ANOTHER GREAT SERIES DAY AT LEAMINGTON FOR 2024
Our next trip out in the 2024 Karakal UK Racketball Series was to the Midlands and to Leamington Tennis & Squash Club for the West of England Open!
A long standing UK Racketball host venue, LLTSC has always had a great set up for our events with 6 very well maintained courts and a lovely bar set up. We had another sell out event this year, with 65 players coming from all over - from Exeter to Sunderland to Bexley! With the British Nationals just 2 weeks away, this was one last chance for our community to get some last minute match practice in, and the strength of the draws reflected this. The O40s, O50s and O70s being particularly combatitive!
Starting with the O70s, with the two top seeds in the Nationals at opposite halves of the draw, plus some other strong entries, there was another really high quality set of matches. Notably Graham Greensall being push hard by Geoff Wright to take a 3/1 win. In the end though, Ian Graham proved imperious throughout, winning through the day without dropping a game, including the final vs Greensall. Can anyone stop him in two weeks time? The O60s lost its two top seeds Osborn and Cordeaux in the lead up to the weekend, meaning that the draw really opened out with plenty of opportunity for the rest to get stuck in. With a busy 16 entry there were some great fixtures throughout, Mark Banfield in particular being pushed hard by first Terry Horne (2/1) in Rd1, and then Gary Preston (a very tight 2/0) in the Semi. These tough games clearly set him up well though, as he managed to battle past one of the Series front runners Robin Chipperfield in the Final in a hard fought 2/0 win. Taking his first UK Racketball Series title for a number of years (in his own words!)
The O50s was an absolute brutal of a draw, with a number of players in the mix that on a different day would be top seeds in the category! As such we had a battle royale of a group stage, with all three groups of four players having some incredibly tight 2/1 games. Some will have left the day feeling a tad hard done by given the quality of the play. In the end the final four were Wase (who nearly lost out first match!), Billington (who got a bit lucky with the w/d of Jason Russell from his group having finished top), Davies and Fernandez. Billington did really well to overcome a resurgent Fernandez (coming back from a heavy knee operation), but couldn't get past the relentless Wase, who backed up well after his near miss at the start of the day, taking the win in a quality 2/0 Final.
Another very strong O40s draw of 12 players had several of the categories top dogs getting some good hitting in before the big event in two weeks time. A notable match here was the Griggs / Talbot group stage, the winner not only progressing to the semis, but also gaining the last O40s England Team spot for the upcoming Home Internationals in September! The guys didn't disappoint, with a really hard fought 2/1 win going to Griggs, whose ability to absorb everything Talbot threw at him and then counter well when given the opportunity did the damage. Barry's loss somewhat mollified by the fact that he ended up finishing best second place in his group and progressing to the semis anyway, to meet Ryan Loska. Loska and Craig Chappell ended up making their way through to the final, where in the last match of the day, an absolutely faultless performance from Craig gave him a shock 2/0 win over Loska. The first time that he has beaten him! Good signs ahead for his O40s Nationals campaign, with Loska as top seed in the O45s wanting to put that one behind him!
The B Grade was a busy 10 player event, with two boxes of 5 getting plenty of tight games in leading toward a Saturday evening final. Again here there was a great balance of standards and some quality 2/1 games throughout. In the end Nick Jenkins scraped through based on games won/lost over Hannah Davies and Stefan Rapacz (Nick beating Hannah and losing to Stefan, who in turn lost to Hannah!) He met Tom Clark in the final, who was a bit more clinical with his routhe through, still though being pushed hard against Rebecca Symmonds and Dan Stone with tight 2/1 wins. Clark in the end having too much for a rather tired Jenkins (who did Doubles too,) winning the final 2/1 with a strong 11/3 finish in the 3rd! Due to having two Ladies entrants and a little bit of court space we also had a straight Ladies final between Rebecca Symmons and Hannah Davies in the evenning, which didn't disappoint as despite both players having had some brutal games across the day in the B Grade, they played some quality Racketball with Symmons winning 2/1. Positive signs for her Nationals campaign at EPC!
Finally to the Doubles and the A Grade. Both slightly smaller in uptake than usual but that didn't diminish the quality, with some very strong top seeds! In the A the Nationals Open (Mike Harris) and O35s (Jason Pike) #1s were in the mix, and then in the Doubles Chappell & Loska headed the field. In the end it was the highest ranked that came through, with Harris overcoming Pike 2/0 in the Final of the A, and the O40s duo winning the Doubles. Though they were pushed hard by the Hallamshire pairing of Hindmarch & Glencross who took them all the way to 2/1, just missing out in the final game.
Full draws and results from the day can be found here:
www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-6-West-of-England-Racketball-Open-6th-July-Leamington
All in all a quality day of games at a lovely club. Plus an England football win to boot! Thanks all for taking part and to Jason Pike and LLTSC for hosting us so well once again.
You can check out what it means for the latest Series and Doubles rankings for 2024 here:
Series - www.sportyhq.com/ranking/group/1727
Doubles - www.sportyhq.com/ranking/group/1995
Our next trip out in the 2024 Karakal UK Racketball Series was to the Midlands and to Leamington Tennis & Squash Club for the West of England Open!
A long standing UK Racketball host venue, LLTSC has always had a great set up for our events with 6 very well maintained courts and a lovely bar set up. We had another sell out event this year, with 65 players coming from all over - from Exeter to Sunderland to Bexley! With the British Nationals just 2 weeks away, this was one last chance for our community to get some last minute match practice in, and the strength of the draws reflected this. The O40s, O50s and O70s being particularly combatitive!
Starting with the O70s, with the two top seeds in the Nationals at opposite halves of the draw, plus some other strong entries, there was another really high quality set of matches. Notably Graham Greensall being push hard by Geoff Wright to take a 3/1 win. In the end though, Ian Graham proved imperious throughout, winning through the day without dropping a game, including the final vs Greensall. Can anyone stop him in two weeks time? The O60s lost its two top seeds Osborn and Cordeaux in the lead up to the weekend, meaning that the draw really opened out with plenty of opportunity for the rest to get stuck in. With a busy 16 entry there were some great fixtures throughout, Mark Banfield in particular being pushed hard by first Terry Horne (2/1) in Rd1, and then Gary Preston (a very tight 2/0) in the Semi. These tough games clearly set him up well though, as he managed to battle past one of the Series front runners Robin Chipperfield in the Final in a hard fought 2/0 win. Taking his first UK Racketball Series title for a number of years (in his own words!)
The O50s was an absolute brutal of a draw, with a number of players in the mix that on a different day would be top seeds in the category! As such we had a battle royale of a group stage, with all three groups of four players having some incredibly tight 2/1 games. Some will have left the day feeling a tad hard done by given the quality of the play. In the end the final four were Wase (who nearly lost out first match!), Billington (who got a bit lucky with the w/d of Jason Russell from his group having finished top), Davies and Fernandez. Billington did really well to overcome a resurgent Fernandez (coming back from a heavy knee operation), but couldn't get past the relentless Wase, who backed up well after his near miss at the start of the day, taking the win in a quality 2/0 Final.
Another very strong O40s draw of 12 players had several of the categories top dogs getting some good hitting in before the big event in two weeks time. A notable match here was the Griggs / Talbot group stage, the winner not only progressing to the semis, but also gaining the last O40s England Team spot for the upcoming Home Internationals in September! The guys didn't disappoint, with a really hard fought 2/1 win going to Griggs, whose ability to absorb everything Talbot threw at him and then counter well when given the opportunity did the damage. Barry's loss somewhat mollified by the fact that he ended up finishing best second place in his group and progressing to the semis anyway, to meet Ryan Loska. Loska and Craig Chappell ended up making their way through to the final, where in the last match of the day, an absolutely faultless performance from Craig gave him a shock 2/0 win over Loska. The first time that he has beaten him! Good signs ahead for his O40s Nationals campaign, with Loska as top seed in the O45s wanting to put that one behind him!
The B Grade was a busy 10 player event, with two boxes of 5 getting plenty of tight games in leading toward a Saturday evening final. Again here there was a great balance of standards and some quality 2/1 games throughout. In the end Nick Jenkins scraped through based on games won/lost over Hannah Davies and Stefan Rapacz (Nick beating Hannah and losing to Stefan, who in turn lost to Hannah!) He met Tom Clark in the final, who was a bit more clinical with his routhe through, still though being pushed hard against Rebecca Symmonds and Dan Stone with tight 2/1 wins. Clark in the end having too much for a rather tired Jenkins (who did Doubles too,) winning the final 2/1 with a strong 11/3 finish in the 3rd! Due to having two Ladies entrants and a little bit of court space we also had a straight Ladies final between Rebecca Symmons and Hannah Davies in the evenning, which didn't disappoint as despite both players having had some brutal games across the day in the B Grade, they played some quality Racketball with Symmons winning 2/1. Positive signs for her Nationals campaign at EPC!
Finally to the Doubles and the A Grade. Both slightly smaller in uptake than usual but that didn't diminish the quality, with some very strong top seeds! In the A the Nationals Open (Mike Harris) and O35s (Jason Pike) #1s were in the mix, and then in the Doubles Chappell & Loska headed the field. In the end it was the highest ranked that came through, with Harris overcoming Pike 2/0 in the Final of the A, and the O40s duo winning the Doubles. Though they were pushed hard by the Hallamshire pairing of Hindmarch & Glencross who took them all the way to 2/1, just missing out in the final game.
Full draws and results from the day can be found here:
www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-6-West-of-England-Racketball-Open-6th-July-Leamington
All in all a quality day of games at a lovely club. Plus an England football win to boot! Thanks all for taking part and to Jason Pike and LLTSC for hosting us so well once again.
You can check out what it means for the latest Series and Doubles rankings for 2024 here:
Series - www.sportyhq.com/ranking/group/1727
Doubles - www.sportyhq.com/ranking/group/1995
LEAMINGTON LOOMS - THE LAST SERIES EVENT PRE NATIONALS ON IT'S WAY 6TH JULY...
That is right! The last event of this first half of the 2024 Karakal UK Racketball Series is here and we are back to one of our longest hosting venues - Leamington Tennis & Squash Club. It is always a great place to visit, with 6 fantastic Squash Courts and a lovely and welcoming bar and club area.
This year's event is another Series sellout with some big draws across the various categories. Clearly lots of our fraternity looking to get some last minute matchplay before the British Nationals later in the month!
Outside of the normal service of Series ranking points being up for grabs (more on that later,) there is added spice to this event for several players, as this is the last qualifying tournament for the Road to selection to represent England in the inaugral Home Internationals Racketball team event in September in Glasgow. While most of the line ups have already been selected, there a very literal Head to Head for selection between these players:
Over 40s - Colin Griggs & Barry Talbot
Over 50 - Jason Russel & Nick Billington
O70s - (fighting it out for 2 spots) Stephen Uttley, Hans Billson, Geoff Wright, Francois De Villiers
So pending the results from the event, the above could be selected for England! Good luck to all of them and we can't wait to see who battles through.
On the Series ranking front, there is a rare chance for the chasing pack in both the Singles and Doubles rankings to catch up with Paul Norton as he is away for this event. This means that Ryan Loska who sits in 2nd in the Series and 3rd in the Doubles will be keen to steal back some ground. Robin Chipperfield, Patrick Osborn, Alexis Smith and Paul Dodds (the next in line in the Series) will all be looking to push their cause forward too!
With some very busy draws - 16 in the O60s, 12 in the 40s, 50s and B Grade, and 8 in the 70s, it is going to be a great day of matches. Can't wait to get stuck in.
Thanks to Jason Pike and the team at Leamington LTSC for hosting us for another year, keep your eye out on the day for some more live stream action, and of course the usual photo and Instagram update shenanigans!
You can find the full draws and schedule on Sporty HQ here:
https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-6-West-of-England-Racketball-Open-6th-July-Leamington
That is right! The last event of this first half of the 2024 Karakal UK Racketball Series is here and we are back to one of our longest hosting venues - Leamington Tennis & Squash Club. It is always a great place to visit, with 6 fantastic Squash Courts and a lovely and welcoming bar and club area.
This year's event is another Series sellout with some big draws across the various categories. Clearly lots of our fraternity looking to get some last minute matchplay before the British Nationals later in the month!
Outside of the normal service of Series ranking points being up for grabs (more on that later,) there is added spice to this event for several players, as this is the last qualifying tournament for the Road to selection to represent England in the inaugral Home Internationals Racketball team event in September in Glasgow. While most of the line ups have already been selected, there a very literal Head to Head for selection between these players:
Over 40s - Colin Griggs & Barry Talbot
Over 50 - Jason Russel & Nick Billington
O70s - (fighting it out for 2 spots) Stephen Uttley, Hans Billson, Geoff Wright, Francois De Villiers
So pending the results from the event, the above could be selected for England! Good luck to all of them and we can't wait to see who battles through.
On the Series ranking front, there is a rare chance for the chasing pack in both the Singles and Doubles rankings to catch up with Paul Norton as he is away for this event. This means that Ryan Loska who sits in 2nd in the Series and 3rd in the Doubles will be keen to steal back some ground. Robin Chipperfield, Patrick Osborn, Alexis Smith and Paul Dodds (the next in line in the Series) will all be looking to push their cause forward too!
With some very busy draws - 16 in the O60s, 12 in the 40s, 50s and B Grade, and 8 in the 70s, it is going to be a great day of matches. Can't wait to get stuck in.
Thanks to Jason Pike and the team at Leamington LTSC for hosting us for another year, keep your eye out on the day for some more live stream action, and of course the usual photo and Instagram update shenanigans!
You can find the full draws and schedule on Sporty HQ here:
https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-6-West-of-England-Racketball-Open-6th-July-Leamington
WE RETURN TO LOVELY LEAMINGTON ONCE AGAIN...
Event 6 - 2024 UK Racketball Series
What: Leamington Racketball Open
When: Saturday 6th July (One Day Event)
Where: Leamington Lawn Tennis and Squash Club
Postcode: CV32 6LZ
Closing Date: Friday 23rd June
Cost: £17.50 Singles / £25 Doubles
Entry via: https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-6-West-of-England-Racketball-Open-6th-July-Leamington
What: Leamington Racketball Open
When: Saturday 6th July (One Day Event)
Where: Leamington Lawn Tennis and Squash Club
Postcode: CV32 6LZ
Closing Date: Friday 23rd June
Cost: £17.50 Singles / £25 Doubles
Entry via: https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-6-West-of-England-Racketball-Open-6th-July-Leamington
WEST OF ENGLAND OPEN LEAMINGTON 2023 BRINGS OUT SOME SERIOUS QUALITY!
On Saturday 1st July we visited our next venue in the 2023 Karakal UK Racketball Series - Leamington Squash and Tennis Club, for the West of England Open!
This fantastic venue provided us with some of the best court viewing situations we could ask for in the Series, not just because of the brilliant 6 court set up they have there, but also because of the high quality Racketball that was on show! It was clear to see lots of our players were getting well tuned up and ready for the July National Championships.
Kicking off this time with the Over 70s and we had a strong three way playoff between Billson, Lowe and Wright. Billson and Wright went hammer and tongs at each other first up with Wright winning 13/11 in the 5th game! Richard Lowe however proved to be a very capable and impressively mobile competitor, taking (a potentially pretty leggy by that point) Billson and Wright down 3/0 each to take his first Series title of 2023. He looks like one to watch in the O70s Nationals!
Patrick Osborn continued his seemingly invincible run of form by sweeping aside all who came across him 2/0. Taking out other top runners Graham Holmes and Robin Chipperfield on his way to another Series age group title. Chipperfield doing well to come through a busy second O60s group. In the O50s it was the return of the bionic man as Chris Morris playing his first Series event back (after a terrible injury in last year's Series Finals event) managed to come through unscathed himself, winning all his matches 2/0 along the way. His final opponent Nev Buckle did brilliantly to see his way through a strong 50s draw with the likes of Dodds, Wardle and Billington in his way. A very competitive 50's draw here and with all of them plus several other high fliers playing the Nationals it could well be the draw to watch out for!
In another strong category - the O40s, regular Series combatants Alexis Smith and Paul Norton met in a high quality, expansive racket ability match, with Smith seeing out a tight 2/0 win. Norton picking up some very valuable Series ranking points though to extend his lead at the top of the tree going into the halfway point of 2023. The B Grade was a busy event this time round, with 11 entrants in it. There were some great games across the rounds, with the likes of Manson/Melvin, Mcclelland/Symmons and Symmons/Da Costa all going the distance 2/1. In the end though it was the mercurial Nick Jenkins who fought his way to the top of the pile, taking out Tim Melvin 2/1 in a quality final.
Our strongest A Grade and Doubles draws of the 2023 season were a joy to watch all the way through (though not fun to schedule around!) Matches of note were Rawlins and Giles taking close to an hour to battle out a 2/1 win to Rawlins, Manson/Hindmarch vs Strong/Phipps and Norton/Giles vs Smith/Jenkins all also providing some brilliant high class Racketball across the day. In the end though there could only be one winner and Oli Rawlins took the A Grade over Craig Chappell 2/0 (with Chappell unfortunately picking up a slight niggle earlier in the day to hamper his efforts.) The Doubles Final was a brutal 45 minute long exchange between Phipps/Strong and Giles/Norton, in which the former managed to overturn a 4/8 deficeit in the 2nd to get back to 1/1 in games, and then storm through to take the 3rd 11/7! A prime showcase of how classy and intricate Doubles Racketball can be and I highly recommend you go to our Facebook page and watch it back to see how good it was:
https://www.facebook.com/UKRacketballSeries/videos/1006513540522304
You can find all the photos and videos of the day here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1171008060513413&type=3
And finally results on Sporty HQ here:
https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-7-West-of-England-Racketball-Open-2nd-July-Leamington
Thanks to all who played and made it such a great day. Also to Leamington and Jason Pike for having us. We hope to be back to such an excellent venue next year!
On Saturday 1st July we visited our next venue in the 2023 Karakal UK Racketball Series - Leamington Squash and Tennis Club, for the West of England Open!
This fantastic venue provided us with some of the best court viewing situations we could ask for in the Series, not just because of the brilliant 6 court set up they have there, but also because of the high quality Racketball that was on show! It was clear to see lots of our players were getting well tuned up and ready for the July National Championships.
Kicking off this time with the Over 70s and we had a strong three way playoff between Billson, Lowe and Wright. Billson and Wright went hammer and tongs at each other first up with Wright winning 13/11 in the 5th game! Richard Lowe however proved to be a very capable and impressively mobile competitor, taking (a potentially pretty leggy by that point) Billson and Wright down 3/0 each to take his first Series title of 2023. He looks like one to watch in the O70s Nationals!
Patrick Osborn continued his seemingly invincible run of form by sweeping aside all who came across him 2/0. Taking out other top runners Graham Holmes and Robin Chipperfield on his way to another Series age group title. Chipperfield doing well to come through a busy second O60s group. In the O50s it was the return of the bionic man as Chris Morris playing his first Series event back (after a terrible injury in last year's Series Finals event) managed to come through unscathed himself, winning all his matches 2/0 along the way. His final opponent Nev Buckle did brilliantly to see his way through a strong 50s draw with the likes of Dodds, Wardle and Billington in his way. A very competitive 50's draw here and with all of them plus several other high fliers playing the Nationals it could well be the draw to watch out for!
In another strong category - the O40s, regular Series combatants Alexis Smith and Paul Norton met in a high quality, expansive racket ability match, with Smith seeing out a tight 2/0 win. Norton picking up some very valuable Series ranking points though to extend his lead at the top of the tree going into the halfway point of 2023. The B Grade was a busy event this time round, with 11 entrants in it. There were some great games across the rounds, with the likes of Manson/Melvin, Mcclelland/Symmons and Symmons/Da Costa all going the distance 2/1. In the end though it was the mercurial Nick Jenkins who fought his way to the top of the pile, taking out Tim Melvin 2/1 in a quality final.
Our strongest A Grade and Doubles draws of the 2023 season were a joy to watch all the way through (though not fun to schedule around!) Matches of note were Rawlins and Giles taking close to an hour to battle out a 2/1 win to Rawlins, Manson/Hindmarch vs Strong/Phipps and Norton/Giles vs Smith/Jenkins all also providing some brilliant high class Racketball across the day. In the end though there could only be one winner and Oli Rawlins took the A Grade over Craig Chappell 2/0 (with Chappell unfortunately picking up a slight niggle earlier in the day to hamper his efforts.) The Doubles Final was a brutal 45 minute long exchange between Phipps/Strong and Giles/Norton, in which the former managed to overturn a 4/8 deficeit in the 2nd to get back to 1/1 in games, and then storm through to take the 3rd 11/7! A prime showcase of how classy and intricate Doubles Racketball can be and I highly recommend you go to our Facebook page and watch it back to see how good it was:
https://www.facebook.com/UKRacketballSeries/videos/1006513540522304
You can find all the photos and videos of the day here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1171008060513413&type=3
And finally results on Sporty HQ here:
https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-7-West-of-England-Racketball-Open-2nd-July-Leamington
Thanks to all who played and made it such a great day. Also to Leamington and Jason Pike for having us. We hope to be back to such an excellent venue next year!
West of England Racketball Open introduction
We are aware that some of our players are experiencing issues with entering through SportyHQ. Most entries are working through the site - https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-6-West-of-England-Racketball-Open-2nd-July-Leamington - if you have any issues please contact Mike [email protected] or 07789 394617
The West of England Open at Leamington Spa was the first event back after the pandemic on the UK-Racketball Series calendar. 2023 will be the 6th time that the Series has returned to Leamington and as you would expect from sitting in the middle of a part of the country with such a great reputation for racketball this event is always a sellout!
Last years event saw a fantastic exhibition of Racketball with the A Grade featured 5 of the country's Top 15 players. Head Coach Jason Pike saw off a challenge from Luke Bishop to take the final in a dramatic tie-break finish, while the biggest draw of the day saw number one seed Mervyn Davies beat Paul Dodds to the Over 50's title.
We're excited to be back at the oldest Lawn Tennis club in the world, which always makes for a brilliant event. The club development has transformed the squash section at the club, with a new glass back court built alongside the first opening up the viewing for the show courts and helping to give the club a fantastic tournament atmosphere.
The club itself has an amazing history. Leamington Lawn Tennis Club was founded in 1872, three years before Wimbledon! Follow this link for a fascinating read - http://www.leamington-tennis-squash.co.uk/club-information/club-history/
Jason Pike the head coach has made a fantastic impact at the club with junior sessions and club nights. Leamington’s Junior Squash is going from strength to strength and is now one of the strongest in the country with over 100 taking part every week.
This will be a great tournament so don’t miss out!
Last years event saw a fantastic exhibition of Racketball with the A Grade featured 5 of the country's Top 15 players. Head Coach Jason Pike saw off a challenge from Luke Bishop to take the final in a dramatic tie-break finish, while the biggest draw of the day saw number one seed Mervyn Davies beat Paul Dodds to the Over 50's title.
We're excited to be back at the oldest Lawn Tennis club in the world, which always makes for a brilliant event. The club development has transformed the squash section at the club, with a new glass back court built alongside the first opening up the viewing for the show courts and helping to give the club a fantastic tournament atmosphere.
The club itself has an amazing history. Leamington Lawn Tennis Club was founded in 1872, three years before Wimbledon! Follow this link for a fascinating read - http://www.leamington-tennis-squash.co.uk/club-information/club-history/
Jason Pike the head coach has made a fantastic impact at the club with junior sessions and club nights. Leamington’s Junior Squash is going from strength to strength and is now one of the strongest in the country with over 100 taking part every week.
This will be a great tournament so don’t miss out!
online entry through sportyhq
For 2023 UK-Racketball have partnered with SportyHQ to make online entries work even smoother
Follow this link to enter online - https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-7-West-of-England-Racketball-Open-2nd-July-Leamington
We have created a user guide to walk you through the process and make it as easy as possible - follow this link to access online - https://www.uk-racketball.com/series-faqs.html
Follow this link to enter online - https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-7-West-of-England-Racketball-Open-2nd-July-Leamington
We have created a user guide to walk you through the process and make it as easy as possible - follow this link to access online - https://www.uk-racketball.com/series-faqs.html
Main Tournament Details
What: Leamington Racketball Open
When: Saturday 1st July
Where: Leamington Lawn Tennis and Squash Club
Postcode: CV32 6LZ
Cost: £17.50 (£9.50 for an optional high quality, quick dry, sublimated print tournament t-shirt)
Closing Date for entries: Friday 23rd June
More Information: Contact [email protected] or if the enquiry is urgent call Mike on 07789 394617
When: Saturday 1st July
Where: Leamington Lawn Tennis and Squash Club
Postcode: CV32 6LZ
Cost: £17.50 (£9.50 for an optional high quality, quick dry, sublimated print tournament t-shirt)
Closing Date for entries: Friday 23rd June
More Information: Contact [email protected] or if the enquiry is urgent call Mike on 07789 394617
west of england leamington - hall of fame
grades
It is important to remember that UK-Racketball Series events are designed to be inclusive. Although the A grade does attract the best racketball players in the country the events really are for players of all ages and abilities. We have never had a competitor who felt they were not good enough for an event when they took part.
A Grade – County, national or good club player
B Grade – Regular club player
Women’s – All ages and abilities, these events have a great range of players which makes for a fun and competitive day.
Over 40’s – For players over the age of 40
Over 50’s - For players over the age of 50
Over 60’s – For players over the age of 60
Over 70's - For players over the age of 70
Doubles – limited to 8 pairs, Racketball rules apply, follow this link for more information - http://www.uk-racketball.com/racketball-doubles-rules.html
If you are unsure which category to enter please feel free to contact [email protected] or if the enquiry is urgent call Mark on 07846067505 and we will be happy to advise you.
If entries to a category are not sufficient grades may be merged, however all participants will always be informed in advance and they will have a choice if they would still like to play.
A Grade – County, national or good club player
B Grade – Regular club player
Women’s – All ages and abilities, these events have a great range of players which makes for a fun and competitive day.
Over 40’s – For players over the age of 40
Over 50’s - For players over the age of 50
Over 60’s – For players over the age of 60
Over 70's - For players over the age of 70
Doubles – limited to 8 pairs, Racketball rules apply, follow this link for more information - http://www.uk-racketball.com/racketball-doubles-rules.html
If you are unsure which category to enter please feel free to contact [email protected] or if the enquiry is urgent call Mark on 07846067505 and we will be happy to advise you.
If entries to a category are not sufficient grades may be merged, however all participants will always be informed in advance and they will have a choice if they would still like to play.
club facilities
Leaminton Lawn Tennis and Squash Club is the oldest Lawn Tennis Club in the country with fantastic Tennis facilities.
The squash and racketball section has recently been redone with new changing facilities and bar area.
The club has 6 squash courts including a two championship court’s with plenty of seating.
If the weather is hot sitting outside to watch the tennis will be a lovely way to spend your spare event time, bringing a good book is advised!
The squash and racketball section has recently been redone with new changing facilities and bar area.
The club has 6 squash courts including a two championship court’s with plenty of seating.
If the weather is hot sitting outside to watch the tennis will be a lovely way to spend your spare event time, bringing a good book is advised!
club location
Leamington Spa is located to the South East of Birmingham and close to the M40; a new area of the county for the UK-Racketball Series.
Leamington Lawn Tennis & Squash Club
Guy's Cliffe Avenue
Leamington Spa
CV32 6LZ
Club Tel: 01926 425845
Club website: http://www.leamington-tennis-squash.co.uk/
Leamington Lawn Tennis & Squash Club
Guy's Cliffe Avenue
Leamington Spa
CV32 6LZ
Club Tel: 01926 425845
Club website: http://www.leamington-tennis-squash.co.uk/
west of england racketball open history
2022 - West of England Racketball Open
2021 - West of England Racketball Open
2019 Leamington Open Results
2014 Leamington Open Results
2013 Leamington Open Results
2021 - West of England Racketball Open
2019 Leamington Open Results
2014 Leamington Open Results
2013 Leamington Open Results
West of England 2022 Report
In contrast to an incredibly hot 2021 post covid event it was a rainy day at Leamington Lawn Tennis and Squash Club for the 2022 West of England Racketball Championships but a great turnout with all grades running made for a brilliant atmosphere and a great day of Racketball action!
Follow this link to see all the results
Follow this link for the photos
West of England Open B Grade
It was a good standard B Grade at Leamington. With three players in Group A it was set up for best of 5’s and all matches were tough ones. Rebecca Symmons came through as champion defeating Series veterans Tom Ash and Graeme Manson. Donovan Eastes won Group B without dropping a game but was pushed hard by Chris Burton. The final was a great match up but in the end despite some fantastic retrieving Symmons could not hang in long enough to contend with the accurate play of Eastes who took the title 11/6, 10/12, 11/4.
Follow this link to see all the results
Follow this link for the photos
West of England Open B Grade
It was a good standard B Grade at Leamington. With three players in Group A it was set up for best of 5’s and all matches were tough ones. Rebecca Symmons came through as champion defeating Series veterans Tom Ash and Graeme Manson. Donovan Eastes won Group B without dropping a game but was pushed hard by Chris Burton. The final was a great match up but in the end despite some fantastic retrieving Symmons could not hang in long enough to contend with the accurate play of Eastes who took the title 11/6, 10/12, 11/4.
West of England Open Over 50’s
The Over 50’s draw was reduced with a couple of withdrawals but still made for a tough day with two groups of 5 meaning 4 match wins were needed to make it though to the finals! On the day Roger Camp proved too strong for Marc Thornley coming through in two close games. Chris Morris loved the heat on the show courts and ran off all comers in group A with only Chris Wase managing to force a decider. The final was a great contest with the opening game going Morris’s way 12/10 before Camp fought back to take the second 11/9. By the third however Camp had nothing left and after a strong Morris start he ran away for the bagel. A tough day for Camp but thoroughly deserved from Morris.
West of England Over 70’s
The Over 70’s has been the slowest draw to come back to full strength post pandemic but Leamington saw a great entry both in terms of numbers and quality. Ian Graham remained dominant in Group A but was pushed hard by the quality and tenacity of Terry Norman and acuate hitting from Alec Livingstone. Three top over 70’s players lined up in group B, Graham Greensall, David Mudge and Hans Billson. Mudge came through a brutal encounter with Billson only to be denied by Greensall to set up a repeat final of Graham vs Greensall. This turned out into a great match with Graham only just sneaking the first on tie break and the second 11/9 before Greensall fought back to claim the 3rd. The 4th was tight in the beginning but then Graham pulled away to take the victory 11/7.
The Over 50’s draw was reduced with a couple of withdrawals but still made for a tough day with two groups of 5 meaning 4 match wins were needed to make it though to the finals! On the day Roger Camp proved too strong for Marc Thornley coming through in two close games. Chris Morris loved the heat on the show courts and ran off all comers in group A with only Chris Wase managing to force a decider. The final was a great contest with the opening game going Morris’s way 12/10 before Camp fought back to take the second 11/9. By the third however Camp had nothing left and after a strong Morris start he ran away for the bagel. A tough day for Camp but thoroughly deserved from Morris.
West of England Over 70’s
The Over 70’s has been the slowest draw to come back to full strength post pandemic but Leamington saw a great entry both in terms of numbers and quality. Ian Graham remained dominant in Group A but was pushed hard by the quality and tenacity of Terry Norman and acuate hitting from Alec Livingstone. Three top over 70’s players lined up in group B, Graham Greensall, David Mudge and Hans Billson. Mudge came through a brutal encounter with Billson only to be denied by Greensall to set up a repeat final of Graham vs Greensall. This turned out into a great match with Graham only just sneaking the first on tie break and the second 11/9 before Greensall fought back to claim the 3rd. The 4th was tight in the beginning but then Graham pulled away to take the victory 11/7.
Graham Greensall's heart rate during the Over 70's final!
West of England Women’s Open
Current National Champion Amber Marshall had her work cut out in the womens draw against a determined local Rebeccca Symmons. In a game which contained some fantastic retrieving from both player the momentum see-sawed throughout. In the end Marshal was too accurate and ended up taking the deciding game 11/5 but Symmons is definitely one to watch, not many women manage to get this close to denying Marshall a title.
West of England Open Over 40’s
Ryan Loska continued his dominance of the Over 40’s Series, claiming the West of England Title without dropping a game. Moving well and calm and composed he will take some beating in the up and coming Nationals!
Current National Champion Amber Marshall had her work cut out in the womens draw against a determined local Rebeccca Symmons. In a game which contained some fantastic retrieving from both player the momentum see-sawed throughout. In the end Marshal was too accurate and ended up taking the deciding game 11/5 but Symmons is definitely one to watch, not many women manage to get this close to denying Marshall a title.
West of England Open Over 40’s
Ryan Loska continued his dominance of the Over 40’s Series, claiming the West of England Title without dropping a game. Moving well and calm and composed he will take some beating in the up and coming Nationals!
West of England Open Doubles
A brutal start to the day in the doubles saw Zoe Fennell and Patrick Osborn lose out to Paul Norton and Ryan Loska in a brilliant display of shots retrieving and doubles tactics. The Loska, Norton partnership went on to win all their remaining Group B matches before coming up against Amber Marshall and Luke Bishop in the final. In what proved to be an incredibly entertaining game of corkscrews, skid boasts and creative shots from both teams Marshall and Bishop have a great understanding on the doubles court and this proved decisive and resulted in them adding another title to their collection with a 11/6, 11/7 victory.
West of England Open Over 60’s
The top seeds in both groups progressed to the final of the Over 60’s with Graham Holmes taking group A and Patrick Osborn Group B. Holmes’s toughest match came against an inform Mike Fleming with both games going the distance. Osborn came through unscathed in Group B and continued this run of form into the final taking the match 11/5, 11/1. He is very much the man to beat in the Over 60’s!
West of England Open A Grade
In a repeat of last year Luke Bishop and Jason Pike made it through their respective groups in the A Grade. Pike battled hard on his home courts as he always does but the Bishop boast proved too much. There was talk that this might now be better than his mentor (Matt Baker), the Baker boast... the debate will continue but in the meantime another title is Bishops, that list keeps growing.
Our next event is the big one, The 2022 HEAD National Racketball/Squash57 Championships. Entries close at midnight on the 3rd of July so if you are not already in this is your last chance to enter - https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-7-Head-National-Racketball-Championships-16th17th-July-Edgbaston
A brutal start to the day in the doubles saw Zoe Fennell and Patrick Osborn lose out to Paul Norton and Ryan Loska in a brilliant display of shots retrieving and doubles tactics. The Loska, Norton partnership went on to win all their remaining Group B matches before coming up against Amber Marshall and Luke Bishop in the final. In what proved to be an incredibly entertaining game of corkscrews, skid boasts and creative shots from both teams Marshall and Bishop have a great understanding on the doubles court and this proved decisive and resulted in them adding another title to their collection with a 11/6, 11/7 victory.
West of England Open Over 60’s
The top seeds in both groups progressed to the final of the Over 60’s with Graham Holmes taking group A and Patrick Osborn Group B. Holmes’s toughest match came against an inform Mike Fleming with both games going the distance. Osborn came through unscathed in Group B and continued this run of form into the final taking the match 11/5, 11/1. He is very much the man to beat in the Over 60’s!
West of England Open A Grade
In a repeat of last year Luke Bishop and Jason Pike made it through their respective groups in the A Grade. Pike battled hard on his home courts as he always does but the Bishop boast proved too much. There was talk that this might now be better than his mentor (Matt Baker), the Baker boast... the debate will continue but in the meantime another title is Bishops, that list keeps growing.
Our next event is the big one, The 2022 HEAD National Racketball/Squash57 Championships. Entries close at midnight on the 3rd of July so if you are not already in this is your last chance to enter - https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-7-Head-National-Racketball-Championships-16th17th-July-Edgbaston
