Manchester Gold Racquet 2024

Ben Cawston was sidelined by injury so was unable to defend his singles title meaning there would be a new holder of the Liverpool/Manchester Challenge Cup. This was also the first Gold Racquet for new Manchester professional James Asher, returning back to his roots after 10 years at the RCOP. One thing definitely remained the same though, which was that a great crowd of 24 Rackets players was to descend upon Blackfriars Road ready for plenty of action.

The last 16 of the singles tournament saw a number of seeds get toppled. 2012 and 2013 winner Christian Portz was defeated in 3 games by the unseeded Bertie Vallat and Dylan Kent was unable to repeat his heroics of previous years in being defeated by Gold Racquet debutant Tom Astley. Home court dangerman Robert Shenkman then beat 5th seed Oli Cooke in straight games before Oscar Butcher gave US Amateur Champion James Rossiter an almighty fright, with the Old Pauline coming through 15/12 in the 3rd. It was also impressive to see the youngsters Max Warner and Algie Nottingham progressing through their first rounds on debut in senior competition which augers well for future editions of the tournament!

In the quarter-finals, Vallat continued his giant killing run, defeating Rossiter in straight games but the matches of the round occurred in the bottom half of the draw. Julius Manton-Jones edged out Shenkman 15-12 in the 3rd and Henry Smith came within an ace of defeating second seed Alex Duncliffe-Vines, holding two match points in the final game. The semi-finals proceeded to seed, with Duncliffe-Vines defeating Manton-Jones 3-1 and with Freddie Bristowe reaching his second straight Gold Racquet final in defeating Vallat 3-0.

In the final, spectators were unsure on who to pick as the winner before the match and they were treated to a thrilling final on Sunday morning. Bristowe came out of the blocks firing and carried off the first game with a series of aces 15-10. Duncliffe-Vines came back strongly though to lead 2-1, looking at ease on the Manchester court which was his main training venue during university. There was nothing to separate the players in the 4th game with the scoreline barely being more than 2 points apart for either player! Yet, Duncliffe-Vines found some excellent serves at the key moments and was able to win his second Gold Racquet title 3-1 overall.

In the doubles draw, the main surprise result was in Oscar Butcher and Oli Cooke defeating the new pair of Bristowe and Astley 2-1 to reach the semi-finals. However, the top two seeds of Manton-Jones/Cawston and Portz/Duncliffe-Vines proved far too strong for their semi-final opponents and made it through to an eagerly anticipated final.

Ultimately, Portz and Duncliffe-Vines performed admirably but there was no denying Ben Cawston an incredible 10th Gold Racquet title (singles and doubles combined) and it was pleasing to see Julius Manton-Jones winning a first major doubles title – a fitting reward for his efforts over the last few seasons. Thanks at the presentation were given to James Asher and Valla Scott-Geddes for shouldering the brunt of the marking and to Stella Heap and her team for contributing to an excellent off-court weekend. The tournament also could not have taken place without the generosity and support of Pete Nicholson of Consumer Credit Solutions, who sadly could not attend the weekend this year!

It is hoped that a similarly strong draw will attend the tournament again in 2025, with the camaraderie and sportsmanship on show from all players making the event a joy to be a part of!