Plenty of success for East Glos players in Cheltenham Open tennis tournament

While not getting the weather of the previous year we did get plenty of East Glos success at the 2018 Cheltenham Open sponsored by Autovillage.

Singles winners were Theo Purkis (14&U) and James Findlay (16&U and Men’s). Doubles winners were Theo Purkis (14&U), James Findlay (16&U and Men’s), Joe McCoubrie (16&U) and Sammy Vrabtchev (Men’s). Other club members worthy of mention are Sam Austin (semis 12&U singles and doubles), Ben Powell (semis 14&U singles and doubles), Reece Ihle Matthews (16&U singles).

Gloucestershire had a strong showing with Alisha Tejrar, Alice Howitt and Aaron Osmond all reaching singles finals. Alice scooped the 14&U title and Aaron picked up the 18&U. Doubles winners were Beth Pye (12&U), Aaron Osmond (18&U) and Monty Graveney (18&U). Overall this represents a strong showing from local players in what is a regional level tournament. In the tournament this year were players from Derbyshire, Surrey, Suffolk and Cornwall. The counties with the best representation were Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and South Wales.

Records show the tournament was going in the 1930s. This long history makes the tournament stand out from many other regional tournaments. Tim Henman and Heather Watson graced the tournament in their junior days.

In recent years the entry numbers have fallen as new tournaments have developed including a national tournament at Nottingham. The aim has been to reduce the amount of travelling and nights in hotels for participants by creating more tournaments. Happy to report that this year entries were 292 compared to 259 in 2017.

Thank you to Autovillage for continuing to support the tournament so positively. The catering team, so well marshalled by Michelle and Scott, were busier than normal due to the disappointing weather. They did the club proud with the standard of menu and speed of service.

Final thanks to Adam Newton, tournament referee. He scheduled many hundreds of matches and kept the tournament running mostly to time. Considering the weather no easy feat. And all of this despite having serious health matters of his own to deal with for the last 6 months. He never once complained and made an issue of these circumstances.

Simon Corbishley
Cheltenham Open Organiser and Referee