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Following the Club's AGM, Chris Vigrass (left) presents Will Stephens (right) with the Wilkinson (Handicap Singles) trophy
AGM attendees Club Committee Members Chris Vigrass (Chairman), Bryan Eaton (Vice-Chairman), Will Stephens (Honorary Treasurer), and Chris Wilkinson (Fixtures Secretary) were re-elected unopposed; Annabel Wyatt (Honorary Secretary) and Jon Conway were elected to the Committee unanimously, and Alix Barfett (sportessex), David Beales (Club Welfare Officer/Young Persons Liaison Officer), Felicity Simpson (Social Events Secretary), Jo Bartholomew (LRTA Representative), and Claire Vigrass (Young Persons Representative) were appointed Advisory Members of the Committee
Ladies Handicap Tournament winner, Annabel Wyatt (right), looks on as Claire Vigrass (left) presents losing finalist Jo Bartholomew with her runner-up prize
Mark Nicholls, losing Level Singles Championship finalist, receives his runner-up prize from Mike Carter 
Mike presenting the Level Singles Championship trophy, and "the obligatory bottle of champagne", to ClaireReport published in The Tribune
PRESTED ENDING SEASON ON A HIGH
Under-20s Tournaments
Youngsters from clubs across the country converged on Prested Hall to take part in the new Amateur Under-20s Singles tournaments. In the preliminary Handicap event, sponsored by the Tennis & Rackets Association, Honywood pupil Lewis Williams, 15, from Kelvedon, found his handicap, lowered after Williams’ recent French Under-16 championship win, outweighed his home court advantage, losing 10-7 to Petworth’s Charlie Braham in the final.
7 Handicap qualifiers, and Claire Vigrass, who was seeded through, then competed for the Under-20s Championship, sponsored by Prested’s proprietor, Mike Carter. 18-year-old Claire beat fellow Prested player Toby Bawden 6-1, 6-0, and Middlesex University’s René Schemschat 6-3, 6-1, to reach the final against Seacourt’s Louis Gordon, 17, who had struggled earlier to save the match point Williams held against him. Gordon raised his game, punishing a slow-starting Claire’s second serves with blistering backhand and forehand floor shots, but Claire regained her composure, hitting outright winners into the dedans and grille, to take the title 6-4, 6-4.
It was left to Chris Vigrass, the Prested club’s Committee chairman, to present his daughter Claire with the Mike Carter Trophy and other prizes, including coaching and court-time, since, unfortunately, Mike Carter himself was abroad because of disruptions to international travel.
Club Finals
In the finals of the club’s competitions, a notably improved Bryan Eaton lost the Wilkinson Trophy Handicap Singles to Will Stephens, despite Eaton’s courageous and determined fight back in the second set, 6-5 1-6 6-2. Stephens’ superior stamina, honed by training for the Guinness World Record marathon which has raised over £3,000 for Sport Aid, told in the end, securing Stephens a place in the T&RA’s Chetwood Trophy tournament for clubs’ handicap singles winners at the Royal Tennis Club in September.
The handicap discrepancy between Chris Wilkinson, donor of the eponymous Trophy, and his Wilkinson Plate adversary Simon Harris, resulted in Wilkinson’s treating spectators to a master class in serving, since, for Wilkinson, to lose a point was virtually to lose the game. Chris Ronaldson, one of the sport’s foremost exponents, maintains that serving at real tennis is a great art, and advocates perfecting a variety of deliveries to unsettle opponents. Wilkinson’s stylish display of serves ranging through boomerang, chandelle, demi-piqué, giraffe, sidewall, underarm and railroad, combined with his classical elegance of shot, enabled him to take the second set 6-3, having lost the first 4-6, and the third to 5-all, before being overcome by the near-impossible odds, and losing the next game, and the match, to Harris.
The Ivan Ronaldson Level Doubles Trophy was won by the equally experienced and established partnership of Mike Carter and Mark Nicholls, who defeated Dan Mead and David Hunter 6-2 6-2. Mead, not yet returned to full fitness, substituted for Peter Holmes, who won this competition last season partnered by Claire but had been forced to withdraw due to injury.
In the final of the Ladies Handicap, a new tournament instituted by Head Pro Matt Potter, serve was again a deciding factor, with Annabel Wyatt’s topspin underarm serves proving too challenging for Jo Bartholomew’s normally reliable returns to the sidewalls falling short of the back wall. Having lost the first set to love, Bartholomew staged a late rally, but Wyatt’s strategy of directing shots towards the grille and tambour when playing from the service end, led to Wyatt’s winning the second 6-4 and claiming the Ladies Handicap Cup.
All the promise of the Level Singles final, between Nicholls, 54, who has reigned supreme as champion for 6 years, and Claire, who lost to Nicholls in last season’s 3-set final, to be a superlative match, was fulfilled. Claire’s precisely judged returns of Nicholls’ serves to the “nicks” (corners) at the dedans penthouse end, helped establish her 6-4, 5-3 lead, which many spectators believed to be unassailable. An outwardly cool, calm and collected Nicholls, however, held his nerve, and drawing on his years of experience gained in rackets and other sports, retaliated by deploying a spellbinding array of tactics. Nicholls forced balls rolling off the grille penthouse, boasted forces for the dedans off the main wall, and fired “thunderbolts” into the dedans to gain dominance of the service end, and in the process, deprive Claire of the second set 5-6 and go 3-1 up in the third. Feelings were running high on court, with Claire apparently fighting her twin inner demons - crossing the psychological barrier of never having beaten Nicholls previously, and recovering from having dropped a set for the first time this year – and moreover a revitalised Nicholls, whose reserves of strength and guile were both seemingly limitless; off-court, the tension amongst spectators was becoming unbearable.
Claire resorted to attacking play, upping the pace to undermine successfully Nicholls’ control of length and line, and moving up the court to chase down shots cannoning off the dedans wall, whilst concentrating on serving tightly and defensively, to narrow Nicholls’ cut stroke options. This turned out to be a winning formula; Claire out-manoeuvred Nicholls to take the next 5 games and the deciding set 6-3. On presenting Claire and Nicholls with their trophies, Mike Carter congratulated both on an outstanding match, expertly played with grace and humour, and which was unanimously acclaimed the most exciting Level Singles final spectators have ever been privileged to watch – until next year’s!
Potter awarded the Most Improved Player (Junior & Senior) trophies to Williams, for the second season running, and Tom Shrager, who pipped last season’s winner Jon Conway to the post.
National League
Prested Hall 1 (Claire, Nicholls, his son Will Nicholls, and Potter) meet Cambridge University 3 in the Division 4 final (away), on the same day that Prested 5 (Jon Conway, Mike Norgrove, Bill Rudman and Chris Vigrass) are away to Middlesex University 4 in the Division 9 final. Prested 2, 3 and 4 lost their respective Division 5, 7 and 8 preliminary finals away to Oratory 2, Oxford 5 and Canford 4.
Real Ten
At the time of going to press, Prested Hall members and guests look forward to enjoying a veritable feast of first-class real tennis on 26th May, when Rob Fahey, who this month won his 10th World Championship, hosts the third Real Ten tournament.
Fahey describes this series as “a modern take on an ancient sport”, designed to appeal to newcomers as well as existing players. 5 professionals play “punchy” single set matches off handicap in round robin format, “battling it out” to win cash and prizes for themselves, and the sweepstake prize for their supporters, thereby “returning the sport to its gambling origins”.
By special invitation, Claire will be contesting this event against a former Prested Head Pro Matty Ronaldson, Potter, the club’s part-time Pro Ricardo Smith, and Smith’s doubles partner and world-ranked men's no. 5 Bryn Sayers. It is confidently expected to provide a fitting climax to a well-played season at Prested.
Under-20s Tournaments
Youngsters from clubs across the country converged on Prested Hall to take part in the new Amateur Under-20s Singles tournaments. In the preliminary Handicap event, sponsored by the Tennis & Rackets Association, Honywood pupil Lewis Williams, 15, from Kelvedon, found his handicap, lowered after Williams’ recent French Under-16 championship win, outweighed his home court advantage, losing 10-7 to Petworth’s Charlie Braham in the final.
7 Handicap qualifiers, and Claire Vigrass, who was seeded through, then competed for the Under-20s Championship, sponsored by Prested’s proprietor, Mike Carter. 18-year-old Claire beat fellow Prested player Toby Bawden 6-1, 6-0, and Middlesex University’s René Schemschat 6-3, 6-1, to reach the final against Seacourt’s Louis Gordon, 17, who had struggled earlier to save the match point Williams held against him. Gordon raised his game, punishing a slow-starting Claire’s second serves with blistering backhand and forehand floor shots, but Claire regained her composure, hitting outright winners into the dedans and grille, to take the title 6-4, 6-4.
It was left to Chris Vigrass, the Prested club’s Committee chairman, to present his daughter Claire with the Mike Carter Trophy and other prizes, including coaching and court-time, since, unfortunately, Mike Carter himself was abroad because of disruptions to international travel.
Club Finals
In the finals of the club’s competitions, a notably improved Bryan Eaton lost the Wilkinson Trophy Handicap Singles to Will Stephens, despite Eaton’s courageous and determined fight back in the second set, 6-5 1-6 6-2. Stephens’ superior stamina, honed by training for the Guinness World Record marathon which has raised over £3,000 for Sport Aid, told in the end, securing Stephens a place in the T&RA’s Chetwood Trophy tournament for clubs’ handicap singles winners at the Royal Tennis Club in September.
The handicap discrepancy between Chris Wilkinson, donor of the eponymous Trophy, and his Wilkinson Plate adversary Simon Harris, resulted in Wilkinson’s treating spectators to a master class in serving, since, for Wilkinson, to lose a point was virtually to lose the game. Chris Ronaldson, one of the sport’s foremost exponents, maintains that serving at real tennis is a great art, and advocates perfecting a variety of deliveries to unsettle opponents. Wilkinson’s stylish display of serves ranging through boomerang, chandelle, demi-piqué, giraffe, sidewall, underarm and railroad, combined with his classical elegance of shot, enabled him to take the second set 6-3, having lost the first 4-6, and the third to 5-all, before being overcome by the near-impossible odds, and losing the next game, and the match, to Harris.
The Ivan Ronaldson Level Doubles Trophy was won by the equally experienced and established partnership of Mike Carter and Mark Nicholls, who defeated Dan Mead and David Hunter 6-2 6-2. Mead, not yet returned to full fitness, substituted for Peter Holmes, who won this competition last season partnered by Claire but had been forced to withdraw due to injury.
In the final of the Ladies Handicap, a new tournament instituted by Head Pro Matt Potter, serve was again a deciding factor, with Annabel Wyatt’s topspin underarm serves proving too challenging for Jo Bartholomew’s normally reliable returns to the sidewalls falling short of the back wall. Having lost the first set to love, Bartholomew staged a late rally, but Wyatt’s strategy of directing shots towards the grille and tambour when playing from the service end, led to Wyatt’s winning the second 6-4 and claiming the Ladies Handicap Cup.
All the promise of the Level Singles final, between Nicholls, 54, who has reigned supreme as champion for 6 years, and Claire, who lost to Nicholls in last season’s 3-set final, to be a superlative match, was fulfilled. Claire’s precisely judged returns of Nicholls’ serves to the “nicks” (corners) at the dedans penthouse end, helped establish her 6-4, 5-3 lead, which many spectators believed to be unassailable. An outwardly cool, calm and collected Nicholls, however, held his nerve, and drawing on his years of experience gained in rackets and other sports, retaliated by deploying a spellbinding array of tactics. Nicholls forced balls rolling off the grille penthouse, boasted forces for the dedans off the main wall, and fired “thunderbolts” into the dedans to gain dominance of the service end, and in the process, deprive Claire of the second set 5-6 and go 3-1 up in the third. Feelings were running high on court, with Claire apparently fighting her twin inner demons - crossing the psychological barrier of never having beaten Nicholls previously, and recovering from having dropped a set for the first time this year – and moreover a revitalised Nicholls, whose reserves of strength and guile were both seemingly limitless; off-court, the tension amongst spectators was becoming unbearable.
Claire resorted to attacking play, upping the pace to undermine successfully Nicholls’ control of length and line, and moving up the court to chase down shots cannoning off the dedans wall, whilst concentrating on serving tightly and defensively, to narrow Nicholls’ cut stroke options. This turned out to be a winning formula; Claire out-manoeuvred Nicholls to take the next 5 games and the deciding set 6-3. On presenting Claire and Nicholls with their trophies, Mike Carter congratulated both on an outstanding match, expertly played with grace and humour, and which was unanimously acclaimed the most exciting Level Singles final spectators have ever been privileged to watch – until next year’s!
Potter awarded the Most Improved Player (Junior & Senior) trophies to Williams, for the second season running, and Tom Shrager, who pipped last season’s winner Jon Conway to the post.
National League
Prested Hall 1 (Claire, Nicholls, his son Will Nicholls, and Potter) meet Cambridge University 3 in the Division 4 final (away), on the same day that Prested 5 (Jon Conway, Mike Norgrove, Bill Rudman and Chris Vigrass) are away to Middlesex University 4 in the Division 9 final. Prested 2, 3 and 4 lost their respective Division 5, 7 and 8 preliminary finals away to Oratory 2, Oxford 5 and Canford 4.
Real Ten
At the time of going to press, Prested Hall members and guests look forward to enjoying a veritable feast of first-class real tennis on 26th May, when Rob Fahey, who this month won his 10th World Championship, hosts the third Real Ten tournament.
Fahey describes this series as “a modern take on an ancient sport”, designed to appeal to newcomers as well as existing players. 5 professionals play “punchy” single set matches off handicap in round robin format, “battling it out” to win cash and prizes for themselves, and the sweepstake prize for their supporters, thereby “returning the sport to its gambling origins”.
By special invitation, Claire will be contesting this event against a former Prested Head Pro Matty Ronaldson, Potter, the club’s part-time Pro Ricardo Smith, and Smith’s doubles partner and world-ranked men's no. 5 Bryn Sayers. It is confidently expected to provide a fitting climax to a well-played season at Prested.
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