of course, and you’re representing your country, so it’s very important.

“The team spirit is fantastic and that is a lovely thing. Tennis is an individual sport; we’re used to fighting individually, so it’s really nice to have a team vibe where everyone is genuinely rooting for your team members.”

A dominant display from the Czech Republic saw them defeat Norway 6-0 to set up the clash against the hosts. 

Denmark beat Slovenia 4-0 and will now face second seeds Italy, who themselves overcame Bermuda on Tuesday, earning themselves a rest day ahead of their quarter-final.

The Netherlands put in a strong performance to overcome Hong Kong and Switzerland 5-1 to set up their next round match against third seeds France.

In the final match of round 2 in the Windmill Cup, France beat Canada 4-0 to complete the quarter-final lineup for tomorrow. 

The full list of results can be found here.

Karen Lamb took to the court first and secured an emphatic 6-0 6-1 victory over Sue Rogers, managing to secure the victory before the rain set in. After the delay Emily Arbuthnott made light work of her match against Donna Gibbs, also winning in straight sets 6-0 6-1 to set up a round 2 fixture against Bermuda, who beat Japan 2-0.

Following her match Arbuthnott commented: “It was really good out there today. It was a bit difficult with the rain delay, having to wait quite a number of hours before we played, but I’m really happy that we got through the first round. There were good performances from both me and Karen and we secured a really comprehensive win, so we’re looking forward to taking that to round 2 tomorrow. 

“It’s really great playing people from different countries, especially those places where I haven’t played opponents from before. 

“It’s already been really good this week. I know how hard the Committee has worked to put this on. I remember it being mentioned when I first joined the IC about four years ago and it’s been a monumental effort planning it and things have been running very smoothly so far. We had the boat trip on Sunday which was really good fun and a really nice experience for everyone who has come from far away to get to see the main sites of London and get to do something really cool like that. It’s all been going well, so I’m now looking forward to the rest of the week and hopefully some good matches.

“It’s really nice being back on these courts. I’m obviously very fortunate to play here a lot now, but stepping on the grass feels magical every time and it’s really nice to be able to play some competitive matches as well. I feel a little bit at home, which is nice so that will hopefully give me a confidence boost.”

Also making it to round 2 are South America, Italy, Luxembourg, Germany, Spain and Australia. 

Top seeds France faced a tough opponent in Hong Kong and Switzerland, with Marie-Dominique Larras eventually coming through in three sets to beat Michelle Paroubek in the opening match of the fixture. Marine Piriou won the first set in the second match and is 2-1 up in the second set, ready to be resumed in the morning. 

Given the day was beset by rain, a number of other fixtures will also be completed tomorrow, including India vs New Zealand which currently stands at 1-1, so will be decided by the doubles. Ireland and South Africa are also neck and neck with each nation having won one match and they are currently 5-5 in the first set of the doubles. In the last fixture in the Mercelis Cup, Denmark and USA are also tied at one match each and the score in the doubles is currently 5-5, setting up an exciting decider from 11:00 tomorrow morning.

In the Windmill Cup, Italy defeated Bermuda 4-0 in the singles to secure the only finished match of the day. The second seeds put in a dominant performance across all four matches winning in straight sets and dropping only eight games.

The remaining fixtures all need to be completed tomorrow. Number one seeds Spain are in a commanding position having won two matches so far against South America and are one set up in the third. Czech Republic are leading Norway, while hosts Great Britain are also two matches to the good against South Africa.

Australia are leading New Zealand by two matches and the Netherlands are two matches up against Hong Kong and Switzerland. Denmark and Slovenia make up the remaining fixture to be finalised tomorrow. 

The full list of results can be found here.

In the Windmill Cup, there were victories for hosts Great Britain over Germany, while third seeds France defeated Belgium 4-0. There were also wins for Denmark, Bermuda, South America, New Zealand, Norway and Canada.

Seb Jackson, who opened the singles for Great Britain, said: “I found it really hard work out there today, I was thinking it would be quite a fun week. My opponent was a bit of an unknown entity for me, and he played really well; I couldn’t get a break, until we were at 4-4. From there it sounds easy, but it was actually really hard to close it out to 6-4.

“In the second set the games were long and competitive, and he just never seemed able to finish it. So, I’m really pleased to have got the win and get the team off to a good start.”

In the ladies’ draw, a dominant display in both the singles and doubles from Michelle Paroubek saw Hong Kong and Switzerland secure victory over Hungary. After the match she said:

“I was just overwhelmed by playing on grass today. I knew my game is quite good on grass, so I have been working for about a year for it, changing a few things in my game to adapt to the surface. I love using my backhand slice to approach the net and it worked really well today. Nobody likes that – Roger did it as well, so I thought ‘why not’, and it worked!

“We face France, the top seeds in the next round tomorrow, who will be a very different opponent.

“I am just loving the experience. The evening last night was incredible, it was so nice with the weather and to dress up it was just so wonderful. I’m meeting so many people from everywhere in the world, some of whom I know from the World Championships and from other ICs, but it’s really nice to meet each other and I love that everybody loves tennis and that everybody is really grateful to be here and play a competitive match together.

“Playing at Wimbledon is incredible; we never get to play in a place like this usually, so it’s just lovely and I’m so grateful for the experience.”

In the second fixture in the Mercelis Cup today, Germany overcame the Netherlands with an incredible performance from Gitte Moller in her singles match against Olga Kalyusnahya. Denmark won the third with victory over Norway, while Australia beat Croatia.

John Feaver, President of the IC of Great Britain commented: “It was great to see the true spirit of the IC coming together and so many people around the world playing on the famous grass courts of the All England Club, which most of them won’t have done before.

“A lot of friendships have been renewed over the last few days and many more will be made over the course of the week ahead. As the week progresses, I’m looking forward to seeing the competition intensify and even more quality matches on the courts.”

A full list of results from today’s matches can be found here.

Fixture: IC of GB vs PUBS

Date: 20 July 2024

Venue: AELTC Community Ground

Result: PUBS win 5-4

The IC team of Ed Corrie, Oscar Podlewski, Rob Blythe, David Culshaw, Zane Cheeseman and Wil Jenkins took on the Independent & Public School Old Boys on the grass at the All England Community Ground Raynes Park on 20 July. 

The sun was out, the courts and facility at Raynes Park were world class and the match was highly competitive in a strong warm up for county week.

With 5 of the 8 matches played going to 3rd set Championship tie breaks it could have gone either way, but sadly the IPUBS outplayed us in the key moments winning 4 of the 3-set matches and triumphing 5-4 overall.

Well done to Ed Corrie and Oscar Podlewski for winning all of their matches and sorry from the rest of us for not backing you up - we’ll get them next time!

A massive thanks to the All England Community Ground for hosting and to the IPUBS for a fantastic match played in a great spirit.

Full results below:

(W) Corrie & Podlewski vs Muirhead & Whitehouse: 6-4, 5-7, 10-2 
(L) Blythe & Culshaw vs Rodrigues & Crowford: 3-6, 4-6
(L) Jenkins & Cheeseman vs Rogers & Colautti: 7-5, 3-6, 9-11
(L) Jenkins & Cheeseman vs Muirhead & Whitehouse: 6-4, 2-6, 1-10
(W) Corrie & Podlewski vs Rodrigues & Crowford: 6-2, 7-6(5)
(L) Blythe & Culshaw vs Rogers & Colautti: 7-6(5), 5-7, 11-13

(L) Jenkins & Cheeseman vs Rodrigues & Crowford: 1-6, 6-0, 6-10
(W) Corrie & Podlewski vs Rogers & Colautti: 7-6(1), 7-6 (3),
(W) Blythe & Culshaw vs Muirhead & Whitehouse: w/o 

IC of GB v SLTC of GB 

Venue: St George’s Hill Tennis Club 

Date: 17th July 2024 

Result: IC of GB won 7 : 1 

This match has been running for over 56 years and brings together 2 pairs in the 45+ age group and 2 pairs in the 60+ age group. This year both Captains (Mike Dawe and Boyd Cuthbertson) selected 8 players each and kept themselves as reserves.  Alec Allen representing the ICGB injured himself just before the match.  Mike and Boyd agreed to play one match each for the IC of GB.  Unlike prior years the weather was kind resulting in a great match in the sun. 

A notable feature of this match is the friendly sprit in which it is played with many of the participants looking forward to catching up with friends who they have not seen for a while.  We enjoyed a meal by the lake at St George’s after the match.  As ever the hospitality shown by St George’s was excellent. Our thanks to Michael Dawe who managed the match on behalf of the SLTC. 

Detailed results:  ICGB names first. 

Over 45s 

A Bourgoyne/C Edmondson vs G Neale/A Hutchinson 6-1, 7-5 ICGB 

A Bourgoyne/C Edmondson vs P England/P Zaoltowski 6-0, 6-0 ICGB 

C Durham/M Hadley vs P England/P Zaoltowski 6-2, 6-4 ICGB 

C Durham/Hadley vs G Neale/A Hutchinson 6-1, 6-4 ICGB 

IC of GB 4 SLTC 0 

Over 60s 

R North/M Dawe vs G Evans/N Sweeney 6-4, 7/6 ICGB 

R North/B Cuthbertson vs P French/A Ballardie 1-6, 0-6 SLTC 

C Hearn/N Howitt vs P French/A Ballardie 6-3, 5-4 ICGB 

C Hearn/N Howitt vs G Evans/N Sweeney 6-2, 6-0 ICGB 

IC of GB 3 SLTC 1 

Fixture:IC of GB v Cambridge University

Date: 16th June 2024

Venue: Fenners, Cambridge

Result: Cambridge win 6-3

On Sunday 16th June 2024, a 6-man IC team travelled to Cambridge to contest the annual fixture against the current Cambridge University team. With the Fenners grass courts still a little sleek from the previous day's rain, the teams decided to commence the tie with the doubles round, in which the IC were able to clinch two of the three rubbers to take a 2-1 lead into the afternoon.

The singles line-up always promised to feature some close matches, and so it proved. Ed Corrie led the charge at number 1, and came through a couple of tight sets against Patrick Foley, giving the IC a 3-1 lead. Unfortunately the rest of the team couldn't follow suit, losing the remaining 5 singles matches, with 4 of them being decided on match tie-breaks, resulting in a hard-fought 6-3 victory to Cambridge. 

It was a fantastic day of tennis, with highly competitive matches played in a great spirit on beautiful grass courts in the June sunshine. 

Ed Corrie beat Patrick Foley 7-5, 6-3

Ali Filmer lost to Aaron Trainor 7-6, 4-6, 10-7

Jamie Muirhead lost to Esah Hayat 2-6, 6-3, 10-7

Paddy May lost to Patrick Smart 7-6, 2-6, 10-5

Nick Adams lost to Harry Cookson 6-4, 4-6, 10-8

Tim Prossor lost to Moritz von Hirschhausen  7-5, 6-2

Corrie & Filmer beat Foley & Trainor  6-4, 6-4

May & Adams beat Smart & Cookson 6-4, 6-7, 13-11

Muirhead & Prossor lost to Hayat & von Hirschhausen 7-6, 6-4

Fixture: IC of GB v Fitzwilliam Club

Date: 20th April, 2024

Venue: Fitzwilliam Club, Dublin

Result: IC of GB win 8-1

On Saturday 20th April, The Fitzwilliam Club, Dublin played host to the IC of GB in an annual fixture comprising four men and two women. Unfortunately the IC's Dearbhla Kelly would have to miss the opportunity to compete against her former childhood club as she spent most of the weekend bed-ridden due to illness. IC stalwart Laura Morrill showed no hesitation in offering to play both #1 and #2 singles, and paired up with a Fitzwilliam substitute for the doubles round.

The IC team's decision to resist the full offering of Dublin's night life on the Friday night paid off during their singles matches, as they battled hard to win 5 out of the 6 singles rubbers. And even a hearty lunch in the Fitzwilliam restaurant couldn't halt the IC's momentum, as they went on to claim all three doubles rubbers in some very hard-fought matches, rounding off an 8-1 victory which belied the closeness of many of the individual matches.

True to form, the remainder of the day was filled with exceptional Fitzwilliam hospitality: drinks on the terrace, "steak-on-the-stone" for dinner, guest list entrance to one of Dublin's best night clubs, and an awful lot of laughs... The IC-Fitzwilliam relationship continues to be a strong one.

Results:

Matt Kirby bt Brendan Dempsey 6-3, 6-0

Sam Ashcroft bt Peter Fleming 6-4, 6-2

Ben Rogers lst Damon Gaffney 6-4, 6-4

Paddy May bt Ben Dillon 6-0, 6-3

Laura Morrill bt Caitlin McCullough 8-4

Laura Morrill bt Gigi Lynn Browne 8-2

Kirby & Ashcroft bt Dempsey & Gaffney 6-3, 6-7, 6-4

May & Rogers bt Fleming & Dillon 7-6, 6-4

Morrill & Fitz sub bt McCullough & Browne 8-6

New Member’s Evening

Date: 23rd March, 2024

Venue: The Roehampton Club

A successful evening of tennis followed by dinner was held at for our new members at The Roehampton Club.

IC of GB Chair Anne Clark gave an overview of the history and culture of the IC, before presenting the new members with ties and bracelets. IC Philanthropy Chair Felipe Bunster Galeno then introduced the work of the IC Philanthropy Foundation.

Ashley Tatum was unable to stay for dinner so was presented with his tie on court!

A great evening with some very entertaining exhibition tennis, and we have some very talented new members who have promised to sign up for our teams!

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) has been officially selected as the venue for the IC of GB Centenary Week. The event is scheduled to take place from the 4th to the 10th of August 2024. During this significant week, the prestigious Mercelis and Windmill Trophies will be up for contention. Players will have the privilege to compete on the club's renowned grass courts, subject to weather conditions.

The IC of GB, founded in 1924, is gearing up to celebrate its 100th anniversary. Throughout its illustrious history, the club has been a cornerstone in promoting international tennis diplomacy and sportsmanship. Organizing a plethora of distinguished tournaments over the decades, the IC has consistently united tennis enthusiasts and professionals from around the globe. Embodying its core mantra, ‘Hands across the net, friendships across the ocean’, the IC of GB stands as a beacon of unity and collaboration within the tennis community.

As the centenary celebrations approach, the club eagerly anticipates welcoming teams from across the world to participate in this landmark event, further strengthening bonds and friendships across continents

IC match report - Tennis / Golf v France & Belgium

Venue: Moor Park

Match Report by Dan Lobb

I now realise that no matter the number of moving parts and obstacles to overcome, the single most important part of organising a successful IC fixture is getting lucky with the weather! We had two gloriously sunny days for the visit of France and Belgium to Moor Park. The tennis courts were in decent nick, the Moor Park high course was in pristine condition and Sandy Lodge, was a first class stand in for golf on the second day.

This fixture only works with four competing teams so, when Luxembourg were forced to withdraw, we managed to cobble together a second GB team to keep it alive. In the end that team was propped up by guests, most notably Tony Ballardie and 4-time major winner Wayne Black (I was completely transparent with the visiting captains and they accepted that Wayne’s inclusion was more out of desperation than a desire to crush them in the 45+ tennis).

The format required 2 tennis only players, 2 golf only players and 2 golf/tennis players. After both GB teams won on day 1, we decided that, instead of facing off in a ‘final’, they should simply switch to play the other visiting team. This meant a slightly fudged result but it’s fair to say GB1 were worthy winners of the trophy having beaten both France and Belgium 6-1. He didn’t know it at the time but Simon Bramwell was the captain. Special mention goes to Neil Howitt and Phil Cliff who, as tennis golfers for GB1, were unbeaten on the tennis court and golf course.

Unlike GB2, the winning team stayed intact for both days and comprised:

Cliff, Howitt, Bramwell, Benson Greatrex, Mel Harling and Pieter van Houten. Simon and Pieter were in fine tennis form but the latter did benefit from the French #1 twisting his ankle in the second set of their opening match. I’m pleased to report that Romain is on the mend back home in Paris. His injury would’ve meant a straight forfeit of both tennis matches for the following day if we didn’t have an IC hero in our midst. Andrew “Tufty” Smith received a call from me (he was at home in Birmingham) at about 3:30 on Thursday afternoon and was ready to play singles and doubles at Moor Park at 10:30 on Friday morning. Without him the fixture would not have been completed (the fact he hadn’t played a singles match since 1996 made his commitment even more impressive). The incredibly amenable Richard Ground became the French #1 so Andy could slot in for GB2.

At various times over the two days GB2 was also graced by David Waite, Miles Maclagan, Josie Inverdale, Tash Starling, David Culshaw and James Seddon.

Fixture: IC of GB vs Public School Old Boys LTA

Date: Thursday 30th November, 2023  

Venue: AELTC

Format: 2 rounds of doubles – Pro Set format 

The IC vs Public School Old Boys (PUBS) fixture took place on Thursday 30th November, after the original planned date was rained off earlier in the summer. This time the fixture was played indoors, to ensure the fixture was completed this calendar year, and the shortened format of pro-sets was implemented to ensure the match was played in the allotted time before the all-important dinner! 

The match was closely contested with some great tennis from both teams, with the PUBS turning out with a current top 300 doubles player. After four close matches the International Club of Great Britain prevailed in a 3-1 victory. As usual the matches were all played in great spirit, and both teams enjoyed a fantastic dinner afterwards at the AELTC. We look forward to the 2024 fixture in the International Club’s hundredth year, and we hope that the weather does not impact the opportunity to play on grass. 

IC of GB Team: 

David O’Hare, Mark Woolley, Paul Siviter, Ben Draper

Results:

Round 1: IC 1-1 PUBS

Mark Woolley & David O’Hare (IC) def. Blake Hutchins & Jame Muirhead (PUBS) 8-6

Ben Draper & Paul Siviter (IC) lost to Mark Whitehouse & Rory Smith (PUBS) 8-6

Round 2: IC 3-1 PUBS

Mark Woolley & David O’Hare (IC) def. Mark Whitehoue & Rory Smith (PUBS) 8-5

Ben Draper & Paul Siviter (IC) def. Blake Hutchins & Jamie Muirhead (PUBS) 8-7

Match Manager: Paul Siviter

Fixture: IC Ladies v ISTOG (Independent Schools Tennis Old Girls)

Venue: Aldershot Tennis Centre

Date: 05/11/23

Result: Draw

In November we had a new fixture in the IC calendar, as the IC of GB ladies team took on the Independent Schools Old Girls Association indoors at Aldershot Tennis Centre. The teams were well matched, finishing in a 2 all draw. The match was concluded with tea and cake. 

Results:

Kerry Quirk & Emily Arbuthnott lost to Millie Devey Smith & Isabelle Suddes 6-4 6-4

Gillian Brown & Monica Becerra beat Kerry Smith & Carol Smith 6-1 6-1

Kerry Quirk & Emily Arbuthnott beat Kerry Smith & Carol Smith 6-1

Gillian Brown & Monica Becerra lost to Millie Devey Smith & Isabelle Suddes 6-1 6-1

Fixture: Potter Cup 2023

Venue: Real Club de Tenis Barcelona

Result: GB Ladies came 4th, GB Men came 6th

Ladies Team:

• Leyla Ogan (Captain)
• Lucie Ahl
• Eilidh Smith:

Mens Team

• Nick Adams (Captain)
• Colin Beecher
• Seb Jackson

Ladies Match Report

What an amazing event! A real highlight on the calendar. As always we were so warmly welcomed by the Spanish IC. Welcome drinks and the draw was held at the RC Polo club on the Wednesday night.

We were seeded 4th and had Switzerland first round. The first 2 rounds were played at the amazing Real Club. Unfortunately, I had ruled myself out after practice as still had a shoulder injury.

GBv Switzerland: 2.1

Eilidh played number 2 singles and lost a close match to a very experienced Swiss clay court player. Lucie used her experience well and came thru at number 1 singles. Eilidh and Lucie teamed up for the doubles and were very strong and came thru with an easy win. Onto the semis!

Semi finals v Spain: 2-0 Spain

This was always going to be a tough match! Eilidh played former top 100 player Eva Bess. Eva competes regularly for IC and for Spain in Worlds, and definitely knows her way round a clay court. She used her experience well and put Spain 1.0. Lucie battled hard against another experience Spanish player, Sonia Delgado. Lucie took the first set- but the Spanish player came back and won in 3 sets- 2h30min battle.

3rd/4th place: v Italy

Italy surprising lost to Germany in the semi finals. Both Italian players were former pros and new into the age group. The Italians were very strong- we battled hard but came a very respectable 4th place.

This year we were celebrating 50 years of the Potter Cup. We had 2 amazing dinners in the evening, one at the Polo Club and one at the Real Club. We ended the week celebrating the event and creating some great memories off the court. There is so much history with this event, and some famous names have played. The Ladies event is now 6 years old, and great to see so many teams committing. This event is brilliant- great tennis, great venues, amazing hospitality.

Thank you to my team for an amazing weekend. Really fun to be with the mens teams. Really good memories made- which keeps us all motivated for the next event. Thank you to the IC for supporting this event.

Leyla Ogan (Captain)

Men's Match  Report

The IC GB men's team went into the 50th anniversary Potter Cup knowing that yet again, there was formidable opposition, particularly from the European teams of Spain, Italy and France.  Having not made the semi finals in 2022, we didn't secure a seeding and drew France in the first round, with memories of a tight 4-3 loss against them in 2019 serving as motivation.  High quality wins from Seb, Colin and Nick at 2, 3 and 4 saw GB to a 3-2 lead after singles, needing just one of the two doubles to advance to a semi-final against Germany.  The match went to the deciding no 1 doubles, where France prevailed in three tight sets.

Day two saw GB playing Ireland, again looking to avenge a tight loss, this time in 2022.  A strong singles performance throughout the line-up led to an unassailable 4-1 lead and a well earned rest for the team in the afternoon.

Playing for 5/6 on the final day against the USA, weariness and injuries began to take their toll.  A very competitive US team worked hard on the red clay and took a 4-1 lead after singles.  So a 6th place finish for ICGB men this year.

Many thanks go yet again to Berta Tintore and the rest of the organisational committee for staging a wonderful celebration of the International Club and the Potter Cup on its 50th anniversary.  The Real Club and the Polo Club really are so generous every year both in hosting respectively the ladies and men's events, but also wonderful dinners for all of the players.  And finally, congratulations go to the Spanish men for yet again winning the event on home soil.  The strength, depth and overall quality of the team made them comfortable and worthy champions.

Nick Adams

Men's captain, 2023 Potter Cup

IC of GB vs LTA Juniors (John Dunningham Trophy)

Date: 16th September 2023

Venue: NTC, Roehampton

It was a perfect sunny September afternoon at the NTC for the annual John Dunningham Trophy fixture between the IC of GB and LTA Juniors. The junior players were all aged 13-15 and are amongst some of the best players for their age in the country. This fixture pits youth against experience and is the perfect opportunity for the juniors to meet and play against the generation before them, many of whom will be very familiar with the tennis journey they’re on themselves. It’s also a perfect opportunity for the IC players to show off all their tactical nous…and prove that they’ve still got it! 

The girls/ladies were up first with the singles finishing 3-1 in favour of the IC. It was no surprise to see that Emily Arbuthnott (known for her long matches) was the last one on court, coming through an epic battle against Edie Griffiths (recent 14U National Singles Runner Up) 10-8 in the deciding match tiebreak. 

Next up came the boys, with 2 of the 4 singles going the distance & honours were shared – Leo Wright beating John Thompson 11-9 in the deciding match tiebreak and Ben Rogers beating Pavana Nrshinga by exactly the same score. There were wins for IC players Jack Molloy and Nick Brooke in the other two matches. 3-1 in favour of the IC. 

In the doubles, experience won over youth in convincing style with the IC winning all 4 doubles rubbers in straight sets. 

The IC of GB won 10-2, successfully defending the trophy from last year. The fixture was played in great spirit as always, with both teams embracing the opportunity to connect and re-connect with their fellow players. A big thank you goes to the LTA for hosting this fixture, and for making all the players and parents feel welcome. 

Honourable mentions go to super subs Gabriella Taylor (playing her first match in over 3 years), Amanda Elliott & Nick Brookes who all stepped in to play for the IC of GB at the last minute. An honourable mention also goes to Lara Savic, who travelled all the way down from Northumberland to play for the LTA Juniors. 

Katie O'Brien (acting Match Manager)

Results:

Emily Arbuthnott (IC) beat Edie Griffiths (LTA) 6-3 4-6 0-3

Jack Molloy (IC) beat Liam Channon (LTA) 6-1 6-1

Katie Morris (IC) lost to Gabby Read (LTA) 6-2 6-4

John Thompson (IC) lost to Leo Wright (LTA) 6-2 4-6 11-9

Georgina Axon (IC) beat Lara Savic (LTA) 6-2 6-3

Nick Brookes (IC) beat Jesse Clarkson (LTA) 7-6 6-4

Gabi Taylor (IC) beat Martha Ground (LTA) 6-0 6-2

Ben Rogers (IC) beat Pavana Nrshinga (LTA) 6-3 5-7 11-9

Emily Arbuthnott / Amanda Elliott (IC) beat Edie Griffiths / Lara Savic (LTA) 6-3 6-1

Georgie Axon / Gabi Taylor (IC) beat Gabby Read / Martha Ground (LTA) 6-0 6-2

Jack Molloy / Nick Brookes (IC) beat Liam Channon / Jesse Clarkson (LTA) 6-4 6-4

John Thompson / Ben Rogers (IC) beat Leo Wright / Pavana Nrshinga (LTA) 6-2 6-3

Event: Gottfried von Cramm Trophy 2023

Venue: Frankfurter Tennis Club Palmengarten

Dates: 31st August – 3 rd September 2023

During the last few days of the Summer, the International Club of Great Britain travelled to Frankfurter Tennis Club Palmengarten for the inaugural Gottfried von Cramm Trophy. A new tournament in the fixtures calendar, which is designed to encourage younger high-level players within the association to compete and socialise with their likeminded counterparts. The competition is named after Gottfried von Cramm, a former French Open winner, three times Wimbledon finalist, founding President of the IC of Germany, and inductee into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Von Cramm played in an era of golden tennis, competing against the likes of Don Budge and Fred Perry. Still, he was most celebrated for combining tennis excellence with a gentlemen’s approach. It is a fitting title for the tournament as the club’s overarching mantra of building lasting connections and friendships through tennis is paramount.

The tournament was hosted on the red clay at one of Germany’s most famous tennis clubs – unsurprisingly, the trio of Matt Kirby, Ben Rogers and Jess Ren were sceptical about British chances on the hallowed “red dirt” given the opposition. After a cordial evening of pleasantries and getting familiar with the hosts and opposition at the ‘Welcome Dinner’, the team were well rested ahead of their first-round encounter with Luxembourg. However, a biblical storm through the night and into the early morning scuppered any chances of playing outdoors, which resulted in a fortuitous move to the indoor carpet! The GB team felt right at home in the benign conditions, and there was a notable buzz around the club as the team charged for victory. Matt Kirby and Jess Ren produced dominating performances over the Luxembourgians, followed by a stellar performance by Ben Rogers and Jess Ren in the mixed doubles in what appeared to be an age-old partnership. The tennis was a hugely entertaining fixture, played in great spirits, with some high-calibre tennis on display throughout the day. Following the matches, all players and guests dined at the club in a more formal setting for the ‘IC Dinner’, where presentations were exchanged, speeches were made, and plenty of food and drink was consumed.

The following day, all teams were back to the business of competition and managed to warm up on the red clay as the weather was Wunderbar. The GB team were through to the semi-final against Germany, a match that wouldn’t be decided by penalties this time! The German team sheet gave rise to some exceptional talent – Benjamin Becker (former ATP Singles No.35, NCAA Team and Individual Champion) and Anna-Lena Grönefeld (now Herzgerodt, former WTA Singles No.14, 2 x Mixed Doubles Grand Slam Champion). The IC of GB fought admirably in both singles matches but were eventually stunted by an inspired German team that were clinical in their play on their home surface. The British duo of Ben Rogers and Jess Ren restored some balance to the fixture as they mounted an impressive victory over their German opposition in the mixed doubles, winning a dramatic match tie-break in front of a partisan crowd. Despite falling short, it was an absolute pleasure to have the opportunity to compete against players of this standard, and the memories will be cherished for many years. After the conclusion of the matches, we were afforded the opportunity to visit downtown Frankfurt, viewing the skyline from an observation deck, recording a segment for a radio station, and finishing with a ‘Player’s Party’ in Karben. A particular highlight of the evening was the spontaneous dance-offs that many players decided to embark upon. A truly unforgettable evening that everyone celebrated.

The final day of tennis was a battle against our good friends from across the North Atlantic Ocean for third place. For the second day in a row, we were fortunate (or not) to play outside on the red clay in soaring temperatures. The first-round match resulted in a minor setback for the British as Jess Ren was set another monumental task of trying to outlast Mallory Burdette (former WTA No.68 and 2 x NCAA Doubles Champion). Despite her best efforts and some ‘highlight reel’ tennis, the American former professional showed her class and proved too strong. The hopes of a podium finish rested firmly on Matt Kirby’s shoulders; the former golden hurricane from Tulsa rose to the challenge and forced a mixed doubles decider after some textbook clay court match play. This momentum carried the British pair over the line for a well-deserved victory against their US opponents, in which there appeared to be many turning points. It was fitting for a match of this stature to be decided on the final rubber, but it was no surprise that the US were gracious in defeat. The final stages of the tournament involved a small prize-giving ceremony for the exceptionally worthy German winners and a collection of gifts for all players involved in the tournament.

It must be mentioned that the IC of GB are particularly grateful to all the respective ICs for committing to the event with great players that were fantastic ambassadors for their club and country. Additionally, thank you to the British cohort of players and organisers who have taken time out of their busy schedules to represent the club and host our fellow IC members. Tennis has the power to unite people from diverse backgrounds, and the sense of community was unmistakable during the tournament. The final word must go to Alex Kurucz, The Tournament Committee, and Frankfurter Tennis Club Palmengarten for their remarkable administration and execution of the event. We very much look forward to competing again in the Gottfried von Cramm Trophy in 2024. Ben Rogers IC of GB Gottfried von Cramm Trophy Captain 2023

IC of GB vs IC of Luxembourg:

Matt Kirby d. Thomas Burgermeister: 6-2 6-3

Jessica Ren d. Tatjana Silbereisen: 6-2 6-2

Ben Rogers & Jessica Ren d. Thomas Burgermeister & Tatjana Silbereisen: 7-5 6-4

IC of GB vs IC of Germany:

Benjamin Becker d. Matt Kirby: 6-2 6-3

Anna-Lena Herzgerodt d. Jessica Ren: 6-4 6-2

Ben Rogers & Jessica Ren d. Benjamin Becker & Natali Gumbrecht: 3-6 6-3 10-8

IC of GB vs IC of USA:

Matt Kirby d. Shaun Chaudhuri: 6-3 7-5

Mallory Burdette d. Jessica Ren: 6-2 6-3

Matt Kirby & Jess Ren d. Shaun Chaudhuri & Ali Rauh: 3-6 7-6(4) 10-7

In autumn 2022 the IC of GB were delighted to offer His Royal Highness, The Crown Prince of Denmark, Frederik (CRP) Honorary Membership of the IC of GB. 

The CRP is a keen tennis player with a strong commitment to tennis in general, to the IC of Denmark and to the IC Community. In his role on the International Olympic Committee he furthers the ideals of sportsmanship and fairplay that are fundamental to the IC.

In July 2023, during the Championships, I had the pleasure of presenting him his tie. I am sure you will recognise the IC Member and Member of the AELTC sitting with him.

Anne Clark, 

Chair, IC of GB 

It is with great sadness that we were informed that Mr James Malcolm Gracie (known as Malcolm Gracie) passed away on Monday 24 July, aged 90. Malcolm was one of our longer standing Members of the IC of GB, joining the Club in 1964.

Runner-up in the UK Junior Tennis Championships in 1950, Malcolm went on to compete in the singles and doubles at The Championships, making five appearances in the gentlemen’s singles between 1952 and 1963. He had a successful county career for Lancashire, winning the Inter-County Championship three times. He also represented England in the Home Internationals.

A talented all-round sportsman, Malcolm took up squash at the age of 22 and twice won the Lancashire Championship.

A golfing accident where he lost an eye, aged 34, curtailed his racket sports career but he continued to play golf to a high level, following the accident .

Malcolm attended Chorlton High School and studied at the University of Manchester, initially practicing law, which he gave up in 1983 to start a company that built the Matchpoint Centre in Manchester, the biggest indoor sports facility of its type in the North of England.

Malcolm remained heavily involved in tennis, joining the LTA Council in 1976, representing Lancashire.  He was elected from Council to LTA Deputy President from 1997- 1999 and was LTA President from 2000 – 2003. He served on the Committee of Management of The Championships for 10 years and sat on and chaired numerous committees, for the LTA, the AELTC, the International Tennis Federation and the European Tennis Association.

A keen jazz trombone player in his youth, Malcolm retained a lifelong love of jazz music, something he shared with his wife Sheila and two daughters.

Our thoughts are with Malcolm’s wife Sheila, his daughters and all his family.

Remembering John James 22 June 1937 – 13 June 2023

It is with great sadness that we heard that Mr John C. U. James OBE passed away on Tuesday 13 June, aged 85, following a recent stroke.

John was made an Honorary member of the IC of GB in 1992. His contributions to tennis over many years was significant. John was made an Honorary Member of the All England Club in 2006.

John was born in Llanelli in 1937, being involved in junior tennis and as an umpire, officiated at The Championships. In 1972 he was elected to represent Wales on the LTA and became Assistant Secretary, which included the organisation of Davis Cup and Wightman Cup matches. In 1983 he took over as the LTA Secretary holding the post until 2002, serving on numerous Committees during that period and for many years after.

After his retirement from the LTA, John served as President of Tennis Europe for six years, was President of Middlesex Tennis, vice-chairman of the British Olympic Association and chairman of the British Olympic Foundation. He was involved in the organisation of the tennis event at the London 2012 Olympic Games and ran a leg of the torch relay.

In 2003, John was awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours list.

John was very well known in numerous tennis circles, respected and fondly remembered by many of us – passionate about tennis. He will be missed. As secretary of LTA he will be remembered as being supportive of the players at all levels

Our thoughts are with John’s wife Pat and all his family.

Donations in John’s memory can be made in support of:

Friends of Osterley Park

St Mary’s Church, Osterley

or

Dan Maskell Tennis Trust

https://l2d.live/7sl

IC of GB v SLTC of GB

Venue: St George’s Hill Tennis Club

Date: 19th July 2023

Result: IC of GB won 4 ½ : 3 ½

This match has been running for over 55 years and brings together 2 pairs in the 45+ age group and 2 pairs in the 60+ age group. It is keenly contested with the result rarely being a white wash for either side. The result attests to this.

Given the level of showers that interrupted the Wimbledon Championships this year we were lucky to be on the grass and enjoy a meal by the lake at St George’s after the match. As ever the hospitality shown by St George’s was excellent. Our thanks to Michael Dawe who managed the match on behalf of the SLTC.

Detailed results:

IC of GB Over 45s

M Beim/R North vs M Coombes/I Udale 2-6, 3-6 SLTC

M Beim/R North vs P England/P Zaoltowski7-6, 6-3 ICGB

A Blackman/M Hadley vs P England/P Zaoltowski6-0, 6-2 ICGB

A Blackman/M Hadley vs M Coombes/I Udale 7-6, 6-3 ICGB

IC of GB 3 SLTC 1

Over 60s

A Alan/S Alger vs N Watts/I Thomas 4-6, 2-6 SLTC

A Alan/S Alger vs P French/G Evans 6-1, 6-1 ICGB

C Hearn/B Cuthbertson vs P French/G Evans 7-5, 5-10 (TB) Draw

C Hearn/B Cuthbertson vs N Watts/I Thomas 6-7, 3-5 (Ret) SLTC

IC of GB 1 ½ SLTC 2 ½

FIXTURE: IC WEEK – LA CARRETA CUP

VENUE: LEOPOLD CLUB, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

RESULT: 3rd PLACE

La Carreta Cup team consisted of 3 players Jo Shepherd, Judy Horn and Karen Cass and is in the format of two singles matches followed by a doubles match. The event was held at the Leopold Club with excellent clay courts and it was a privilege to play at such a lovely venue. There were eight entries in La Carreta Cup being Belgium, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Spain, South Africa and USA. For our first match we drew Spain. Convincing victories in both singles matches for Jo and Judy followed by another convincing win in the doubles for Jo and Karen securing a 3-0 victory. Through to the semi-finals and up against a very strong South African side. Despite some closely fought matches we lost 3-0 with South Africa being the eventual winners. So through to the 3rd/4th play off against the home nation Belgium. Judy won the first singles with a convincing win. This was followed by an extremely close singles with Jo winning 11-9 in the 3rd set tie break to win the tie 2-0. A friendly doubles match for Judy and Karen was played after this. A great achievement to come 3rd against some strong clay court teams.

Well done to everyone involved for the great tennis and team spirit displayed throughout the week, exciting matches and lots of fun. It was a pleasure to be part of such a great event hosted by Belgium. Jo Shepherd La Carreta Cup Captain Results: Day one: beat Spain 3-0 Day two: lost to South Africa 3-0 Day three: beat Belgium 2-1

Match: Ted Avory Cup, 2023 (GB v USA)

Venue: St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club

Dates: 29^th / 30^th June 2023

Result: USA beat GB 28-24

On the 28^th July 2023 the IC of GB welcomed our guests, the IC of the USA to St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club for some practice and an evening BBQ. Having not had a Ted Avory match since 2019 due to Covid (held in Berkley, USA), it was great to see some familiar faces again and restart the bi-annual match between these two ICs. The Ted Avory fixture is truly unique in the size of the match as well as the range of ages that play. Players ranged from 25 years old to 83 years old in this edition, and the match is a fantastic showcase for how tennis can be played for life!

30 matches were played on day 1, but some early morning rain meant that the grass courts were out of play so we moved over to the artificial grass and artificial clay. There was some fantastic tennis, a few minor slips on the courts and lots of great sportsmanship on show throughout the day, with a late finish on the courts pushing the dinner back until post 9pm! At the dinner as is customary with Ted Avory matches, both IC’s awarded Honorary IC Memberships to players who have shown great commitment to both the IC and to the Ted Avory fixture. Karen Hunter, David Culshaw and Anne Clarke were all given honorary memberships of the USIC, whilst The IC of GB awarded memberships to Bruce Lipka Jr and Mike Tammen who have both played 4x Ted Avory fixtures. Day 1 came to close with the score tied at 15-15.

We were able to start on the grass on day 2 but again the British weather forced us to grace the artificial grass/clay for a couple of rounds. Things were pretty close until the 3^rd round of singles, where the USA proved their strength and took 4 of the 5 matches. We managed to get back on the grass from round 4, to the delight of the US team as they had been eager to play on a surface slightly unusual to most of them! Despite some hard-fought doubles victories from the IC of GB, the USA came through in the end to win the Ted Avory Cup for the 4^th consecutive time. At the official dinner on the Friday evening, the USA were presented with the trophy after their victory, with the final score being 28-24 to the USA.

After the official fixture, the US team had a day off on Saturday before joining the IC of GB for a mix in and BBQ at Roehampton Club on Sunday 2^nd July. This was a great opportunity for the US team to meet and play with the wider IC of GB on the eve of Wimbledon, and there was some more grass court tennis on offer as the weather decided to behave itself! The USIC were then guests of the IC of GB at The Championships, Wimbledon on day 1 of the tournament.

Huge thanks to the IC of the USA for sending over such a great team of players and individuals. As always these matches provide fantastic opportunities for competitive tennis but also great friendships throughout the years. It was fantastic to also have the support of some GB players who were not playing in the match, but who came to see some of their friends from the USA. Erika Smith, Charlie Hoeveler and Bruce Lipka Jr put in lots of work in the lead up to and during the event, and we would like to thank them very much for this. Ted Avory is such a unique fixture, with a huge amount of players involved so it takes dedication from the captains to get the team together, kitted out, in the right place at the right time and (hopefully) enjoying themselves!

Thank you also to the IC of GB team for putting up a great fight and taking time out of busy schedules to host the USA, and also to St George’s Hill Tennis Club for being fantastic hosts over the 3 days.

I’m already looking forward to Ted Avory 2025!

Amanda

IC of GB Ted Avory Cup Captain, 2023

Results

Day 1

Mark Whitehouse (GB) beat Timothy Wang (USA) 6-4 6-3

Matt Kirby (GB) beat Shaun Choudhury (USA) 6-3 6-2

Leyla Ogan (GB) lost to Mariko Fritz-Krockow (USA) 7-6(3) 2-6 10-7

Emily arbuthnott (GB) beat Fernanda Contreras 4-6 7-5 10-6

Amanda Elliott (GB) beat Stphanie Kusano-Wallace (USA) 6-3 3-6 10-4

Benson Greatrex (GB)) lost to Geoffrey Cykman (USA) 

David Culshaw (GB) lost to Dean Wallace (USA) 6-1 6-3

Nik Snapes (GB) lost to Tyler Browne (USA) 6-1 7-5

Eilidh Smith (GB) lost to Amanda Parson-Siegel (US) 

Anne Clark (GB) beat Andrea Barnes (USA) 6-0 6-1

Karen Hunter (GB) lost to Andrea Rice (USA) 

Christine French (GB) beat Erika Smith 

Chris Hearne (GB) beat Bruce Lipka Jr (USA) 7-6 6-2

Malcolm Bryant (GB) lost to Daniel Waldman (USA) 

Shaun Leleu (GB) beat Dana Gill (USA)

Niall Sweeney (GB) lost to Paul Wulf (USA)

Paul French (GB) lost to Michael Tamman (USA) 6-4 7-6

Richard Tutt (GBR)  lost to Brian Cheney (USA)

Clive Hutchings (GB) lost to Richard Fried Jr (USA) 6-1 6-0

Matt Kirby & Mark Whitehouse (GB) beat Shaun Choudhury & Timothy Wang 6-2 6-4

Mark Beim & Katie O’Brien (GB) beat Bruce Lipka Jr & Erin Routliffe

Peter Harding & Benson Greatrex (GB) beat Geoffrey Cykman & Charlie Hoeveler (USA) 7-5 6-4

Emily Arbuthnott & Amanda Elliott (GB) beat Stephanie Kusano-Wallace & Mariko Fritz-Krockow 6-3 6-2

David Culshaw & Nik Snapes (GB) v Dean Wallace & Tyler Browne (USA) 6-2 7-6(5)

Paul French & Christine French (GB) beat Michael Tamman & Mary Dailey (USA) 6-2 7-5

Malcolm Bryant & Anne Clark (GB) lost to Daniel Waldman & Andrea Barnes (USA) 6-3 3-6 10-2

Richard Tutt & Clive Hutchings (GB) beat Brian Cheney & Richard Fried (USA) 6-4 7-5

Shaun Leleu & Niall Sweeney (GB) lost to Paul Wulf & Dana Gill (USA) 3—6 6-3 10-8(9)

Eilidh Smith & Karen Hunter (GB) lost to Amanda Parson-Siegel & Andrea Rice (USA) 4-6 6-3 10-5

Day 2

Matt Kirby (GB) lost to Timothy Wang (USA) 6-2 6-1

Mark Whitehouse (GB) beat Shaun Choudhury 

Katie O’Brien (GB) beat Mariko Fritz-Krakow (USA) 7-6(1) 6-3

Karen Hunter (GB) lost to Amanda Parson-Siegel 6-1 6-1

Niall Sweeny (GB) lost to Geoffrey Cykman (USA) 6-1 6-4

Nik Snapes (GB) beat Dean Wallace 6-2 6-0

David Culshaw (GB) lost to Tyler Browne (USA) 6-4 6-3

Josie Inverdale (GB) lost to Stephanie Kusano-Wallace (USA) 6-1 6-0

Joy Tacon (GB) beat Erika Smith (USA) 6-2 6-2

Chris Hearne (GB) lost to Dana Gill 

Julian Tatum (GB) beat Richard Fried Jr (USA) 1-6 6-4 10-5

Richard Tutt (GB) lost to Paul Wulf (USA) 6-3 6-1

Paul French (GB) lost to Daniel Waldman 6-1 7-6

Malcolm Bryant (GB) lost to Michael Tamman 6-1 6-2

Anne Clark & Christine French beat Andrea Barnes & Mary Dailey 6-2 6-2

Mark Beim & Eilidh Smith lost to Dean Wallace & Stephanie Kusano-Wallace (USA)

David Culshaw & Amanda Elliott (GB) beat Shaun Choudhury & Mariko Fritz-Krockow 4-6 6-4 10-6

Niall Sweeney & Benson Greatrex beat Paul Wulf & Geoffrey Cykman 

Mark Whitehouse & Emily Arbuthnott beat Timothy Wang & Stephanie Kusano-Wallace 6-4 6-2

Nik Snapes & Josie Inverdale (GB) lost to Tyler Browne & Andrea Rice 6-3 6-4

Malcolm Bryant & Anne Clark (GB) beat Daniel Waldman & Mary Dailey 6-4 7-5

Peter Bretherton & Julian Tatum lost to Richard Fried & Brian Cheney (USA) 6-3 6-1

Graham Neale & Shaun Leleu lost to Bruce Lipka Jr & Dana Gill (USA) 6-3 6-1

Graham Neale & Leyla Ogan (GB) lost to Michael Tammen & Amanda Parson-Siegel (USA) 6-1 5-1 ret

IC of GB v UKAFLTA

Venue: RAF Halton

Result: IC of GB won 4-0

The match was played at the Halton Tennis Club near Wendover.  This is the base for the RAF Lawn Tennis Association and is one of the top venues in the country.

As in previous years it was a closely contested match with every player playing to a very high level.  It was exciting tennis to watch, very much appreciated by the many spectators.

Following the match we dined at the tennis club and then repaired to the bar in the Officers’ Mess at Halton House.

 My sincere thanks to Lewis Barnes, Felipe Bunster, James Cluskey, and James Marsalek for playing in the match, to Ben Rogers the Captain of the UKAFLTA team and his team for  making us feel so welcome and particularly to Ben  for all the arrangements for the event, for hosting the match and for the very much appreciated engraved glass goblets presented to each player to commemorate the match.

We hope to arrange a three pair match next year, the players this year have already booked their places so I hope that two more IC of GB Members will put their names forward.  The match is scheduled for Saturday 1 June 2024.

Result 4-0

 

Lewis Barnes/James Cluskey v Ben Rogers/Ryan Brough 4/6, 6/1,10/6

Felipe Bunster/James Marsalek v James Marchant/Mike Greedy 4/6, 6/4, 10/8

 

Lewis Barnes/James Cluskey v James Marchant/Mike Greedy 6/4, 6/4

Felipe Bunster/James Marsalek v Ben Rogers/Ryan Brough 6/2, 6/2

Fixture: CQS Prague 90^th Anniversary

Date: June 15-18th June 2023

Our team consisted of  Anne Clark, Rosie Dennis,Judy Horn, and myself.  Upon arrival we were unsure of the actual format of the event, but soon learned we would be playing two matches per day, consisting of one hour of timed play, with the total number of games won being counted. On the first day we played with our teammates, and on the second day, which was entitled "mix up", we played randomly with members of other countries' teams. Some matches were more competitive than others. Personally, i enjoyed playing with the players from elsewhere in order to meet new people. However, we did wonder how the competition was going to be scored. The  wonderful official dinner was held at the Hartigovsky Palace in the centre of Prague. The food was delicious, the ceremony was well managed and allowed plenty of time for camaraderie between all. It was a great surprise to me when i was awarded an honorary membership to the Czech IC - what a privilege. The matches concluded on Friday afternoon, with just a little interruption from the rain. It was announced that due to the imbalance of players from each country, individual scores from the top four players from each country would be counted. With this in mind the results were as follows: "The team of ladies from GB ladies win" announced Jan, the organizer, we were wondering why we had not been called earlier!

On Saturday morning we were treated to either golf, or a three hour guided walking trip around Prague. Our team chose the tour which was informative and interesting. As the guide said the Czech Republic is in the Centre of Europe so it tends to become involved in everything that happens in Europe- this is a good and a bad thing! 

I think all of us would agree it was a great trip full of tennis,camaraderie, education, and great food!

Thank you for the opportunity to organize and captain. I hope to return to this wonderful place again.

Sue Bartlett (Captain)

Venue: Fenner's, Cambridge University

Date: 17th June 2023

Result: IC of GB win 8-1

We were blessed with beautiful weather for our annual Men’s fixture against Cambridge University getting out on the grass at Fenner’s.

Although the IC were handsome winners, the match itself was more competitive than the score line suggested…

In the singles, Cambridge’s no.1 Esah Hayat secured an impressive win against Oscar Podlewski with the IC winning the other matches: Matt Kirby won convincingly, Ali Filmer put on a chiseling exhibition, I (Rob Blythe) managed to sneak through 7-6 in the third (13-11 in the tie break), John Thompson battled through two close sets and Simon Bramwell graced the Fenner’s turf once again winning in his 1999 Varsity kit that was older than all of our opposition!

We swept the doubles despite some highly impressive serving from Cambridge’s doubles specialist Vishnu Reddy and finished happy with our day’s work (and very grateful the opposition didn’t insist on a 2nd round of doubles!)

It remains a fantastic annual fixture and we’re already looking forward to reclaiming our bragging rights next year!

Match Results:

Singles:

1. Oscar Podlewski lost to Esah Hayat 4-6, 4-6
2. Matt Kirby beat Harry Cookson 6-0, 6-4
3. Ali Filmer beat Jack Wilson-Smith 6-1, 6-4
4. Rob Blythe beat Patrick Smart 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (13-11)
5. John Thompson beat Victor Baycroct 6-4, 7-6 (4)
6. Simon Bramwell beat Theo Williamson 6-3, 6-4

Doubles:

1. Oscar and Ali beat Esah and Jack 6-3, 6-4
2. Matt and John beat Harry and Patrick 6-1, 6-3
3. Rob and Simon beat Victor and Vishnu Reddy 7-6 (3), 6-3

IC of GB vs IC of France

Date: 27th – 28th May 2023

Venue: Lagardere Racing Club, Paris

This annual match took place at the end of May at the prestigious venue of the Lagardere Racing Club in Paris. The match manager, Stephanie Cornish, made all the arrangements with a formidable team consisting of 8 GB players; Anne Clark, Eilidh Smith, Jess Ren, Ian Baggett (guest), Neil Howitt, Simon Partridge, Andrew Smith and Kit Spencer.

The GB team safely arrived in Paris meeting up for a meal at a local restaurant on the Friday evening to plan our tactics ……

The French team duly took the challenge of matching ages and standards with the usual flexibility of playing schedule.

Day one, Saturday, saw an early start with breakfast and practice at 9:00 then onto the singles.

After the first 2 rounds, the GB team were 2-4; Neil Howitt claimed a win losing a very close first set 4-6 with his opponent then retiring. Eilidh Smith won comfortably vs Isabelle Crudo but Ian, Kit, Simon and Andrew despite fighting hard came away with losses.

Anne then had her money’s worth in the mid-day sun beating Isabelle Billard 4-6 7-6(6) 10-8. In the next round of doubles Eilidh partnered Simon winning their mixed with Andrew & Kit and Neil & Ian losing their doubles.

So 4-6 down at the end of play, day 1.

The GB team were treated to a fun evening with the standard French hospitality at the Racing Club. Anne was honoured to be awarded Honorary Membership of the IC of France with Bruno Renoult being awarded Honorary Membership of the IC of GB. Avoiding penguin jokes, Anne delivered a speech partially in French – the first time publicly speaking in French since school!

Sunday, France were short of players with the schedule including only 3 singles. Eilidh completed her successful weekend, winning 7-6 6-4, Jess Ren and Ian both had tough matches losing in two sets. So the final result was 8-5 to France.

The team were then treated with tickets to the French Open which was very special attending the IC Cocktail party on the Sunday at Roland Garros.

All’s well that ends well (tout va bien ça va bien)!

A great team, fantastic club, all fought hard (we’ll take them next year ) rounded off by watching the tennis at Roland Garros in lovely sunshine with a glass of bubbly.

Anne Clark (acting Match Manager)

Match: IC of GB v Fitzwilliam

Venue: Raynes Park Community Ground

Date: 15th April 2023

On Saturday 15th April 2023, a Fitzwilliam team comprising 4 men and 2 women travelled to London to compete in the annual fixture vs the IC of GB. The tie would feature 6 singles matches, 1 men's doubles and 2 mixed doubles. 

In the singles, the IC men fought some very closely contested matches, sharing the honours with their Irish opponents to leave the tie poised at 2-2. Meanwhile the IC ladies were far too strong and won comfortably in both their singles matches, giving the IC a 4-2 lead going into the doubles. The IC team rounded off a 6-3 victory as they claimed both of the mixed doubles encounters, while Fitz won the remaining men's doubles.

True to form, this fixture contained a fantastic mix of competitive tennis, played in excellent spirits, alongside the usual camaraderie that has become a big part of the relationship between these two clubs. It was a delight to spend the weekend with such an affable Fitzwilliam team, and I would also like to thank the home team for being excellent hosts and ambassadors for the IC of GB. 

Paddy May (Captain)

Overall Score: IC of GB won 6-3

Singles:

Morgan Dunne (Fitz) beat Jack Wilson-Smith (IC) 6-4, 6-3

James Cluskey (Fitz) beat Jamie Muirhead (IC) 6-4, 7-6

Paddy May (IC) beat Mark Carpenter (Fitz) 6-1, 6-1

Matt Morrow (IC) beat Tristan Farron-Mahon (Fitz) 6-4, 3-6, 11-9

Jess Ren (IC) beat Christine McGowan (Fitz) 6-1, 6-0

Dearbhla Kelly (IC) beat Kellie O'Flynn (Fitz) 6-2, 6-1

Doubles:

Morgan Dunne & Tristan Farron-Mahon beat Jack Wilson-Smith & Jamie Muirhead (IC) 6-3, 6-2

Matt Morrow & Jess Ren (IC) beat James Cluskey & Kellie O'Flynn (Fitz) 6-2, 6-2

Paddy May & Dearbhla Kelly (IC) beat Mark Carpenter & Christine McGowan (Fitz) 6-3, 6-4 

IC of GB v AELTC

Venue: AELTC, indoor

Date: 15th April 2023

Result: AELTC win 3-1

The first domestic fixture of the year was the annual match against The All England Lawn Tennis Club. There could be no better place to host this event than the spiritual home of tennis; Wimbledon’s newly refurbished Indoor Tennis Centre certainly lives up to the club’s slogan of “In Pursuit of Greatness”. An unrivalled feat of engineering and beauty.

Both team sheets gave rise to some new pairings, and in the first round of matches, the honours were split with what appeared to be an age-old partnership in the men’s doubles of Ben Rogers and Joel Cannell, causing an upset against Dom Inglot and Chris Archer. The ladies’ team of Katie Morris and Georgie Walker were less successful against an inspired opposition of Kat Dearing, who dominated the net and Anna Bedbrook, who was leading the charge for victory – this tied proceedings at 1-1. There was a notable buzz before the final round of matches as both teams had recharged after a beautiful offering on display at lunch. Despite the danger of the blood sugar levels dropping following an assault on the brownies, both teams powered through to start the second wave of matches.

Dom Inglot and Kat Dearing outgunned the first-string mixed pair of Joel Cannell and Katie Morris, notwithstanding some extraordinary points which would not have looked out of place across the road on the Championship courts. That victory edged the All England marginally in front at 2-1, leaving the match to be decided by the final rubber. The All England eventually took the final rubber of the day to seal a 3-1 win. Still, it was not for want of trying by Ben Rogers and Georgie Walker, who pushed Chris Archer and Anna Bedbrook until the final few points in the deciding set match tiebreak. Overall, the tennis was a hugely entertaining fixture, played in great spirits, with a high-calibre level on display throughout the day.

AELTC team: Dom Inglot, Chris Archer, Kat Dearing, Anna Bedbrook.

IC of GB team: Ben Rogers, Joel Cannell, Katie Morris, Georgie Walker.

Men’s Doubles

Dom Inglot & Chris Archer vs Ben Rogers & Joel Cannell IC: 6-3 6-4

Ladies Doubles

Kat Dearing & Anna Bedbrook vs Katie Morris & Georgie Walker AE: 6-1 6-3

Mixed Doubles

Dom Inglot & Kat Dearing vs Joel Cannell & Katie Morris AE: 6-3 6-3

Chris Archer & Anna Bedbrook vs Ben Roges & Georgie Walker AE: 6-4 4-6 (10-7)

Final Match Score

AELTC: 3 IC of GB: 1

Once the tennis was completed, the teams were invited to the clubhouse to enjoy Afternoon Tea in the member’s dining room, where hospitality staff made everybody feel extremely welcome. I know the team and their supporters had one of the most enjoyable days in their recent memory. Despite losing the tennis, the whole team had a hugely entertaining day, and once again, friendships were formed with our good friends at Wimbledon. Thanks to The All England Lawn Tennis Club for using their superb indoor courts, unique bar and dining area, and the wider staff members for their attentiveness over the day. We look forward to competing against the club in 2024 for a long-overdue victory!

The IC of GB Annual Golf Day

Date: 03/05/2023

Venue::Moor Park Golf Club, Herts

Report

A beautiful day at Moor Park was had by all participants of the IC of GB  annual golf day.
The guests were treated to bacon rolls on arrival before the tee times of the 36 players, it was wonderful to see both familiar faces as well as the new participants for the day. A beautiful 3 course meal was had by all in the stunning clubhouse at Moor Park, thank you once again to David Collins for organising the day.
Look forward to seeing you all next year at Moor Park.

Prizes were on offer through the day and the winners were as follows.

Ladies Stableford:  Jane Hannon

Mens Stableford: Paul French

Nearest the pin 3rd Hole: Mel Harling

Nearest the pin 18th Hole: Graham Hollway

Longest drive: Marc Chan

Scratch Prize: Dom Inglot

Wallenberg Trophy

Venue: Amiens, France

Dates: 24-26th February 2023

Result: GB place 3rd

 

This year's staging of the Wallenberg trophy took place in the picturesque town of Amiens in northern France. The Great Britain team of David Collins, Teresa Catlin, Natasha Starling and Hugh Jaques came into the event with high hopes given that Great Britain had won the previous two instalments of this prestigious IC council event. Due to the last minute withdrawal of the Swedish team Great Britain faced a team from Germany and two teams from France to ensure a full schedule of play. The indoor clay courts were playing relatively slow but GB felt confident given their track record. Day one saw us take on the French 1st team, this proved to be a keenly fought encounter with David winning an excellent singles in three sets and Teresa and Natasha narrowly losing out to highly ranked opponents. Hugh lost out against a very strong opponent which left Great Britain 3-1 down going into the mixed doubles. Two more narrow losses consigned the team to a 5-1 defeat which was disappointing as the result could very easily have been quite different. After a fascinating tour around the picturesque centre of Amiens and a delightful evening meal, battle was joined again on day two for the 3rd 4th place play off. This time Team GB made no mistake coming through as convincing 5-1 winners over the French second team with some strong displays all round including an outstanding volleying display by Jaques and Starling in the mixed  doubles, guiding the ball into the spaces with titanium wrists! 

Meanwhile in the other fixture Germany narrowly beat the French A team to secure the Wallenberg trophy. Many thanks to our hosts the IC of France for an excellent few days of tennis and for their hospitality. Special thanks also to captain David Collins for leading the team with his customary panache.

New Member’s Evening – 3rd March, 2023

A successful evening of tennis followed by dinner was held at The Wimbledon Club.

IC of GB Chair Anne Clark gave an overview of the history and culture of the IC, before presenting the new members with ties and bracelets. IC Philanthropy Chair Felipe Bunster Galeno then introduced the work of the IC Philanthropy Foundation.

A great evening and we have some very talented new members who have promised to sign up for our teams!

IC of GB Fixtures and Events - 2023!
        
We are very pleased to announce our exciting new fixture list for 2023! 
Participation in the matches goes to the heart of what the IC Club is all about "hands across the net, friendship across the ocean" 

We have some fabulous fixtures - please don't delay!
If you have an interest in a match please contact the relevant match manager below as soon as possible.

Please find the full list of fixtures which now include details of match grade & eligibility. The matches are open to everyone, new and established members alike - we hope you will take this wonderful opportunity to take part. 
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FEBRUARY
February 25th -26th     Wallenberg Trophy - Amiens, France 
Open - Mens and Ladies Doubles & Mixed / Grade 1 
David Collins 

MARCH
March 16th     IC Philanthropy - An evening with Sue Barker  AELTC 
Please see flyer here & corporate packages info here

APRIL
April 12th      IC of GB AGM - The Wimbledon Club / evening
Siobhan Nicholson

April 15th      IC of GB vs AELTC - Wimbledon
Open - Mens and Ladies / Doubles & Mixed / Grade 1
Karen Hunter

April 15th    Fitzwilliam Club - AELTC Community Ground Raynes Park
Open - Mens - Doubles & Mixed / Grade 1 and 2
Paddy May

MAY
May 3rd      IC of GB Golf Day - Moor Park
Mens and Ladies - Golf handicap required
David Collins

JUNE
June 3rd      UKAFLTA - RAF Halton
Open - Mens - Doubles / Grade 1 and 2
Peter Harding

June 14th - 18th      CQS 2023 - Prague Czech Republic
Mens and Ladies - any age - Mixed 
Sue Bartlett

June date TBC      IC of France - Racing Club Paris
Open and Seniors - Mens and Ladies - Singles Doubles & Mixed
Grade 1 and 2
Steph Cornish

June date TBC      Oxbridge Ladies - Fenners, Cambridge
Open Ladies - Singles & Doubles / Grade 1 and 2 
Philippa Coates

June 17th      Cambridge University - Fenners, Cambridge
Open Mens - Singles & Doubles / Grade 1 and 2 
Rob Blythe

June 26th - 30th      Columbus Trophy - Belguim
Mens Seniors - 55+ and 65 + - Singles & Doubles / Grade 1 
Martin Cornish

June 26th - 30th      La Carretta Cup  - Belguim
Ladies Seniors - 50+ and 60+ - Singles & Doubles / Grade 1 
Jo Shepherd

June 28th      IC Midlands vs IC North - Edgbaston Priory
Open and Seniors - Mens and Ladies - Singles & Doubles / Grade 1 and 2
Andrew Smith

June 29th - 30th      Ted Avory Cup - St Georges Hill
Open and Seniors - Mens and Ladies - Singles Doubles & Mixed / Grade 1
Amanda Elliott

JULY
July 19th      Seniors LTC of GB - St Georges Hill 
Seniors Men - 45 + and 60+ - Doubles / Grade 1 and 2
Boyd Cuthbertson

July Date TBC      Public Schools Old Boys LTC - AELTC Raynes Park 
Open - Mens - Doubles / Grade 1 and 2 
Paul Siviter

AUGUST
August 26th TBC      IC GB vs Yorkshire - Ilkley
Open Mens and Ladies - Doubles & Mixed / Grade 1 and 2 
Simon Ickringill

August 31st - September 3rd      Gottfried von Cramm Trophy - Germany
Open Mens and Ladies - ages 28 - 44 - Singles &  Mixed / Grade 1
Oscar Podlewski

SEPTEMBER
September Date TBC    John Dunningham Trophy - National Tennis Centre LTA Juniors
Open - Singles & Doubles / Grade 1 and 2
Naomi Cavaday

September 30th - 1st October      IC of France - AELTC
Open and Seniors - Men and Ladies - Singles Doubles & Mixed / Grade 1
Steph Cornish

OCTOBER
October Date TBC     Henry Billington Trophy -  Bradfield College
Open Men - Doubles / Grade 1 and 2
Andrew Creighton

October 18th - 22nd      Potter Cup Men - Barcelona 
Over 45 Men - Singles & Doubles / Grade 1
Nick Adams

October 18th - 22nd      Potter Cup Ladies - Barcelona 
Over 40 Ladies - Singles & Doubles / Grade 1
Leyla Ogan

October Date TBC      IC Tennis and Golf - Rye Golf and Tennis Clubs 
Open and Seniors - Singles, Doubles & Mixed / Grade 1 and 2
Freddie Menzies

NOVEMBER
November 4th - 10th    IC Rod Laver Junior Challenge World Finals
La Jolla, California  
Under 16 Juniors - Singles & Doubles / Grade 1
Katie O'Brien

IC of GB v Puente Romano 

Venue : Royal Marrakesh Tennis Club, Morocco

Date : 1st – 4th Dec 2022

IC of GB Team : Johnny Barr (Captain) , Shaun Leleu , Jim May , Mark Loosemore , Gary Drake

Matches against our good friends at Puente Romano are always magical, but none more so than this year as we were invited to play our annual fixture in Marrakesh. Due to the pandemic the annual match between Puente Romano and Royal Marrakesh Tennis Club was postponed so we were asked if we’d mind making it a tri angular away in Marrakesh, it was so good that it may just have to become an annual fixture!! The kind hospitality shown by the Royal Marrakesh team was simply fabulous.

With 3 teams and so many matches each team captain agreed a shortened format with the first to 9 games with a mix of singles and doubles, quite sensible considering that Marrakesh is still warm in December.

Puente Romano we as strong as ever boasting an ex Wimbledon Champion in Pat Cash and several other ex ATP pros, with Royal Marrakesh Tennis Club fielding 1 ex Moroccan international and 1 current Junior International.

On behalf of the IC of GB we extended an invite to both teams to visit and play us in the UK so we could repay their kind hospitality and welcome. Special mention must be made of Shaun Leleu (Managing Director of Puente Romano & IC of GB) for his kind hosting and great organisation of this most fabulous match in the most magical of settings. Without such hospitality and hand of friendship these trips can never be possible.

IC of GB Match Manager Johnny Barr

Match Final Standings

1st Puente Romano : 6 rubbers

2nd IC of GB : 4 rubbers

3rd Royal Marrakesh TC : 1 rubber

Match Scores

Johnny Barr / Gary Drake beat Patrick Noben / Hannouch Salah (Royal Marrakesh) : 9-5

Jim May lost to Sergio Perez (Puente Romano) : 8-9

Mark Loosemore beat Santi Godfrid (Puente Romano) : 9-8

Jim May beat Hannouch Salah (Royal Marrakesh) : 9-5

Shaun Leleu / Gary Drake lost to Sergio Gomez Barrio / Pat Cash (Puente Romano) : 7-9

Mark Loosemore lost to Marco Cataldi ( Royal Marrakesh) : 5-9

Johnny Barr / Shaun Leleu lost to Sergio Gomez Barrio / Santi Godfrid (Puente Romano) : 7 -9

Jim May / Gary Drake beat Pat Cash / Sergio Perez (Puente Romano) : 9-6

Potter Cup 2022

Venues: Real Club and Polo Club, Barcelona

Result: GB Ladies finish 4th

Team: Leyla Ogan (Captain), Eilidh Smith, Debbie Hale

Another fanatsic event held at the beautiful clubs in Barcelona. The ladies event took place for 2 days at the Real Club, and the final day at the Polo Club Barcelona. We are very lucky to have this event. There are 8 teams and its a knock out event. On the Thursday night we had a welcome cocktail party, and Friday and Saturday formal dinners and the Real and Polo Club. The tennis is international level, and its great to spend time with IC friends in such a great city.

The ladies team were seeded 4th and drew France first round. Eilidh stepped up and battled through, and gave the team an important first win. Eilidh was playing confident clay court tennis, and has recently won bronze in the World Champs and was looking comfortable on the clay.

I started slowly but battled through and got the win. Debbie and I played the doubles and won the day 3.0. Great to get Debbie involved who is a new IC member and also played in the World Championships.

Semi finals v Spain.

We know the Spanish team well and we knew this would be a big battle for us. Eilidh competed and fought well but unfortunalty went down in 3 sets. I found some good clay court tennis and really enjoyed the challenge but also lost.

We did ourselves proud to push the spanish team, and we were getting better and better on the clay.

3rd/ 4th play off v Germany

Debbie played singles, and had a great match and was good for her to get some more clay court experience. I lost in a champs tie break to a player who was formerly ranked inside WTA 120.

We were placed 4th and we were proud of this. The level was very high and it has motivated us to try and compete more at this level. As always fantastic team spirit, and great to have the mens team there too. It is a great balance of competitive tennis and social. We have the best experiences and the spanish people and clubs are very hospiitable.

A big thank you to IC of GB who support this event and enter us every year.

Match captain: Leyla Ogan

John Dunningham Trophy

Venue: NTC, Roehampton

Date: 01/10/2022

Result: IC beat LTA  8 - 4

 

We had a fantastic day being hosted by the LTA at the National Tennis Centre for the John Dunningham Trophy. The IC won this trophy for the first time in 2021 and we were determined to defend it this year so we were ready with a very strong team.

 

The first round of singles were incredibly tight with Pippa Horn losing a 3rd set tie break to Arabella Loftus 10-2. This match was filled with long rallies, crafty play and was good fun to watch.

 

On the next court Katie Morris found herself in a 3rd set tie break as well but managed to dig deep and get the better of Sophia Kovacheva 10-7 and get the first point on the board for the IC.

 

It was a more straightforward start for the men playing on the clay, with both Kai Luca Ampaw and John Thompson getting straight sets wins on the board. Kai beat Arthur Attrill 6-3 6-2 and John took the win over Zechariah Hamrouni 6-2 6-4.

 

The next round of singles matches required a late change for the IC team as Lucy Brown picked up a leg injury, but fortunately Katy Dunne was training at the NTC and was keen to replace Lucy for the singles. Katy won her singles match in double quick time beating Eloise Newberry 6-2 6-1. The final women's singles was another straight sets win for the IC with Emily Arbuthnott beating Isabelle Britton 6-3 6-3.

 

Back in the clay court bubble Tim Sagur raced to a comfortable victory over Charlie Swain 6-2 6-1. Jamie Muirhead was getting stuck into a very competitive match narrowly losing to Angus Howard 10-5 in the final set tie break.

 

This meant that with the singles matches complete the IC was leading the LTA 6-2.

 

The IC team were full of confidence heading into the doubles only needing one more rubber to win the trophy. 3 of the doubles matches went to a 3rd set with the LTA team of Eloise Newberry and Sophia Kovacheva getting the better of Pippa Horn and Katie Morris 10-7 in the 3rd.

 

The LTA boys also took a victory with Charlie Swaine and Angus Howard just clinching the first set tie break 13-11 and then the final set tie break 10-5 over Tim Sagur and Jamie Muirhead. 

Kai Ampaw and John Tompson won a topsy turvy match 10-1 in the 3rd set against Arthur Atrill and Zechariah Hamrouni and the team of Emily Arbuthnott and Lucy Brown really stamped their authority beating Isabelle Britton and Arabella Loftus 6-0 6-4.

 

Overall it meant that the IC successfully defended the John Dunningham Trophy and had a great day of really competitive high quality tennis. My thanks to Katie O'Brien and Martin Weston for hosting us and creating a competitive but positive environment for the match.

Match Report by Naomi Cavaday (John Dunningham Match Manager)

Fixture: IC of GB v Bradfield College

Venue: Bradfield College

Result: Bradfield College  5 - International Club of GB  8

Date 11/10/2023

This long standing fixture ( and the only IC fixture against a school side) was played with the usual good spirit and excellent hospitality from the school. Added focus was required from the IC team this year to win the fixture 9 rubbers to 5 as Bradfield are the current holders of the Youll Cup, the first time the school have won the illustrious tournament (the Independent schools championship for boys) .

The fixture made up of 2 women pairs and 3 men’s pairs for a midweek match in October is always a challenging commitment so thanks as always to those members and guests who extended their seasons to represent the Club. 

IC team 

Jamie Muirhead, Jack Shawyer (guest), Graham Neale, Charlie Durham (guest), Andrew Smith,  Andrew Creighton, Nathalie Squires, Alison Fleming, Joy Tacon, Emma Barker (guest)

IC of GB v Yorkshire

Venue: Ilkley Tennis Club, Yorkshire

Result: Yorkshire won 3-1

On a great weather day at Ilkley Tennis Club playing on the grass a very competitive match ensued

Results:

IC names first:-
Cath Davies & Eric Knowles bt Gareth Hutchinson & Karen Mitchell 6-4 6-3
Ashley Broomhead & Ian Blakeman lost Paul Layfield & Richard Hutchinson 4-6 4-6
Cath Davies & Ashley Broomhead lost Paul Layfield & Karen Mitchell 6-2 2-6 3-6
Ian Blakeman & Eric Knowles lost Gareth Hutchinson & Richard Hutchinson 6-7 3-6

IC 1.  YORKSHIRE 3

IC of GB v IC of France = Maharajah of Kutch Trophy

Dates: Friday 10th and Saturday 11th September

Venue: Coutainville, France

Result: IC of France win 5-3

I am attaching a few photos from the Maharajah of Kutch match against the IC of France which was held on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th in Coutainville, France. 

Our team consisted of Wendy Carter, Caroline Greatrex (guest player), Julian Tatum, Benson Greatrex (captain), Tony King, Graham Neale, Neil Howitt(guest player) with supporter Carolyn Neale. 

After a good start in the tennis on Friday morning we took a 3-1 lead with the one loss being a 12-14 deciding tie break win for the IC of France with Caroline and Graham having matches points before losing!

Two pairs played in Friday’s golf, Caroline & Wendy and Graham & Neil - unfortunately both pairs suffered narrow defeats with Thierry Pham playing particularly well for the IC of France. 

On Saturday a few different tennis players were selected by the IC of France including Guillaume Legat who last month played for France in their winning Dubler Cup (ITF 45s team event) team! 

His arrival and that of two other players turned our lead into a 3-5 defeat though Graham again, this time with Wendy,  had match points in a deciding tie break! So the Maharajah Trophy was won by the IC of France. 

In the golf we had a turnaround in our favour with Wendy & Caroline and Benson & Neil winning and in a terrific comeback Graham and Julian taking the last two holes to record a half in their rubber to make it 2&1/2 each in the match for the Le Touquet Golf Cup.  

The IC of France hospitality was excellent and it was a very enjoyable few days. Our thanks go to the ICF organiser Dominique Legat, the ICF players and their supporters. 

 My thanks also to our team for travelling to France and for putting up a very good fight both on the tennis courts and the golf course. 

We look forward to the opportunity of regaining the Maharajah Trophy in GB in 2 years time! 

Benson Greatrex 

Match Manager 

It is with deep sorrow that we acknowledge the passing of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

The IC of GB thank Queen Elizabeth for her outstanding dedication and service to so many, and send our heartfelt condolences to the Royal Family.

John Feaver,

President IC of GB

IC Columbus Trophy 2022

Venue: Chevy Chase Club, Washington DC, USA

Overall Result: Champions

Match Report:

We arrived in Washington DC then on to our excellent hotel, the Hyatt Regency in Bethesda.

Our team consisted of Chris Hearn,Nigel Mann +55 age group and Martin Cornish,Paul French,Mike Dawe+65

GB was seeded 2 and our first match was against Belgium. We had a fairly comfortable win 5-1.

Second day we had a match against France who had a strong team being defending champions. Chris and Paul had good singles wins ,while Martin lost narrowly in the match tiebreaker .Nigel lost in straight sets. So the match score was 2-2 after the singles but one set up.

Chris and Nigel had a good win in the doubles while Mike and Paul lost narrowly in a match tiebreaker.The score was 3-3 but we won by two sets.

In the final we played the favourites USA .

Chris won his match in the match tiebreaker while Paul won in straight sets. Martin and Nigel both lost tough matches. So the score was 2-2 after the singles but we were one set down.

In the doubles Chris and Nigel lost in the match tiebreaker while Martin and Paul won in straight sets after saving a set point.

That meant the score was 3-3 and 1 set all ,so we had to play a super tiebreaker ( 1+55 and 1+65). Chris and Paul were selected to play with the match being on a knife edge.It was very close all the way through and with Chris serving at 9-8 he breaks a string on his second serve and double faults!Happily we survived to win 11-9 with Chris hitting a magnificent forehand winner to clinch the title.

We were treated extremely well by the USIC . Chevy Chase and Columbia country club’s were fantastic venues and they could not have been more helpful.

Paul French, Team Captain

Result:

Day 1 - beat Belgium 5-1

Day 2 - beat France 3-3 (won by 2 sets on countback)

Day 3 - beat USA 3-3 (won in a tiebreak shootout 11-9 as sets were equal)

Fixture: IC Week Windmill / Orsini 

Venue: Chevy Chase Club, Washington, USA

Result : 5th out of 8 teams - winners of the Consolation (Orsini Trophy)

Match Report:

The IC of GB team were very privileged to travel to Washington DC to represent the Club at IC Week. The team consisted of two open age group players (Ben Draper and Tom Wride) and three over 45 players ( Pieter van Houten, Simon Bramwell and Adrian Blackman).

The event was based at the magnificent Chevy Chase Club and we started our campaign against a very strong US IC side. We battled hard but in the end lost 5-1 on the day, our only win being an excellent victory in the open doubles.

Having lost on the first day, our next target became the Orsini Trophy (the consolation)! Our the first two singles, it was 1-1 (with victory for Ben) and then we secured fine victories at both number 2 singles. Both doubles were tight and our Open pair played with great skill to secure the overall 4-2 win.

In the final of the Orsini Trophy, we faced Luxembourg. After losing the first two singles, the situation didn’t look too positive but we won the other two singles with gritty performances to put us back on track. We then finished off the week with a flourish by winning both doubles to win the match 4-2 and in doing so become Orsini Champions!

We all spent a fantastic week in Washington, and were hosted fantastically well by USIC. Thank you to everyone involved!

Adrian Blackman (Windmill / Orsini Captain)

Results:

Day 1: Lost to USIC 5-1

Day 2 : beat IC of Belgium 4-2

Day 3: beat IC of Luxembourg 4-2

IC Mixed: Wallenberg Trophy

Venue: Båstad, Sweden

Result: 1st Place & Wallenberg Trophy Winners: IC of GB, 2nd Place: IC of Germany, 3rd Place: IC of Sweden Date: Friday 12th – Sunday 14th August 2022

Match Report

The picturesque seaside town of Bastad, Sweden provided the setting for the first staging of the Wallenberg Trophy since 2019. That year, team GB scored a first victory since 2004. The 2022 IC of GB team featured 3 of the 4 players from the 2019 winning side; captain David Collins, Teresa Catlin and Hugh Jaques, plus new recruit Amy Partridge, and were keen to taste success once again. Due to the withdrawl of the IC of France team, the fixture became a 3 way round robin between the ICs of GB, Germany and hosts Sweden. Day 1 saw the teams take to the red clay of Drivan tenniscenter and complete the singles rubbers, with all teams intriguingly tied at 2-2 after this stage. Teresa underlined her world class credentials with 2 wins out of 2, including a crucial 12-10 champions tie break win against Germany, whilst Hugh, David and Amy all managed a win, with David crucially battling back from a set down to earn a win against Germany. After a restorative dip in the azure blue Swedish sea, the teams were treated to a memorable champagne reception at the seaside villa of Swedish tennis great Anders Johansson. In his introductory remarks, IC of Sweden head Olle Palmer recounted the history of this prestigious competition and how it embodies the broader purpose of the IC in fostering connections and friendly competition between nations. The teams then headed to a stunning seafront restaurant for a dinner together as the sun set over the harbour. Day 2 saw the teams return to the court for the mixed doubles with all to play for. GB started strongly, winning both matches in straight sets against Germany to take the tie 4-2. Sweden and Germany completed their fixture next with Germany edging the win on sets after a 3-3 draw. The competition therefore came down to the final two mixed rubbers between GB and Sweden. Hugh and Amy won through in straight sets, relying on some strong returning and judicious use of the lob. Teresa and David showed grit, determination and flair to complete the win for GB, edging out a high class Swedish pair that included former ATP top 20 pro Henrik Holm and complete the 4-2 win for the IC of GB. Team GB were presented with the trophy and celebrated their back to back Wallenberg wins in style – with a quick final paddle in the ocean!! Special thanks go to Olle Palmer and our generous hosts, the IC of Sweden, and to captain David Collins for leading team GB through the event with his customary panache

IC of GB v Seniors Lawn Tennis Club GB

Venue: St George's Hill Lawn Tennis Club

Result: 5:5 draw

The match on the 13th July was played at St George's Hill LTC on a beautiful evening on the prestigious grass courts. It was a very competitive and even match, played in good spirit and ending in a 5-5 draw.

After the tennis, dinner was held with a beautiful view over the lake.

Thank you to St George's Hill for hosting.

Michael Dawe (Match Manager)

IC of Ireland 25th IC Anniversary Quadrangular Tournament Weekend

Venue: Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club

The IC of GB were honoured to be invited to participate in the 25th Anniversary four nations tournament involving IC of Belgium, IC of Luxembourg, and of course our generous hosts, IC of Ireland, over the long weekend of 20-24 July.

The IC of Ireland was established in 1997, largely through the efforts of several founding members, amongst them one or two members of the IC of GB of Irish descent.

Legendary Irish hospitality has rarely been more evident than over the weekend’s mixture of competitive tennis and social gatherings with all teams fully getting into the spirit of the I.C. objectives of “Hands across the net, friendships across the oceans” – or at least English Channel and Irish Sea in this case! Off the court we were treated to two memorable evenings. Firstly, an Irish themed music and dance night at a great fun venue in which the GB group more than held there own in terms of participation… Secondly, a more formal affair on the final evening at the impressive Fitzwilliam Club where a Presentation Dinner was attended by 200, again hosted by The IC of Ireland.

The on-court results for ICGB (two wins and a draw) had led to GB winning the specially commissioned quadrangular trophy as well as the Peter Jackson Trophy (a longstanding head-to-head challenge v Ireland). Consequently, it was ICGB match captain Lewis Barnes (who had marshalled the team strongly and selected some canny pairs) who proudly stepped up to accept the trophies.

Amongst all the nations speeches of thanks, Richard Walmsley as Captain of the IC of GB 2022 congratulated The IC of Ireland on the occasion of their quarter century and expressed deep gratitude for the wonderful hospitality and organization of the event. It felt perfect that these four teams in particular had come together to mark the occasion and the weekend had felt like a celebration of the whole ethos of the International Club movement.

In recognition and to commemorate the occasion of the quarter century, Richard presented an engraved silver dish to Gina Niland, President of the IC of Ireland, and also an IC of GB tie to the Irish organiser and captain, Niall Murphy as we welcomed him to the IC of GB as an honorary member.

Additionally, it was special that the IC of Ireland recognised ICGB player Colin Jones for his full commitment over the weekend with an honorary membership, and also in a particularly fitting gesture, and honorary membership to IC of GB member Peter Hannon, who had effectively been one of those founding fathers of The IC of Ireland 25 years ago.

So ended a greatly memorable weekend that all agreed truly reflected the spirit of the International Club movement.

Richard Walmsley- Captain of The I.C. of GB 2022.

Match Report- Lewis Barnes

We were very kindly hosted at the lovely and tranquil surroundings of the Carrickmines Croquet & Lawn Tennis Club where the weather was very kind to us, and the grass courts were in perfect condition.

GB 2 – Luxembourg 2

On the first day it was a very close battle with Luxembourg, who had a strong team with Davis Cup experience – the day started with 2 very close men’s doubles matches where IC veterans Kit Spencer (who had flown in from Bahamas) and Richard Walmsley narrowly lost in a third set tiebreak despite giving away a lot of years! This match provided some spectacular rallies to the crowds’ delight, and on the next court Peter Hannon and Colin Jones succumbed to some beautiful tennis from the very talented Luxembourg pair. With the score at 2-0 the IC of GB turned to the ladies and Karen Hunter and Karen Cass provided a doubles masterclass to pull the tie back 2-1 overall – Lewis Barnes then stepped out for an entertaining singles match clinching a narrow victory meaning the tie ended with 2-2 draw.

GB 4 – Belgium 0

On the second day Kit Spencer and Jamie Whiteford got GB off to a flying start. Karen Hunter and Karen Cass barely missed a ball to get another win on the board for GB in the ladies’ doubles. Lewis Barnes carried on his singles momentum with another hard-fought victory and Felipe Bunster and Colin Jones wrapped the day up with a comprehensive victory ensuring a 4-0 victory overall for GB.

GB 3 – Ireland 1

On the final day, Felipe Bunster and Colin Jones started proceedings with a hard-fought victory followed by an entertaining come-back win for Richard Walmsley and Peter Hannon, from a set and 3-0 down. Carrying on the momentum into the afternoon, Jamie Whiteford & Lewis Barnes produced a solid performance to win against the Irish first pair, followed by two very entertaining mixed doubles victories for GB by Kit Spencer/Karen Cass and Karen Hunter/Colin Jones. Ireland produced some marvelous tennis to pip the GB ladies pairing of Karen Hunter and Karen Cass to get a rubber on the board.

The weekend highlighted why the IC is such a special organisation and every team member embodied all the key values of the IC. The Irish team’s hospitality was exceptional and made the weekend extra special. I would like to thank all the team members for playing the fixture and a special thank you to the Irish IC for organizing an excellent weekend that will be talked about for years to come!

Fixture: IC of GB vs Public School Old Boys LTA

Date: Saturday 16th July

Venue: All England Club Community Sports Ground

Surface: Grass

Format: 3 doubles matches - best of 3 sets (3rd set will be a 10-Point match tiebreak)

Weather: Scorching hot!

The IC v Public School Old Boys (PUBS) fixture took place on Saturday 16th July on the fantastic grass courts of The All England Club Community Sports Ground on a scorching hot day. The fixture was closely contested with some great tennis from both teams, but the IC narrowly lost to the PUBS 6-3, with two of the matches being lost on a Champions tie-break.

After some close matches in some very high temperatures, the teams all enjoyed some thoroughly deserved drinks.

Thanks go out to Andrew Ambrose and The All England for allowing the fixture to be played at the fantastic facility at The All England Community sports ground.

Results:

Round 1: 2-1 PUBS

Ben Draper / Ben Rogers vs Jim May / Tim Webster: 6-4, 6-7, 13-11 (PUBS)

Blake Hutchins / Jamie Whiteford vs Rob Blythe / John Thompson 7-5, 6-3 (PUBS)

James Marsalek /Jamie Muirhead vs Andy Kennaugh / Tom Wride: 7-6(5), 4-6, 5-10 (IC)

Round 2: 4-2 PUBS

Ben Draper / Ben Rogers vs Andy Kennaugh / Tom Wride: 4-6, 6-3, 10-3 (PUBS)

Blake Hutchins / Jamie Whiteford vs Jim May / Tim Webster: 3:6; 3:6 (IC)

James Marsalek / Jamie Muirhead vs Rob Blythe / John Thompson: 6-1, 6-1 (PUBS)

Round 3: 6:3 PUBS

Ben Draper / Ben Rogers vs Rob Blythe / John Thompson 6-4, 6-4 (PUBS)

Blake Hutchins / Jamie Whiteford vs Kennaugh / Wride 6-4 6-2 (PUBS)

James Marsalek / Jamie Muirhead vs Jim May / Tim Webster 3-6, 3-6 (IC)

Match Manager: Paul Siviter

AELTC vs IC of GB

Venue: All England Tennis & Croquet Club

Date: Friday 15th July 2022

Result: AELTC won 3-1

The All Englad Club hosted the IC of GB v AELTC on a glorious summer's afternoon in July. Matches were played on championship courts 5 & 6 which were in amazing condition, and have the unique view of the clubhouse behind the courts. 

All four matches were played in great spririts and to a fantastic level, and after play we were treated to dinner on the balcony of the clubhouse, which was a reall treat for all.

Many thanks to the All England Club for hosting this annual match.

Results

Doubles

Sean Thornley & Ed Corrie (AELTC) vs Tim Sagar & Adrian Blackman (ICGB)                  AE            6-7(4) 6-0 10-7

Amanda Elliott & Jane O’Donoghue (AELTC) vs Kerry Quirk & Emily Arbuthnott (ICGB)    AE            6-3 1-6 10-6

Mixed doubles

Amanda Elliott & Ed Corrie (AELTC) vs Emily Arbutnott & Tim Sagar (ICGB)                     IC            6-2 6-4

Jane O’Donoghue & Sean Thornley (AELTC) vs Kerry Quick & Adrian Blackman  (ICGB)   AE            6-0 6-2

Match Score     AELTC 3           IC 1

IC of GB v Cambridge University

Venue: Fenners

Date: 19th June 2022

Result: IC of GB win 7-2

A strong IC team beat Cambridge University 7-2 at Fenner's on the 19th June. We were blessed with beautiful weather and were able to play one round of singles and one round of doubles on the grass. Playing for the IC of GB were Oscar Podlewski, Matt Kirby, Rob Blythe (Captain), Jim May, Alastair Filmer and Dominic Hodgson.

Thank you as always to the University of Cambridge for being such wonderful hosts for our annual fixture.

Results:

Round 1 - Singles:

1. Oscar Podlewski beat Esah Hayat 7-5, 6-3

2. Matt Kirby beat Jack Wilson-Smith 7-6, 3-6, 6-4

3. Rob Blythe lost to Harry Cookson 7-6, 7-5

4. Jim May beat Patrick Smart 7-5, 6-1

5. Alastair Filmer beat Jobey Meacham 6-1, 6-2

6. Dom Hodgson beat Victor Baycroft 6-4, 6-2

Round 2 - Doubles:

1. Oscar & Matt beat Esah & Jack 7-6, 6-4

2. Rob & Dom beat Harry and Patrick 6-4, 5-7, 6-3

3. Jim & Alastair lost to Jobey & Jure Zgublic 3-6, 7-6, 10-7

IC of GB v IC of Germany

Venue: Moor Park

Result: IC of Germany wo 10-2

The IC played the IC of Germany at Moor Park over the weekend of the 15th,16th and 17th July 2022.

Starting with a friendly 4 Ball better ball Stableford golf competition on Friday the pairing of Jackie Robinson (IC of GB) and Christopher Rummel (IC of Germany) took first place with 44 points.

On Saturday the IC of Germany Team showed their class on the grass courts taking an unassailable 8-2 lead in the match.

The Official Dinner was held at Moor Park on Saturday evening. The food and service was excellent as always. Following a few words by Match Manager Benson Greatrex, Karin Parringer spoke very eloquently on behalf of the IC of Germany. Alex Kurucz the President of the IC of Germany, who was also the Match Manager, was unfortunately unable to come to England due to contracting Covid – very disappointing for him and his wife Elke who were looking forward to the trip: I am pleased to say that Alex has now fully recovered.

It was also a great pleasure to make Christopher Rummel an Honorary International Member of the IC of GB. Christopher has played against the IC of GB a number of times including IC Week 2019 in Le Touquet, The Wallenberg at Brierley Hill and also in this match.

A big thank you to the IC of GB players who put on a good performance but were outplayed by an outstanding team from the IC of Germany. Thank you also to the IC of Germany Team who were not only very good players but also made it an excellent weekend socially.

Results:

Kerry Quirk lost to Stefanie Lautenschlaeger 1-6 0-6 ICG

Teresa Catlin beat Sabine Gerke-Hochdoeffer 6-2 6-1 ICGB

Felipe Bunster lost to Christopher Rummel 1-6 3-6 ICG

Michael Gradon lost to Stefan Burchard 2-6 1-6 ICG

Alec Allen lost to Christoph von Parringer 6-2 2-6 8-10 ICGB

Benson Greatrex beat Christoph von Eynatten 6-3 1-6 10-7 ICG

Wendy Carter & Teresa Catlin lost to Karin Plaggenborg & Sabine Gerke-Hochdoeffer 3-6 4-6 ICG

Kerry Quirk & Alec Allen lost to Stefanie Lautenschlaeger & Stefan Burchard & 1-6 2-6 ICG

Michael Gradon & Felipe Bunster lost to Christopher Rummel & Christopher Parringer 2-6 2-6 ICG

Wendy Carter & Benson Greatrex lost to Karin Plaggenborg & Christoph von Eynatten 3-6 2-6 ICG

Anne Clark& Michael Gradon lost to Karen Plaggenborg & Stefan Burchard 4-6 3-6 ICG

Kerry Quirk & Alec Allen beat Stefanie Lautenschlaeger & Christoph von Eynatten 6-3 3-6 10-8 ICGB

Laura Bunster & Felipe Bunster lost to Sabine Gerke-Hochdoeffer & Christoph Parringer 3-6 2-6 ICG

The overall result of the match was a 10-3 win for the IC of Germany who regain the Dunlop Trophy after two wins by the IC of GB!

Benson Greatrex

Match Manager

21/07/

John Feaver, President and Anne Clark, Chair of the IC of GB, had the pleasure of presenting the 2022 IC of GB Sportsmanship Award to Miles Maclagan during the Championships at Wimbledon.

The IC of GB Sportsmanship Award is an annual award to the British tennis player, who by his or her actions on and off the court has exhibited a high standard of sportsmanship and contributed to the IC ideal of fostering international friendship through tennis.

The list of previous winners is impressive with Annabel Croft receiving the award in 2021 and Gordon Reid in 2020.

The IC helps promote and renew friendships across the net and the world encouraging fair play and sportsmanship, something that Miles has consistently done throughout his career:-

A Zambian born British tennis coach, Miles left Zimbabwe in 1988 to pursue tennis in the UK, reaching a highest ranking of 172 in singles and 200 in doubles. At 16, Miles was the British number one junior, ahead of the likes of Andrew Richardson, Barry Cowan and Tim Henman reaching the semi finals of the junior singles event at Wimbledon. He subsequently played Davis Cup in three ties for Great Britain making his debut against Slovakia in 1995 and coming out of retirement to partner Tim Henman to victory against Thailand at Birmingham in 2002. At Wimbledon in 1999, Miles took a two set to love lead against Boris Becker and had three match points on Becker's serve in the fourth set, before eventually losing in five sets. His last match was at Wimbledon 2003.

Following a successful competitive career, Miles became a world class coach, coaching Andy Murray for 3-4 years, also coaching Laura Robson as well as many other top male and female professionals. Married with two young children, Miles still coaches choosing not to tour any more. Instead, he spends more time as a commentator and analyst, at which he is extremely accomplished.

Universally popular among his peers and liked and respected by all. In a period when reliability and trustworthiness seem to have gone out of fashion, Miles stands out as a man of his word with the highest integrity.

Many congratulations to Miles!

IC of GB v UKAFLTA

Venue: NTC, Roehampton

Result: 2-2 draw

Match Report by Peter Harding (Match Manager):

The match was played indoors at the NTC Roehampton. 

Please see here for information on upcoming fixtures, match managers and a guide on the standard of each fixture to help guide which fixtures you would like to sign up for/

Do get in touch with the relevant match manager to express interest in playing!

Potter Cup Report 2021 (Ladies)

Venue: Barcelona, Spain

Result: IC of GB finish 4th

Match Report:

It was lovely to be back at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona to compete in the 4th ladies Potter Cup event. It was a fantastic achievement to hold this event given all of the complications of the current environment and everyone appreciated the effort involved by the IC of Spain.

This was the first time that Germany had competed in the Ladies event and as current world champions of the 40’s event it was agreed that they should be seeded 1 followed by Spain 2, Italy 3 and then Great Britain 4.

On day one we played Ireland with Jo winning 7-5, 6-2 and Lucie winning with a very efficient 6-1, 6-1 win giving a 2-0 victory.

On day two we played number 1 seeds Germany where we put up a valiant effort with Lucie taking their number 1 player to 3 sets but we eventually lost both singles. We then were able to return to the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona to support the men’s team compete in their very exciting doubles matches against Ireland.

On day three we played Italy – also a strong side who were runners up at this year’s world championships 40’s event and again put up a good fight in the singles matches but Italy were able to win through in both resulting in 4th place out of 8 for GB.

Thanks to Leyla Ogan for organising the ladies team and was unfortunately not able to travel to Barcelona to play. It was a fantastic experience as always with excellent hospitality at both the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona and the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona, a real privilege to play on such superb clay courts. It is also a great achievement to hold a ladies event that attracts such a high standard of tennis. A great weekend – thanks to everyone involved for their support.

Jo Shepherd, IC of GB Potter Cup Ladies Captain

Team

Lucie Ahl

Jo Shepherd (Captain)

Results

Day One Beat Ireland 2-0

Day Two Lost to Germany 2-0

Day Three Lost to Italy 2-0

Final position: 4th

The IC of GB vs The UKAFLTA

 Result: The UKAFLTA won 3-1

Venue:Halton Tennis Club
 

The IC match against the UKAFLTA was played on the courts at Halton Tennis Club in excellent weather. The Club has 6 synthetic, 6 indoor and 4 hard courts so come what may the match was going to be played.  

The IC of GB Team of Felipe Bunster (Captain), James Marsalek, Jamie Muirhead and Allan Pengelly (guest) acquitted themselves extremely well, playing tennis to a very high standard, all matches being fiercely contested and played in the spirit of the game. 

The UKAFLTA Team made us feel extremely welcome throughout the afternoon, and after the match hosted a delicious curry dinner which our team thoroughly enjoyed.  

Although the UKAFLTA Team won 3-1 we were not outgunned and the match could have gone either way and I say that as the unbiased match Manager!

The UKAFLTA Team were extremely grateful for the gifts of The IC of GB umbrellas which will be saved for a rainy day!

Thank you to the Halton Tennis Club, Nick Leighton and Gill Roe for their support and to the UKAFLTA Team for being such wonderful hosts for what we hope will be an annual fixture

Congratulations to Ben Rogers and his team on their win. We look forward to reversing the result next year!

IC of GB Captain Peter Harding

Results

Felipe Bunster/Jamie Muirhead vs Ben Rogers/Angus McCaul    2-6, 5-7

James Marsalek/Allan Pengelly (guest) vs Tristan Williams/James Herbert    6-0, 6-2

Felipe Bunster/Jamie Muirhead vs Tristan Williams/James Herbert     6-4, 5-7, 6-10

James Marsalek/Allan Pengelly (guest) vs Ben Rogers/Angus McCaul.   1-6, 4-6

Potter Cup 2021 (Mens)

Venue: Barcelona, Spain

Result: IC of GB came 6th

Match Report:

After all the challenges of the past eighteen months, it was fantastic that the IC of GB was able to send a mens and ladies team to the 48th Potter Cup for men and 4th for ladies. On the mens side, we were hosted at the Real Club de Polo Barcelona and the organisation and warmth of the hosting IC of Spain was fantastic as always. On day one of matches, we played IC of Italy. They were an extremely strong side but Colin Beecher picked up a brilliant win at number two singles. Massive great must also go to Hafeez Hameed, playing at number four, as he played fantastic tennis in a four hour epic before finally succumbing 7-6 in the third!

On the second day, we played our friends the IC of Ireland. It The match was a classic from start to finish! At Number five singles, Paul Scullard came back to 9-6 down in the champs tie break to pick up a stunning 11-9 win! Hafeez then claimed a solid win at number four whilst Tom Spinks lost at three, also in the champs tie break. Colin had to work extremely hard to win impressively at two whilst Paul Martin played extremely well but lost to a very experienced player at 1. At 3-2 up after the singles, we need just one more rubber to win the match. At second pair doubles, the match was extremely tight and we eventually fell 10-8 in the champs tie break. So, all down to number one doubles. We were a set up, but lost the second on a tie break. In the champs tie break, we were 8-1 and seemingly cruising to victory but nothing is ever that easy. We went 9-8 down and only after a very dramatic and stressful few points, we won the match 12-10. It was a classic match all round with everyone competing but particular mention should go to Paul Scullard who won two matches from match point down on the same day!

On Sunday, we faced a very good USA side. Adrian Blackman got a chance to debut at singles but our victories on that day came from Colin and Hafeez. 3-2 down after the singles, we fought valiantly in the doubles but unfortunately lost both matches to lose overall 5-2. So, after the three matches, we finished in a creditable 6th place out of the eight teams. On behalf of the team, I can say that it was a wonderful experience for us all which we will never forget.

The Potter Cup a fantastic event and the value friendship was on wide display across all the teams was evident right from the start. The IC of GB team, whoever is lucky enough the represent the Club, can look forward to next year’s event played from 26th – 29th May 2022.

IC of GB Captain - Adrian Blackman

Team:

Paul Martin

Colin Beecher

Tom Spinks

Hafeez Hameed

Paul Scullard

Adrian Blackman (Captain)

Results:

Day One lost to Italy 4-1

Day Two beat Ireland 4-3

Day Three lost to USA 5-2

Final position: 6th

John Dunningham Trophy

IC of GB vs LTA Juniors

Venue: National Tennis Centre, Roehampton

Date: 23rd October 2021

John Dunningham Trophy 2021

After being so close to winning the John Dunningham Trophy in recent years the IC team were more determined than ever to get over the line.

The LTA hosted us at the NTC and we were taking on some of their top under 14 players. First to the singles court were the 3s and 4s. For the men we had Sam McNeil playing Max Carrier at 3 and Ben Rogers playing Arthur Attrill at 4. On the Women's side we had Laura Slater playing Dina Lipovski at 3 and Jess Renn playing Ciara Moore at 4.

Laura was the first to finish and picked up a comfortable win 6-2 6-3 with the other 3 all splitting sets. Sam came back from a set down to take it to a championship tie break managing to get ahead early and win the final set 10-5 taking us to 2-0 up overall. Jess and Ben were both in a 3rd set tie break and both produced some of their best tennis of the day to win 10-6 and 10-2 respectively and take us to a lead of 4-0 after the first round.

Next up were the 1s and 2s with Naomi Cavaday playing Issie Wong at 1 and Manisha Foster playing Sofia Maine at 2. Also out on court were Oscar Podlewski playing Ben Gusic Wan at 1 and Tim Sagar playing Joe Marzingham at 2.

Tim and Manisha both played some hard hitting tennis but the LTA number 2s were particularly strong and defeated our players in straight sets 6-4 7-6 and 6-3 6-1 respectively.

The last 2 singles matches on court were the number 1s and they were both tight all the way through. Naomi was pushed to a championship tie break and got off to a great start leading 7-2 but the lead slipped away and the match became very tight once again. Match points were had and lost on both sides of the net but it was the LTA that took the win 15-13 in the final set.

Oscar was being given the runaround in his match which was played at a very high level against a junior who won the prestigious Orangebowl a couple of years ago. Oscar kept his cool through the championship tie break and his experience showed as he took the win 10-8 in the 3rd.

We had a brief opportunity to regroup leading 5-3 after singles knowing we only needed 2 more wins to secure our first victory in the John Dunningham Trophy.

The doubles pairings were straight forward sticking to 1&2 and 3&4 all round. The matches were pretty straight forward as well as we didn't drop a set and came storming home with a 9-3 victory and finally got our hands on the John Dunningham Trophy!

A big thank you to the LTA for hosting such a great match and well done to everyone who played and competed so well. The level was high in every match and very enjoyable to watch.

IC of GB Captain, Naomi Austen

Final result:

IC of GB defeated LTA 9-3

Naomi Cavaday lost to Issie Wong 7-5 4-6 13-15

Manisha Foster lost to Sofia Maine 6-3 6-1

Laura Slater defeated Dina Lipovski 6-2 6-3

Jess Ren defeated Ciara Moore 6-1 6-7(2) 10-6

Oscar Podlewski defeated Ben Gusic Wan 6-3 5-7 10-8

Tim Sagar lost to Joe Marzingham 4-6 6-7

Sam McNeil beat Max Carrier 6-2 3-6 10-5

Ben Rogers beat Arthur Attrill 6-4 1-6 10-2

Naomi Cavaday & Manisha Foster beat Issie Wong and Dina Lipovski 7-5 6-4

Laura Slater & Jess Ren beat Sofia Maine and Ciara Moore 6-2 6-1

Oscar Podlwski & Tim Sagar beat Ben Gusic Wan & Joe Marzingham 6-2 6-4

Sam McNeil & Ben Rogers beat Max Carrier & Arthur Attrill 6-4 6-2

IC of GB Golf Day 2021

Moor Park Golf Club

A fantastic day was had by all at the IC of GB golf day at the beautiful Moor Park Golf Club, we were treated to sunshine and blue skies to play on the amazing Moor Park course which was in fantastic condition. A total of 35 players attended the day with a 3 course meal and prize giving in the stunning clubhouse to conclude the day.

A special thanks to Moor Park for hosting the event for us.
 

Results:

Mens winner: Ross Matheson
Ladies winner: Sian Bayliss
Nearest the pin: Colin Bennett
Longest drive: Alex Newell
Team prize: Ross Matheson, Neil Howitt, Colin Bennett
 

Match Manager: David Collins

Bradfield College

Result: IC of GB won 14-7 against Bradfield College

Event Date: 18th October 2021

After missing the whole of last season it was a real pleasure to be back on court at Bradfield to play in the only fixture the IC plays against a school to play for the Henry Billington trophy.

The standard of play in this match improves every year as the tennis programme at Bradfield continues to develop and it was great to have such a close match with the ladies drawing 4 -4 in sets, and the IC men coming through 10-3  in sets (3 of which were won on tie breaks) . This meant the IC retained the Henry Billington trophy with the combined score of 14-7. The school were excellent hosts and both teams and special guests Fayleen and Tony Billington enjoyed a delicious post-match dinner in the Wardens room, a far cry from the school dinners we all remembered.

Results

Ladies

Joy Tacon and Nathalie Squire lost to T Slovak and Z. Ahmed 6-7 2-6

                                                                beat P. Longfield and R. Kuenlen 6-0 6-3

Lizzie Bloxham and Sarah Masquelier-Page lost to T Slovak and Z. Ahmed 2-6 0-6

                                                                beat P. Longfield and R. Kuenlen 6-3 6-1

Men

Jamie Muirhead and Johnny Barr beat J.Shawyer and W. Mercer 7-5 7-6

                                                                beat T. Dunlop and l. Klein 7-6

                                                                beat T. Creighton and G De Kergorlay 6-3

Mark George and Richard Ground lost to J.Shawyer and W. Mercer 7-5

                                                                lost to T. Dunlop and l. Klein 2-6 7-5 8-10 (champs breaker)

                                                                beat T. Creighton and G De Kergorlay 7-6

Andy Creighton and Finn Lester beat J.Shawyer and W. Mercer 6-1

                                                                beat T. Dunlop and l. Klein 6-3

                                                                beat T. Creighton and G De Kergorlay 6-4 6-4

Andrew Creighton

IC of GB Captain v Bradfield College 2021.

Puente Romano, Spain (Men)

Result: IC of GB Lost 5-1 to Puente Romano

Event Date: Friday 1st Oct 2021

A strong IC of GB team arrived to play the best that Spain has to offer in men’s over 45 tennis players plus an ex Wimbledon Champion. Having practised well on clay the IC of GB team were confident and fought well against an incredibly strong Puente Romano team of Francisco Clavet (ex #18 ATP) Pat Cash (ex #4 ATP and Wimbledon champion) Sergio Gomez (Ex #334 ATP) Diego Lozano (#467 ATP) amongst others.

Results

Jim May lost to Francisco Clavet 3-6, 1-6

Ross Matheson lost to Diego Lozano 1-6, 6-4, 8-10

Mark Loosemore lost to Nicolas Delgado 4-6,4-6

Johnny Barr & Gary Drake lost to Francisco Clavet & Nicolas Delgado 5-7, 5-7

Jim May & Ross Matheson lost to Pat Cash & Sergio Gomez 6-4, 1-6, 8-10

Mark Loosemore & Shaun Leleu beat Juanjo Martin & Kiko Diaz 6-4,6-4

Johnny Barr & Gary Drake lost to Pat Cash & Sergio Gomez 2-6, 4-6

Puente Romano are such wonderful hosts and this is by far and away not only the finest tennis club in Spain, but the very best 5 star resort in Europe. The hospitality of Shaun Leleu and his team at Puente Romano knows no bounds, and we are extremely grateful for their most generous support of this fixture.

Johnny Barr

IC of GB Captain v Puente Romano 2021.

IC of GB v Yorkshire

Result: IC of GB 1 - 3 Yorkshire

Event Date: 21st August 2021

Venue: Ilkley

Resuts (IC names first):

Eric Knowles /Ashley Broomhead lost to Paul Layfield / Richard Hutchinson 2-6 3-6

Simon Ickringill /  Cath Davies lost to Gareth Hutchinson / Karen Mitchell 3-6 6-3 7-10

Simon Ickringill / Eric Knowles lost to Gareth Hutchinson /Richard Hutchinson 7-6 3-6 6-10

Ashley Broomhead / Cath Davies beat Paul Layfield / Karen Mitchell score unknown

IC of GB v AELTC

Result: IC of GB 2 – 2 AELTC

Event Date: Friday 16th July 2021

The IC match against the AELTC was once again a very high standard, and was played on the Championship grass courts in blazing sunshine. The IC of GB Team of Emily Arbuthnott, Leyla Ogan, Andy Burgoyne and Hugh Jacques played fantastic tennis in both the doubles and the mixed doubles, with all matches being played in such a sporting way. This was Emily Arbuthnott's IC of GB debut and she played excellently winning both of her matches. The All England Club made us feel so welcome throughout the afternoon and after the match hosted a delicious dinner which our team thoroughly enjoyed. It was a very close resulting in a draw at 2-2.

Thank you as always to the AELTC for being such wonderful hosts for our annual fixture.

RESULTS

1st Round:

Alistair Felton & Sean Thornley vs Andy Burgoyne & Hugh Jacques     AELTC 6-2 6-2

Katie O'Brien & Karen Hunter vs Leyla Ogan & Emily Arbuthnott          ICGB 6-4 7-5

2nd Round:

Katie O'Brien & Sean Thornley vs Emily Arbuthnott & Andy Burgoyne  ICGB 6-3 6-3

Amanda Elliott & Alistair Felton vs Leyla Ogan & Hugh Jacques           AELTC 6-2 6-3

Overall Match Score                          AELTC- 2        ICGB- 2

Many congratulations to Annabel Croft for winning the 2021 IC of GB Sportsmanship Award. 

This Award is given to a British tennis player who has over the course of his/her career or in a single situation shown an admirable attitude as a sportsman or sportswoman.

The IC helps promote and renew friendships across the net and the world and encourages fair play and sportsmanship, something that Annabel has consistently done throughout her career – a former professional British No. 1 female tennis player from Kent and now a respected radio and television presenter.

After winning the 1984 Wimbledon and Australian Open girls' tournaments, Annabel won the Virginia Slims of San Diego tournament in 1985, beating Wendy Turnbull in the final in straight sets, achieving a world ranking of 24 in December that year. She played for Great Britain in the Fed Cup in 1985 and 1986 and in the Wightman Cup from 1983 to 1986.

After retiring from professional tennis at the age of only twenty-one, Annabel then turned to television presenting, starring in Treasure Hunt and Interceptor. Always a supporter of health and fitness, in 1990, Annabel released her own fitness video - Annabel Croft's Shape Tape.

Annabel has been involved in coverage of Wimbledon Tennis for the BBC, Radio 5 Live and GMTV, and has also worked for Sky Sports and Eurosport as a tennis pundit. She has appeared on UK lifestyle TV shows such as The Wright Stuff, The Entertainment Show, GMTV, Out and About and This Morning.

Annabel does a huge amount for tennis – in addition to her knowledgeable commentating, she helped establish the Annabel Croft Academy offering over 100 hours of group sessions weekly, Tennis Camps, plus overseas Tennis Holidays with over 3,000 children taking part since 2009.

Annabel's contribution to tennis is widely recognised and she is a very worthy recipient of this award.

Congraulations Annabel!

The IC of GB welcomed new members to a tennis mix in and presentation of members ties and bracelets by John Feaver and Anne Clark.

Existing members joined in with the tennis on the fantastic grass courts at The Hurlingham Club, and then everyone enjoyed food from the BBQ having woked up their appetite on the court.

A big IC welcome to our new members for 2021:

Ben Draper

Emily Arbuthnott

Sue Boulter

Martin Gillam

David Rawlinson

Chris Ornstein

Laura Deigman

Michaela Modebe

Thomas Wride

Andrew Hutchinson

Monica Becerra

Ruth Weston

Cambridge won a hard fought match on a great day at Fenner’s. With all four 3 set matches going against the IC it could have gone either way but the IC of GB were beaten by the better side on the day.
 

Result: Cambridge beat ICGB 7-4

Mikhail Kaminski vs Craig Edmondson 6-4, 6-2

Salil Navapurkar vs Alastair Filmer 4-6, 4-6

Pascal Gehlehrt Vs Jamie Muirhead 6-7, 7-5, 10-8

Dominic Pilger Vs Tim Prosser 4-6, 1-6

Patrick Smart Vs Sergey Yelnik 4-6, 6-3, 10-5

Theo Williamson Vs Jerry Garrendra 7-6, 6-0

Kaminski/Gehlehrt vs Edmondson/Filmer 6-7, 7-6, 10-4

Pilger/Victor Baycroft vs Yelnik/Garrendra 2-6, 4-6

Navapurkar/Legg vs Muirhead/Prosser 4-6, 6-7

Kaminski/Gehlehrt vs Muirhead/Prosser 6-2, 6-2

Pilger/Legg vs Yelnik/Garrendra 7-6, 6-7, 17-15

The match between the IC of GB and the Seniors Lawn Tennis Club of Great Britain has been running for over 60 years.  For many years the match has been played at St. George’s Hill Tennis Club.  There was much anticipation that the match would be on grass.  Unfortunately, a torrential down pour 2 days before meant the grass was unplayable as the area has a high water table.  It was however, warm and dry.

Michael Dawe the SLTC captain arranged an excellent meal which was taken in the splendid surroundings of the club’s lake.  No match was held last year due to the pandemic, so this match reunited tennis friends from the home counties and beyond. 

Result:  Draw 4:4 split   

Over 45: SLTC ½ : ICGB 3 ½              Over 60: SLTC 3 ½ : ICGB ½

Over 45:

Ian Udel & James Acheson-Gray vs Adam Boucher & Chris Hearn                   D 6/3/6/7

                                                      vs Richard Ground & Jon Entract                  L 4/6 2/6

Paul England & Tony Ballardie      vs Adam Boucher & Chris Hearn                  L 3/6 3/6

                                                       vs Richard Ground & Jon Entract                 L 3/6 2/6

Over 60:

Paul French & Michael Dawevs     vs Richard Walmsley & Tony King                W 6/1 6/5

                                                       vs Peter Hannon & Boyd Cuthbertson          W 3/2 6/0

Arun  Vethakhan & Godfrey Evans vs Richard Walmsley & Tony King               W 6/2 6/3

                                                        vs Peter Hannon & Boyd Cuthbertson         D 6/3 6/7

I am sure all members of the International Club of Great Britain have seen the sad news of the death of His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. 

He was President of the IC of GB from 1962-1965.  On behalf of the IC of GB, we will be sending condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and all the Royal Family.

John Feaver
President, IC of GB

Congratulations to Gordon Reid for winning the IC of GB Sportsmanship Award 2020. Please see below the presentation speech given by Anne Clark (Chair of the IC of GB) last week at the AELTC.

''Firstly, many thanks to the AELTC for kindly allowing us to present this special Award at the Club.

The IC of GB Sportsmanship Award is given to a British tennis player who has over the course of his/her career or in a single situation has shown an admirable attitude as a sportsman or sportswoman.

The list of previous winners is impressive and I have great pleasure in helping present the 2020 award to Gordon Reid.

The IC helps promote and renew friendships across the net and the world and encourages fair play and sportsmanship, something that Gordon has consistently done.

Gordon relished the opportunity to remain in the sport discovering wheelchair tennis after developing a rare neurological condition, transverse myelitis, in 2004. Since then his achievements have been remarkable – I won’t list them all as I said this would be a short speech but to pick out a few, Gordon achieved the number 1 spot in singles in 2016, doubles in 2015; winner and finalist in many grand slams (singles and doubles) and a gold medal winner Paralympics 2016 (singles) and silver medal in the doubles.

Gordon has been rightly recognised many times for his fair play and sportsmanship throughout his tennis career and I know is an inspiration to many with his tenacity, courage and enthusiasm.

A very worthy winner of this special award.''

The IC of GB welcomed their new members on Saturday 1^st February, at the Wimbledon Club.

A social mix-in was held at 5.30-7pm before reception drinks and dinner. Nine new members attended, with over 30 members and guests in total.

After a lovely three course meal, Benson Greatrex gave an overview of the IC Council, the IC of GB and a run through of the key fixtures and events that take place during the year. New members were then presented with their IC of GB ties and bracelets for the men and women respectively.  Anne Clark was introduced as the 2020 Captain, as was Susie Dart, in her New Member Liaison role.

Many thanks to Clare Wood for organising and to The Wimbledon Club for hosting us so well, once again.

2020 New Members

Scott Clayton         

Jess Ren               

Sian Bayliss           

Jamie Muirhead               

Matt James            

Senka Softic          

Debbie Louise Hale

Candy Reid Harrop 

Gillian Brown          

Chris Hill                

Malcolm Bryant

James Cluskey (visiting)

8th October 2019

Bradfield College

Result: IC of GB win 10-3

 

On the 8th October, the IC team of 6 men and 4 women played in the annual fixture against Bradfield College for the Henry Billington Salver, kindly donated last year by his son Tony. The weather in west Berkshire was challenging but only meant we had to utilise their wonderful indoor acrylic courts until the weather cleared and we could revert to the 6 outdoor clay courts to conclude the match.

Following some very close fought matches the final score of 6-3 for the men and 4-0 for the women was more lop sided than the tennis suggested. The quality of the tennis on display from the Bradfield team was the highest I have seen in the 8 years I have been playing in the fixture, and there is more to come as the tennis programme continues to develop under the stewardship of Damian Fuller. One particular low light for the IC (and highlight for Bradfield of course) was the loss by Andy Creighton and Johnny Barr to the Bradfield first pair of Angus Creighton and his partner Bailey McAtee.  

The teams retired to a private room at the Bull Inn, a local hostelry, for a wonderful dinner hosted by the school where Tony Billington presented the Henry Billington Salver to the winning Captains.

Thanks to all the members of the IC listed below for taking time out of their busy schedules on a Tuesday afternoon in October to play and the aim for next year is to have teams of 6 for both men and women (to reflect the strength in depth of the Bradfield teams now coming through.)

Fleur Clegg
Alison Denly
Nathalie Squires
Alison Longfield (guest) 

Andy Creighton
Johnny Barr
David Collins
Lewis Barnes
Richard Ground
Simon Curtis

IC of GB v IC of France

4/5 October 2019

Match venue: Queens Club

 

GB WINS 27 – 7

GB Team – Mark Beim, Simon Curtis, Oscar Podlewski, Roger Taylor, Henk Hijeboer, James Marsalak, Andy Philips, Chris Hearn, Robin Drysdale, Mike Dawe, Alec Allen, Lee Childs, Paul Martin, Rupert North, David Collins, Jo Shepherd, Ali Innes, Pat Wire, Judy Horn, Anne Clark, Nuala Kalfayan

Match Report by Mark Beim

This year our match was held at the prestigious Queens Club. We had a strong team with many great matches played over the two days. Thanks to all my players for playing and thanks for Queens for hosting and the delicious lunches and dinners. We were royally looked after.

 

Match highlights – wonderful dinner with entertaining speeches from Benson, Clare Wood, Mark,  Michel Leclercq and the French captain Heiner Tadault plus a fun game of ‘who am I’ which caused a lot of entertainment.

 

Henk had to described himself as Dracula and Jack the Ripper! 

 

Thanks to all my players for playing and winning!

 

Special thanks to Ross Niland and Lee Childs (in particular) who helped greatly in organising the event.

IC of GB Team with our amazing Puente Romano hosts

With great expectation, our team of Lewis Burton / Jim May / Ross Matheson / Gary Drake / Shaun Leleu & Johnny Barr headed off to the fabulous Puente Romano Resort in Marbella, Spain to take on the might of the Spanish team.

In previous years Puente Romano have fielded ex Davis Cup players and Grand Slam Champions such as Pat Cash, and this year was no exception with Puente Romano fielding Pato Clavet (ex ATP #18 with career wins over Messrs Agassi / Sampras amongst many others) and his brother Jose (Pepo) Clavet who himself made the 3^rd round at Roland Garros and is the current coach to Feliciano Lopez.

Although the match was on the Saturday our IC of GB team flew out on Thursday and had 2 days of hard clay court training sessions, followed by watching the Seniors Masters Cup also being held at Puente Romano the same weekend. With players such as Tommy Haas, David Ferrer , Tommy Robredo and Feliciano Lopez our IC of GB team were inspired and came out of the blocks fast and furiously against our elegant hosts.

IC of GB Team 3pts v Puente Romano 4pts

Lewis Burton lost to Pato Clavet 1-6 0-6

Jim May lost to Nicolas Delgado 4-6, 6-2, 0-1 (7) *

Ross Matheson beat Ales Dvorak 6-1, 6-3

Shaun Leleu beat Antonio Diaz 6-1 / 6-3

Johnny Barr / Gary Drake beat Rene Primelles 6-4,6-0

Johnny Barr / Gary Drake lost to Jose Clavet & Sergio Gomez 5-7, 6-7

Jim May / Ross Matheson lost to Jose Clavet / Pato Clavet 8-10 in a pro set**

As the match lasted so long in the searing heat and due to the fact that both Clavet brothers had to do the match warm ups for David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez in their 7pm it was agreed by both team captains that with the match tied at 3-3 that a pro set in front of a packed Puente Romano Crowd who had gathered to watch The Seniors Masters Event would be a fitting finale.

Special thanks and sincere gratitude to Shaun Leleu of the Puente Romano resort and Bill Doyle the Puente Romano captain for their incredible hospitality in their generous hosting, but most importantly for the fabulous teams they put out against us with players who play hard and fairly plus can socialise in equal gusto. This is truly the most exceptional fixture and it is an absolute pleasure to arrange, play and captain it – competition will be hot for places as we aim to compete even harder in 2020.

Johnny Barr (Match Captain IC of GB v Puente Romano 2019)

IC Week 2019

8th - 12th September

Full results can be found here

The ladies were crowned deserving champions beating France in the final, while the men narrowly lost to Germany in the 3rd place play-off, with France winning the event. We were very well looked after - Le Touquet is a fantastic town to play tennis in.

IC Week - Men's Event - Match Report

Men's Captain Nick Adams:

Team: Lewis Burton, Oscar Podlewski, Seb Jackson, Nick Adams, Andy Burgoyne

The men's IC Week event was attended by 8 teams, a number of which fielded very strong individuals.  The host nation had the over 45 world champion and a past over 45 world champion (and past ATP no 61) on their seniors team, as well as a player who was until last year 170 in the world leading their open bracket.  It was no surprise that they ran out comfortable winners of the competition.  Other teams also had strong players representing their teams - Michael Berrer, with a win against Rafael Nadal in 2016, playing the tour until 2017 and inside top 50 at peak, turned out for Germany, and Luis Hererer, also top 50 at peak played for Mexico.

The GB team, represented by Lewis Burton and Oscar Podlewski in the Open, and Seb Jackson, Andy Burgoyne and Nick Adams in the over 45s finished 4th.  The team played well to beat Luxembourg 4-2 in the quarter finals, winning both doubles comfortably to clinch the tie.  However, the French were simply too strong at singles in the semifinals, and the team were 4-0 down before the doubles matches.  In the 3rd/4th play-off vs Germany, we were pipped at the post, losing on a deciding champions tie-break with Michael Berrer proving the difference between the teams - experience certainly counted!

The hospitality was fantastic, with the French IC putting on very generous evening events throughout the week.  As a team we were chaperoned by 1967 Roland Garros winner Francoise Durr, who was tireless in her efforts to ensure we enjoyed ourselves.  We agreed to award Francoise membership of the IC of Great Britain.

IC Week - Ladies Event - Match Report

Ladies Captain: Leyla Ogan 

Team: Katie O’ Brien; Lucie Ahl and Leyla Ogan 

We had a great week in Le Touquet competing in IC week. On day 1 ee were drawn against Ireland first round and we had a 3/0. Katie was competing in the open age group and Lucie in the over 40s. Lucie and myself paired up for the doubles. We had a great start to the event and beat the Irish 3/0. The afternoon was spent relaxing and exploring around the town. In the evening we had a really nice dinner on the harbour and were treated to the train ride in and out of town. 

We played Germany in the semi finals: We knew this was going to be a tough day as we knew the girls from various events. We went into the doubles at 1-1 after Lucie had a tough match and Katie played awesome to level the tie. Katie and Lucie battled thru an epic doubles having lost the first set 6-0 but then won 10-8 in the champs tie break to put us into the finals. 

The ladies and the men enjoyed a cycle round town with the other teams and had a great sightseeing trip. 

Day 3 was Finals Day v France followed by a Gala Dinner. Lucie was first up against Olivia Ferry and started out so strong. Her experience prevailed and put GB in the lead. Katie was on next in the open age group. Katie who barely made a mistake all week continued her form and got the job done. GB beat France 2-0 in the finals and we were the champions. We were presented at the Gala Dinner 

We all had a great week and enjoyed the hospitality of the French. It was great to meet new people and catch up with old tennis friends. 

Great trip and thanks for the support everyone

Result: USA win 20-16 and retain the trophy

The 2019 Ted Avory Cup was held in Berkeley, California from the 27^th-30^th August 2019. The bi-annual fixture between the USA and GB took place at Berkeley Tennis Club just outside of San Francisco. Both countries fielded strong teams with players from the open to the 75s age categories.

20 matches were played on day 1, with many tightly fought battles and some stand out matches being played on court number 3 in particular. First up was Michael Dawe who lost out to Paul Wulf in a thrilling match ending in 3^rd set tiebreak which went to Wulf 10-6. Then came the battle of the Judy’s who fought out a 3 hour epic match with Judy Horn narrowly losing out to Judy Newman 10-7 in the 3^rd set tiebreak. Henk Nijeboer, Simon Bramwell, Tash Starling, Ali Innes and Phillip Siviter all picked up great singles wins whilst we also had some brilliant doubles results. The open/30s mens doubles match was of a particularly high standard and GB got the win with a great performance from Mark Whitehouse and David Culshaw. The day ended with the US leading 11-9.

The official match dinner was held on the Wednesday evening at the Claremont Country Club. Speeches were made by both captains and honorary memberships were given out from both the US IC and the IC of GB. Erika Smith and Paul Wulf were made honorary members of the IC of GB and Amanda Elliott and Philip Siviter were made honorary members of the US IC.

On day two 16 matches were played with notable singles wins from Mark Whitehouse, Tash Starling and Henk Nijeboer, followed by some very close doubles matches where we won a couple in the 10 point tiebreaks – revenge for the previous day! Congratulations to Henk Nijeboer and Tash Starling for winning all their matches over the 2 days. The fixture ended with the US retaining the trophy by claiming victory by 20 rubbers to 16.

The IC’s of GB and the USA hosted a Special Olympics clinic on the Friday morning as part of the philanthropic movement of the IC, before visiting the Napa Valley wine district for a wine tour in the afternoon.

Many thanks to the US IC for a fantastic match and hospitality, and also to the GB team for being brilliant both on and off the court!

GB Team

Tash Starling, Amanda Elliott (c), Ali Innes, Claire Haslett, Karen Hunter, Susie Dart, Karen Cass, Judy Horn, Anne Clark, Mark Whitehouse, David Culshaw, Simon Bramwell, Paul Scullard, Graham Neale, Michael Dawe, Phillip Siviter, Henk Nijeboer

US Team

Julie Silverira, Shannon Gordon-Carney, Mary Beth-Williams, Judy Newman, Anne Young, Maria Smith, Lisa Cheng, April Jourdan, Makenna Thiel, Mai Ichikawa-Abel, Andre Barnes, Francesca La'O, Mylene Martin, AlisaYee, Erika Smith (c), Paul Wulf, Mike Tammen, Joshua Osswald, Tyler Browne, Joe Bachmann, Jeff Greenwald, Brent Abel, Andre Dome, Shaun Choudhury, Rick Fried, Nick Brunner, Charlie Hoeveler (c)

Results in full below.

DAY ONE                                                                                                        DAY TWO

Date -  17-18th August

The IC of GB welcomed the IC of Norway for the first time, with the match taking place at the scenic St George’s Hill Club in Weybridge.

The Norwegians arrived on the Saturday however plans for some grass court practice were scuppered by the weather. In the evening we had an informal meal before the tennis on the Sunday. We welcomed Mike Carroll and Julian Tatum as guests from the IC Council to introduce them to the away team, many of whom were playing an IC match for the first time.

On Sunday some morning showers prevented the match from taking place on the grass, so we played on the artificial clay. GB benefited from home advantage winning 7-1, which included some closely fought matches. We look forward to arranging the away fixture in 2021. 

Results

Tash Starling & Oscar Podlewski bt Karoline Steiro & Marcus Andresen 6-3 7-6

Venki Sundaram & Chris Clark lost to Karl Henrik Bredvold 0-6 6-0 1-0

Henk Nijeboer & Terry Clarke (guest) bt Thomas Wettergreen & Iver Helgaker 4-6 6-1 1-0

Tash Starling bt Karoline Steiro 6-0 6-3

Oscar Podlewski bt Marcus Andresen 6-2 6-3

Henk Nijeboer & Chris Clark bt Iver Helgaker & Carsten Greve 7-6 6-1

Max Koep (guest) by Thomas Wettergreen 6-3 6-3

Jasper Richardson (guest) bt Karl Henrik Bredvold 6-1 6-3

The IC of GB hosted Fitwilliam LTC on the 10th August at Moor Park. The match was played on the grass with the IC team captained by Paddy May.

After some hard fought matches Fitzwilliam edged the IC of GB by 5 rubbers to 4.

Fitzwilliam LTC beat IC of GB 5-4

Results in full below, (Fitzwilliam players first)

Singles:

Sean Collins beat  Paddy May 6/3 2/6 10/7

Sean McCullagh beat Dave Culshaw 6/4 7/5

Ben Dillon lost to Gary Thompson 2/6 0/6

Graham Smyth beat James Wrisdale 4/6 7/6 10/7

Sarah Curran lost to Laura Morrill 3/6 1/6

Alexandra Pickerill lost to Emma Kudzin 4/6 3/6

Doubles:

Sean Collins & Sean McCullagh beat Dave Culshaw & Paddy May 2/6 6/3 10/7

Ben Dillon Graham Smyth beat Gary Thompson & James Wrisdale 6/2 7/6

Sarah Curran & Alexandra Pickerill lost to Laura Morrill & Emma Kudzin 3/6 1/6

Fitzwilliam win 5/4

Match Report

Fixture: IC of GB vs Public School Old Boys LTA

Result: IC of GB Won 6-3 

On Saturday 3rd August the IC of GB took on the Public School Old Boys (PSOBLTA) at Stoke Park. It was great to see a mixture of new and established names from both the I/C and PUBs teams faces playing in the fixture. Once again the fixture involved some high quality tennis, with the result going in favour of the I/C by 6 rubbers to 3. A number of matches were especially keenly fought, with the pick of the first round matches being a narrow win for the I/C first pair of Nathan Rooney and Simon Dickson over PUBS second pair James Marsalek and Tom Colautti to edge I/C into a 2-1 lead. The win for the I/C was sealed after another particularly high quality match in which the I/C pair of David Culshaw and Barney Smith edged out Marsalek and Colautti 6-3, 7-6. Despite a number of close results, all matches were played in good spirits and in such fantastic surroundings on the grass courts of Stoke Park.  Our thanks go out to Stoke Park for allowing us to use the venue once again for this fixture, for feeding and watering both teams and of course to all of those who played. Special thanks also go to Andrew Smith for being stand in photographer!

Results in full: (IC of GB team first)

Nathan Rooney & Simon DIckson beat Nick Nugent & Ben Draper 6-1 6-0

Nathan Rooney & Simon DIckson beat James Marsalek & Tom Colautti 5-7 7-6 10-6

Nathan Rooney & Simon DIckson beat Jamie Murihead & Nick Ames 6-1 6-1

Barney Smith & David Culshaw beat Nick Nugent & Ben Draper 7-5 7-5

Barney Smith & David Culshaw beat James Marsalek & Tom Colautti 6-3 7-6

Barney Smith & David Culshaw beat Jamie Murihead & Nick Ames 6-2 6-3

Hugh Jaques & Felipe Bunster lost to Nick Nugent & Ben Draper 2-6 1-6

Hugh Jaques & Felipe Bunster lost to James Marsalek & Tom Colautti 4-6 0-6

Hugh Jaques & Felipe Bunster lost to Jamie Murihead & Nick Ames 2-6 2-6

IC of GB v Yorkshire at Ilkley. 

The score ended up a draw 2-2. Match results as follows, IC names first.

Ian Blakeman/ Ashley Broomhead bt Andrew Hutchinson/ Paul Layfield 6-4 4-6 6-3
David Brown ( guest )/ Sarah Thomas lost Gareth Hutchinson / Karen Mitchell 4-6 4-6
Ian Blakeman / David Brown bt  Andrew & Gareth Hutchinson 6-3 7-6
Ashley Broomhead/ Sarah Thomas lost Paul Layfield/ Karen Mitchell 1- 6 5-7

The sun came out which made for a grass court contest in a closely fought match. Following the match drinks and dinner at The Fleece pub, Addingham.

The IC team of Jeff Hunter, Oscar Podlewski, Fergus O'Connell, Tim Matthewson, Matt Morrow, Sergey Yelnik and Mattis Wetzel won 7-2. The IC edged a hard fought singles round 4-2, before showing its doubles experience by winning all 3 doubles rubbers.

The match was played on grass at Iffley Road in Oxford. Our thanks go to the Oxford captain, Oliver Nunn, and his team for hosting us. 

GB v Ireland Results (IC of Ireland win 10 rubbers to 5)

Open Singles

Felipe Bunster v James Cluskey 6-1, 6-0 IRE

Morgan Dunne Ciaran Fitzgerald 6-2, 6-4 IRE 

Open Doubles

Felipe Bunster & Morgan Dunne v James Cluskey & Ciaran Fitzgerald 6-2, 6-1 IRE 

1st Round Seniors

Karen Cass & Judy Horn v Lesley O’Halloran & Carmel O’Hare 6-4, 6-4 IRE 

Siobhan Nicholson & Anne Clark v Joanne Murnaghan & Emma Doyle 6-4, 6-1 GB 

Dalton Odendaal & Raj Ranawat v Bryan Smyth & Brian Lawlor 6-2, 6-0 GB 

Anders Johansson & Peter Hannon v Bernard McCormack & Pat Guiry 6-3, 6-4 IRE 

2nd Round Seniors

Karen Cass & Judy Horn v Joanne Murnaghan & Emma Doyle 6-3, 5-7 (10-6) IRE 

Siobhan Nicholson & Anne Clark v Lesley O’Halloran & Carmel O’Hare 6-3, 6-1 IRE 

Dalton Odendaal & Raj Ranawat v Bernard McCormack & Pat Guiry 4-6, 6-3 (10-6) IRE 

Anders Johansson & Peter Hannon v Bryan Smyth & Brian Lawlor 4-6, 6-2 (10-6) GB 

Mixed Seniors

Siobhan Nicholson & Dalton Odendaal v Lesley O’Halloran & Bernard McCormack 6-3, 6-4 GB 

Judy Horn & Raj Ranawat v Carmel O’Hare & Pat Guiry 6-4, 3-6 (10-7) IRE 

Karen Cass & Anders Johansson v Joanne Murnaghan & Bryan Smyth 6-2, 4-6 (10-3) IRE 

Anne Clark & Peter Hannon v Emma Doyle & Brian Lawlor 6-3, 6-1 GB

AELTC vs IC of GB

19 July 2019

 

Melanie South & Georgie MacPhail        vs         Karen Hunter & Claire Haslett    AELTC 7-6 (4) 6-4

Sean Thornley & Rob Blythe                  vs        Alistair Filmer & Chris Clarke     AELTC 6-2 6-3

Melanie South & Sean Thornley             vs        Alistair Filmer & Claire Haslett    AELTC 6-3 6-3

 

4^th Rubber was a dead rubber due to Karen Hunter withdrawal

 

Rob Blythe & Georgie MacPhail             vs         Andy Kennaugh & Chris Clarke  IC 1-6 6-1 10-6

 

Match score 

AELTC 3           IC GB 0

 

The Royal IC of Belgium was once again the host of IC Council sponsored events, this time it was El Juego de Pelota (a repeat of 2 years ago) and La Carreta. 

El Juego was played for 2 men of 70+ and 2 men of 75+ playing one singles each and a doubles in each age group. La Carreta is for one woman of 50+ and one of 60+. Both GB teams had a reserve player with them, which proved a good move. The men’s team consisted of Norman Church, Mark Cox, Alan Purnell, Henk Nijeboer and Brian Snapes. The women’s team had Teresa Catlin, Marjorie Love and Dee Oakley. 

The women did very well in beating France 3-0 in the group stage with a particularly noteworthy win by Marjorie against Caroline Glaszmann by 10-5 in the third set champions tie-break. Belgium was also defeated 3-0 which meant that GB got through to play Germany in the final. This was always going to be a tough match and again Marjorie did very well, but lost by 10-4 in the third set tie-break. The German no. 1 Anke Wurst was too strong for Teresa, so GB finished honourably as runner-up having won the trophy in Heidelberg and Sofia before. 

The men had a close first match against Belgium with both 70s singles lost, but the vital 70s doubles was won by Alan and Brian by 10-5 in the third set tie-break ensuring a 4-2 win. Germany was defeated by 5-1 with only Alan’s single against Alex Kurucz going the other way. In the final GB lost against the reputable French team by 4-1 with only Mark winning his single against old nemesis Patrice Beust. The French team thus won the trophy for the third time running after Mexico in 2014 and Brussels in 2017. All three victories were with the same core of Michel Leclercq, Patrice Beust and Francois Pierson. 

The event was held at the marvellous Royal Tennis Club of Liege, no doubt one of the most beautiful clubs in Belgium. As always the warm hospitality of the Belgian IC under Michel de Marneffe knew no limits with excellent lunches every day, a BBQ at the club and two dinners in upmarket restaurants in and around Liege. We thank the Belgians for all their efforts. 

Photo albums can be seen on the website of the Belgian IC here

IC of GB President Mark Cox presented Sue Barker with the IC of GB Sportsmanship Award in the Last 8 Club on Thursday evening. There were a number of people present including Heinz Gunthardt who won The Junior Boys Singles at Roland Garros in 1976, the year that Sue won the French Open. Mark spoke very eloquently about Sue’s career both as a player and in broadcasting. Sue accepted the Award most graciously.. 

Sue reached a career-high singles ranking of world number 3, won 15 WTA singles titles and the French Open in 1976.