Regular Tournaments
Regular Tournaments
There are a wide variety of tournaments arranged on an annual or biennial basis at School, Club, National and International level, for both amateurs and professionals, both singles and doubles, for all ages, for ladies and gentlemen, and mixed; unless otherwise specified, all tournament are open to male and female participants.
Juniors, Schools and Universities
The National Schools Championships are held at the Queen's Club, at the end of the Michaelmas and Lent terms.
Both boys and girls compete at a variety of age categories, in both singles and doubles. After school there is the opportunity to play in the national Under 21 and 24 championships, as well as the traditional Oxford v Cambridge Varsity match. School leavers are actively encouraged to represent their schools in doubles pairs in the alumni Noel Bruce Cup, with the season ending Milne-Hue Williams Cup for Under 24 Doubles.
Adult National Tournaments
The Noel Bruce Cup is the season opener, attracting doubles pairs from all the major schools and is fiercely competed.
In late October, the Manchester Gold Racquet attracts competitors from around the UK for a weekend festival of Rackets, with the Invitation Singles attracting the top eight players to compete over the course of ten days. For top amateurs, the National Amateur Singles Championships is held at Queen’s in December, with the Doubles held at various locations in February. The British Open Singles is held in January, with the British Open Doubles held around Easter.
The Ladies events are held in parallel, with the Open Ladies Doubles at Malvern in November, and the Open Ladies Singles taking place alongside the Men's championship in January. A new Mixed Doubles has proved to be extremely popular.
Many clubs hold their own weekend events, including Queen's, Cheltenham and Clifton. The restoration of the Dartmouth court has also reintroduced Rackets to the South Hams.
Internal Tournaments
The World Singles and Doubles Challenges are played every other year for both men and ladies.
The Men's World Challenges are played between the player or pair who has amassed the most Challenge Points over the two-year Qualifying Period. A similar system has been developed for Ladies World Singles; the Ladies World Doubles is currently an invitation event.
