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End-of-Season Grass Court Tennis Tournament/Open Afternoon

Rye Lawn Tennis Club’s closing grass court tennis tournament took place in warm sunshine on Saturday 16th September and was expanded this year to include an Open Afternoon hosted by Rye LTC alongside Zane Cheeseman of HotshotZ Tennis, responsible for tennis and padel coaching at the club, and head coach Suzy Larkin.

The event was open to all ages, members and non-members, and was a great opportunity to enjoy a final flourish on the club’s fantastic grass courts as well as to meet Zane and Suzy and enjoy the different events on offer.

The afternoon kicked off with a free fun cardio tennis session, for all ages and abilities, run by Zane Cheeseman. Much enjoyed by those who participated, this certainly got some hearts pumping.

Shortly afterwards, an exciting exhibition padel match took place, led by coach Ewan Hopkins, who joined Paul Masters to take on Scott Brotherton and Freddie Pack. Padel, a mix between tennis and squash, originated in the Mexican resort of Acapulco in 1969 and is currently thought to be the fastest growing sport in Europe. With some thrilling rallies and spectacular shot-making, the game attracted a large audience, many of whom then took part in the free coaching and taster sessions which ran during the afternoon. Rye LTC’s first padel court was built in 2000 and the club now has two courts and a rapidly increasing padel membership, with regular “mix-in” mornings.

The tennis tournament marked the end of the grass court season and the closing of the courts, maintained to a high standard throughout the summer by Adam Stunt and Freddie Menzies. Thanks go to them for all their hard work. Sixteen couples took part, ranging in age from twelve to over seventy, and saw a gang of nine hard-hitting juniors giving the more experienced players a run for their money in some closely contested matches. Vicki Lowe and Scott Brotherton, winners of the Farmer Tournament just a few weeks before, came out on top in Group 1, Penny Stephens and Colin Gill won Group 2 and Lauren Lane and Else Nepp (both sixteen years old) were the winners of Group 3.