Upcoming Events
Artificial Clay Courts Coming to Wargrave
Target - end of April
In a recent EGM vote, Wargrave Tennis Club members voted overwhelming in favour of a proposal to resurface two of our existing hard courts with a modern all-weather, artificial clay surface. The EGM voting ran for three weeks and ended on the 15th February, with 85% of members voting in support of the committee’s proposals. The new courts have now been ordered and we are hoping that they will be laid by the end of April, in time for the start of the new season. Artificial clay is popular with many other clubs in the area and provides a safer playing surface in wet and cold conditions. It is also softer and more comfortable underfoot, helping to reduce playing injuries. If demand to play on the new courts is high, the Committee have promised to look at plans for a further 2 artificial clay courts in the next 12-24 months.
The Club Chair with members Michael Thompson, Nicola Chand and Gavin Petersen on a trial session of artificial clay at Ascot Tennis Club
Recent Events
Team Success in Berkshire Winter Leagues
February
Congratulations to our Men’s 1st team who convincingly beat Bracknell 4-0 in the final game of the Berkshire Winter League. This important result secured our position in the County’s 1st Division for another season, and together with our new clay courts, will help attract even more players to the Club. For other results, our men’s 2nd team narrowly missed promotion from Division 3, with the 3rd and 4th teams ended up mid-table in their leagues. For the ladies, the 1st and 3rd teams both finished a respectable mid-table in Division 2 and 5, although the 2nd and 4th teams were both relegated. While all three of our mixed teams had solid results to hold their positions in Division 1, 3 and 5 respectively. A total of 66 members played for our teams this winter with Gary Westwood and Bev Birkett coming top of the list for most matches played. Playing for our teams is open to any member, with team practice sessions run every Wednesday evening.
Members of the Men’s 1st Team (Chris Brimms, Head Coach Ollie Brown, Josh Aston and Jeremy Morgan) who beat Bracknell 4-0 in the final game of the season.
Bobble Hat Tennis Tournament
Tuesday 26th December
Great fun today at the Bobble Hat tennis. Team Holly were the final winners….beating Team Ivy 76 games to 73.
Team Tennis - Summer League Results
Congratulations to the 71 Club members who played for our 17 adult teams that were entered into this year’s summer league competitions. This included participation from several new members who have joined us since April. Overall, a total of five teams gained promotion, with three topping their respective leagues. We also had some very good individual results against leading clubs such as Windsor, Maidenhead and Bracknell. Playing for our teams is open to any member, with team practice sessions run every Wednesday evening.
| Team | Berkshire League | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Ladies 1 | Team Tennis Division 2 | 1st (Promoted) |
| Mens 1 | Team Tennis Group 1 | 4th |
| Mens 2 | Team Tennis Group 3 | 2nd (Promoted) |
| Mens 3 | Team Tennis Group 4 | 4th |
| Ladies 1 | Summer League Div 1 | 6th |
| Ladies 2 | Summer League Div 3A | 2nd |
| Ladies 3 | Summer League Div 6A | 2nd (Promoted) |
| Ladies 4 | Summer League Div 6B | 3rd |
| Mens 1 | Summer League Div 2 | 5th |
| Mens 2 | Summer League Div 4B | 1st (Promoted) |
| Mens 3 | Summer League Div 5A | 4th |
| Mens 4 | Summer League Div 7B | 5th |
| Ladies +40 1 | Summer League Div 2 | 1st (Promoted) |
| Ladies +40 2 | Summer League Div 3 | 4th |
| Ladies +40 3 | Summer League Div 4 | 6th |
| Mens +45 1 | Summer League Div 1 | 5th |
| Mens +45 2 | Summer League Div 3 | 3rd |
Mens 1st Team who won 3.1 vs Caversham Park: From right to left: Ollie Brown, Michael Ilott, James Mcllwraith and Freddie Brady
Club Finals Day
Sunday 24th September
We had a very successful Club Finals Day on the 24th September, with around 80 competitors and spectators attending throughout the day. In the morning, Jeremy Cooke and Raman Kapoor were the top two players in our fun social morning competition. In the afternoon, the main finals matches took place, together with a highly successful under 9 regional junior competition. All the finals matches were closely fought with Elliott Kemp our overall men’s champion, and in a match played earlier in the week, Liz Hindley was the overall women’s champion. For the juniors, Finley Hodgkins was the winner of the Under 14s competition and Kabir Khurana was the winner of the Under 12s category. Full results are listed below together with some photos from the day. Many congratulations to all the finalists and huge thanks to Tom Lewis, our hard-working Tournament organiser
| Competition | Champions | Runners Up |
|---|---|---|
| Men's Singles | Elliot Kemp | Jamie Hosie |
| Ladies Singles | Liz Hindley | Bev Birkett |
| Men's Doubles | Elliot Kemp & Jamie Hosie | Rob Knight & Charles Freeman |
| Ladies Doubles | Rebecca Salisbury-Beard & Men Aldridge | Pippa Mcllwraith & Steph Aston |
| Mixed Doubles | Julia Howes & Kieran Martin-Davis | Liz Tripp & John Evans |
| Juniors Under 14 | Finley Hodgkins | Will Copland |
| Juniors Under 12 | Kabir Khurana | Josh Hodgkins |
| Social Competition | Jeremy Cooke | Raman Kapoor |
Men's singles finalists
Men's doubles finalists
Ladies doubles finalists
Mixed doubles finalists
Junior singles finalists
Social competition entrants
Social competition winners
Spectators
July Open Day
Sunday 23rd July
We ran another successful Open Day in July with over 40 guests enjoying a range of activities, including free coaching from Ollie Brown and Pete Bresnen. The day was part of a national event sponsored by the Lawn Tennis Association, to encourage more people to give tennis a try. From the 40 who attended, we were delighted to welcome 10 new members to the Club. In July, our membership was in line with our growth in 2022, including a record number of adult members. Our plans are still to encourage and grow our membership, with an objective of reaching over 400 members by 2025
March Open Day
Sunday 26th March
Over 70 people braved the weather to enjoy some fun tennis and free coaching at Wargrave Tennis Club’s Big Tennis Open Day on Sunday March 26th. The afternoon was all about having fun for the whole family, with 54 guests meeting Club members and Wargrave’s new LTA coaching team, Peter Bresnen and Ollie Brown.
A range of free coaching sessions were offered for juniors and adults, including a high energy cardio tennis work out. A few kids played with the Tennis Factory equipment and two adults even tried their hand with the automatic ball machine. To date, 15 of our guests have now joined the Club.
The open day kicked off the new tennis season at Wargrave, and new members are always welcome. The Club has eight high-quality all-weather courts, and in 2022 we installed new competition standard LED floodlighting on all courts. Every season the Club enters up to 15 teams in the Berkshire Leagues; runs an active singles box league; offers 5 weekly social tennis club seasons; and supports a thriving section for junior tennis.
Adult guests just about to play cardio tennis
Coach Peter Bresnen with junior guests
Coach Ollie Brown with junior guests
Ian Hardie-Gleed with children Cruz and Wellie
Teresa Chow with Tristan and Kriste
Matilda Wooton (our youngest guest + new member) with coach Pete Bresnen
Winter Season Team Resaults
March 2023
Huge congratulations to all our teams for some outstanding results in the recent Berkshire Winter Leagues. I am delighted to report that five of our eight teams came top of their divisions, including the ladies 2nds, 3rds and 4ths, together with the men's 2nds and 3rds. Our men's 1st team narrowly missed top spot, but are now promoted to the 1st division for next season. This is a fantastic achievement for the Club and for all players involved. Fingers crossed for similar results in the Summer leagues.
Annual General Meeting and Membership Survey
Tuesday 15th November
Our Annual General Meeting was held on the 15th November. A total of 35 members attended the main meeting (22 at the Cricket Club and 13 via ZOOM), with a further 82 members providing feedback and votes via an online survey that was run for 8 days. In the voting, 99% of members approved the 13 committee appointments, and 80% supported the 7% fee increase recommendation from 1st April 2023. In the membership satisfaction survey (results below), 93% of members said they “enjoyed being a member of the Club” and 90% said “they would recommend the Club to a friend”.
View the AGM Minutes
October 20/20 Competition
Thursday 17th October
A merry band of 16 players braved blustery winds, to play in October’s 20/20 Social Competition. It is a fun format with players competing in three separate doubles matches of 40 points each. The top four players in October were Bev Birkett (78 points); Nick Wright (73 points); Jake Butterfly (66 points) and Sue Gutierrez (64 points). This year, 50 members have taken part in five social competitions, with winter events being played under our new LED floodlights. Based on results from all competitions, the leading players this season are Alex Bishop, Lawrie Frew, Bev Birkett and Liz Tripp. The next competition is on 27th December (starting at 11am) and is open to all members, plus their family members and friends.
Wargrave Tennis Finals Day
Sunday 18th September
After a break of three years due to covid restrictions, Wargrave Tennis Club held its annual Finals Day Competition on Sunday 18th September. Over 50 spectators and finalists enjoyed the September sunshine and a day of high-quality competitive tennis.
The day started at 10am with a Juniors Tournament organised by Bev Birkett. The nine finalists played some spirited tennis in a timed singles format. The overall winner was Robert Jones, beating Oliver Nazzarri in a close and well fought match. This was followed at 12 noon by a timed adult’s doubles competition, with 16 players playing in two separate box leagues. Bjorn Odenhammar and Richard Knight were the overall victors, winning the final 6-3 against Chris Copeland and Stephen Stewart.
Some of the finalists at the Wargrave Tennis Club Annual Finals Day
Finalists in the junior competition, won by Robert Jones (center back row)
After a pause for a BBQ lunch, the main singles finals got underway. In the ladies competition, Liz Hindley was the winner, beating Denise Peet, with her range of strong and consistent ground strokes. In the men’s final, Tim Janisch won a closely fought battle against Kieran Martin-Davis, saving 3 match points to win a tense championship tie break 12-10.
Ladies singles final, won by Liz Hindley
Men's singles final, won by Tim Janisch
The day was concluded with our two doubles finals. In the ladies event, Sue Gutierrez and Jenny Harding came from behind in tight match, winning a championship tie break to beat Elizabeth Hindley and Rebecca Salisbury-Beard. The men’s doubles final was equally close, with Tim Janisch and Kieran Martin-Davis recovering from their exploits in the singles competition, to beat Chris Brims and Jon McCarthy in two sets.
Ladies doubles final, won by Sue Gutierrez and Jenny Harding
Men's doubles final, won by Tim Janisch and Kieran Martin-Davis
Congratulations to all the finalists and many thanks to the spectators and other members for supporting this important event in the Club’s calendar. Special thanks to Tom Lewis for organising the main competitions and for the overall day; to Bev Birkett for running the Junior Competition; to Jack Cleveland for running the BBQ; to Annie Moore for awarding the prizes; and to all the members who brought along such delicious cakes and brownies!
Finalists of the Adults Timed Competition
July 20/20 Competition
Thursday 28th July
We had 24 players competing for the July 20/20 cup, playing under our new flood lights for the very first time. The winners of this month’s competition were Alex Bishop and William Fisher, winning the final 21 – 16 against Chris Reid and Richard Etheridge. The other semi-finalists this month were Catherine Mun-Gavin, Nick Wright, Chris Belton and Nicola Chand.
Wargrave Big Tennis Day 2022
Sunday 18th July
Great weather for our Big Tennis Day, with over 100 guests attending. See video below for highlights.
School County Competition - Silver Medal Winners
Saturday 2nd July
Congratulations to the Silver-medal-winning Robert Piggott team after their performance in the school county competition at Bisham Abbey yesterday! They played really well to beat 7 other schools in Wokingham borough and then 8 teams from the rest of the county. All Wargrave tennis club players!
June 20/20 Competition
Thursday 23rd June
Congratulations to Wendy Franklin and Lawrie Frew who won June’s 20/20 Tournament, winning a closely fought final against Lizz Tripp and Nicola Chand. The event was the second of four monthly tournaments designed to encourage fun and competitive play for players of all standards and ability.
May 20/20 Competition
Thursday 26th May
Congratulations to Sue Gutierrez and Christine Reid who won our inaugural Thursday Night 20/20 Club Night Tournament, winning a closely fought final, 21-16 against Denise Peet and Richard Vertigan. The event was the first of four monthly tournaments designed to encourage fun and competitive play for all standards of players. Everyone was randomly drawn with a partner, and then played three short 40 point matches. The top 8 players qualified for the semi-finals while everyone else had a glass of wine!
Easter Tournament
Monday 18th April
Well done to all the players who took part in our Easter American Family Tournament. We had 24 players in the main competition, initially playing three “12 game matches” in three separate groups. After a break for cake and prosecco, the top eight players took part in a “fast-4” semi-final and final format, with Charles Freeman and Wendy Franklin the overall winners. In addition to the main competition, ten junior players had some fun games and drills with Johnny Combes, one of our excellent Junior Club Coaches.
Club Members Go Green with LED Lighting
Tuesday 1st March
Over 70% of all adult members have recently taken part in a 4-week EGM voting process to consider three potential investment options for the Club to follow this coming season. This included “no investment” (option 1); investment in modern LED floodlighting on all eight courts (option 2); or to replace two of our existing eight asphalt courts with all-weather artificial clay (option 3).
To help make the final decision, members were given two votes. In the first vote, 100 members (72%) voted in favour of proceeding with either LED lighting or artificial clay courts. In the second vote, 79 members (61%) voted in favour of proceeding with new LED lighting, supported by a 6% increase in annual fees. This compared to 50 members (39%) who voted for the artificial clay.
Other News
Junior Tennis Update – Busy Club Nights and Teams
Katie Hodgkins, our new Juniors Co-ordinator, has been hard working with our coaching team to support the growing popularity of junior tennis at Wargrave. We now have teams entering all age groups in the Berkshire Leagues and there are a number of junior tournaments planned in the diary for the rest of the year. This includes a parents and kids competition and a fancy-dress Halloween Tournament in October. We are also running some lively junior club night sessions every Friday (in term time) from 4.30pm to 5.30pm. To find out more, please come along on a Friday afternoon and give the session a try.
Wargrave Juniors Go Top of the Table
Wargrave’s under 10s mixed team played some stellar tennis this winter, winning all their matches to finish top of the Berkshire Junior National Winter League, Division 1 (Group B). The team, picture below, included Eddie Copland, Kabir Khurana, Georgina Gubbins and Jess Beard. They are now practicing hard and looking forward to the summer league along with five other Junior teams covering six age groups from under 9 to under 18. If you would like to know more about junior tennis, please contact our head coach Chris Ovenden.
Friday Night Junior Club Sessions Resume on 4th February
The Committee are pleased to announce that the Friday night junior club sessions will resume on the 4th February from 4.30pm. The sessions are supported by our coaches and are free to all our junior members. Our hope is that if attendance is strong, we will be able to support these sessions throughout the year, even on cold Friday evenings in the winter months.
Courts Deep Cleaning
We're delighted to report that five of our eight courts (1,2,3,4 and 8) have just had a DEEP CLEAN plus moss treatment. Courts 5,6 and 7 will be deep cleaned and treated in early January (the contractor was unable to do all 8 courts before Christmas). In line with guidance from the contractor, we will carry out court deep cleaning every 4 years and moss treatment annually. Update on LED lights and the potential for two artificial clay courts to follow in the New Year.
Six Teams Fighting for Promotion (27th October)
All our Wargrave teams have made steady progress in the Berkshire Winter Doubles Leagues. This season we are fielding 14 teams, including 5 mens, 4 ladies and 5 mixed teams. At time of writing, 6 of the 14 teams are in strong contention for promotion, with our Mixed Doubles 1st Team top of Division 1 after some excellent wins against Maidenhead and Windsor. Team practice sessions are run every Wednesday evening and are open to all members who want to play competitive team tennis.
Members Vote for New Lights and New Courts (11th October)
An online survey was run with all members of Wargrave Tennis Club from 22nd September to 10th October 2021. The objective of the survey was to ask members to evaluate a range of potential ideas, that could help to advance the sport of tennis for residents of Wargrave and the surrounding area.
Of the ideas tested, five ideas had “significant appeal” based on a response from 47% of all members. The five winning ideas included:
1. ALL WEATHER ARTIFICIAL CLAY COURTS (50% All Members / 67% Team Players)
If costs allow, to introduce all-weather artificial clay on up to 2 courts. Artificial clay is an LTA approved surface that is used by many clubs in the area e.g. Windsor, Bracknell and Maidenhead. It has many advantages over tarmac: 1) playable in wet conditions; 2) reduced injuries to knees and joints; 3) extends life of tennis balls; 4) attract new members; 5) more variety for teams etc.
2. INSTALL MODERN LED FLOOD LIGHTS (40% All Members / 48% Social Players)
If costs allow, to install new LED lights on all our courts. LED lights save money on electricity versus current lights and offer the benefit of “instant on“ (avoiding the warm-up time). And positioned correctly, they can provide a clearer light for night-time play. Wokingham Tennis Club use these types of lights.
3. GET THE RIGHT COACHING SUPPORT (32% All Members / 47% Junior Players)
Look at the current coaching arrangement and see how this compares with clubs of similar size and aspiration e.g. offer free tennis drills for new members; weekly cardio session; offer the right level of team coaching support; online coach booking via new Club website; review and update arrangements with GDT etc.
4. MORE SOCIAL AND FUN EVENTS (32% All Members / 48% Social Players)
Find and appoint a Social Secretary and offer a regular program of social events and fun tennis days that would appeal to current and new members of all ages e.g. annual Christmas party; tennis fun open days with speed serve measurer. Idea to include regular monthly social tennis on the first Thursday of every month with a theme e.g. Pimms and Pizza, Mulled Wine and Mince Pies, Halloween All Ages Tennis etc.
5. GREATER FOCUS ON JUNIOR TENNIS (32% All Members / 76% Junior Players)
To appoint a committee member to work with the coaches to ensure that we have a dedicated focus on kids / junior tennis. To include support for kids competitions both internally and with other clubs, and to encourage junior players to make the move up to adult teams and adult play etc.
NEXT STEPS
Thanks to all members who voted in the survey, and for such a good turnout (which was higher than the 43% who voted in our last local elections!). Based on the results, the new committee will now focus on progressing the top five ideas (in addition to their other duties). For potential new lights and new courts, we will be running a detailed feasibility study over the next three months, with the aim of presenting a proposal to the membership by March 2022.
Junior Tennis and the Emma Raducanu Effect (20th September)
Junior tennis continues to grow at Wargrave and our two LTA coaches (Chris and Steve) are already starting to see the “Emma Raducanu effect”, with the courts filling up after her incredible success at both Wimbledon and the US Open. We currently have over 100 junior members and in the Summer, we entered 5 teams in the National Tennis League from under eight to under 18, in both girls and boys. The free junior members club night has re-started on a Friday evening from 4.30pm and will run until the October half-term.
Outstanding Team Results Summer Season 2021 (5th September 2021)
Congratulations to all our teams who delivered some excellent results in the highly competitive Berkshire League and the National Team Leagues. The ladies run four teams, with both the 1st and 2nd teams achieving promotion. Of the five Mens’ teams, the first team came second in their league, while the 2nd and 3rd teams were both promoted. And towards the end of the summer, our five mixed teams had strong performances, with promotion for the 2nd and 3rd mixed teams and the mixed 1st team being promoted as champions with a final win against Peppard. The club also fielded two mens and three ladies vets teams, with the ladies Vets A team gaining promotion.
New Committee to Build on Success (1st September 2021)
Following the July AGM, a new committee was appointed to build on the tremendous success achieved under the leadership of Dave Smith. Over the past ten years, the outgoing Committee has helped to transform the facilities of the Club. We now offer our members (and potential new members): eight high-quality flood-lit courts; an upgraded club house; 14 teams in the Berkshire League; regular club nights and social tournaments; a thriving competitive box league; and a growing juniors’ section under the guidance of our two LTA club coaches.
Over the next three months, following an online survey with all members, the new committee will be pulling together a plan of future improvements. In developing this plan, our objectives will be to encourage and support both current and new members, of all ages and abilities, to play better competitive or social tennis in an environment that continues to be fun, safe and inclusive.