Despite high winds and much rain, Rye’s young tennis players battled on.
Nine-to-12-year-olds
On Sunday April 29 another Tennis Team Challenge for young players between Rye Tennis Club and The Green Tennis Club took place at The Green’s venue in Hastings. Organised once again by coach Claire Larkin from The Green together with Rye head coach Frances Candy, it was an occasion where 9–12 year olds could put the skills, learned from their coaching into practice.
The regular format of 10-minute matches, both singles and doubles were closely contested in a terrific spirit.
The fixture resulted in a win for Rye. There were 27 boys and girls involved, and most parents stayed to watch, enjoying the refreshments provided.
As seems to have become the custom for these matches, the weather was once again cold and very windy, however, undaunted, the young players were keen to get on court and play regardless of the elements. The result was a successful day, new friends made and lots of fun despite the weather.
The Team Challenge format, promoted by the tennis ruling body, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), is proving highly popular and, in this case, with most of the children looking forward to the next encounter
Under-16s
Also on Sunday, the Rye U16 Rye tennis team played their second match in the LTA Team Tennis Sussex league against Maresfield Tennis Club. As with the Hastings match, the weather conditions were tough with high winds and much rain, however both teams played with great skill, determination and team work.
The Maresfield boys team were ranked much higher than Rye players but Rye put up a very good fight with some fast and furious rallies from Luc Duvoisin and some great tactical skill from Sean Lane. Finn Kearns joined Sean for the final doubles match, which produced some very entertaining rallies.
In the end the opposition proved too strong and Rye lost the match six points to zero. It was great to see such a high standard of junior tennis with parents supporting and all players enjoyed a sociable match tea and table tennis in the clubhouse.
Photo: Donna Crosbie