Potter Cup 2023

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