* Brodie Cup Final 2025

The opening doubles was a great example of this… Jon Eltringham and James Medd got off to a great start, but Alexandra Bryant and Gerard Soames kept calm and managed to fight their way back. The first set could have easily gone either way, but Queen’s managed to nick the first set. Confidence high, they kept the momentum going. James and Jon played well, but all the close games and pivotal points went to Queen’s.

The second match, saw 40+ singles play out a familiar story. Theo Besnard (Bristol) got off to a great start, but Richard Henman drew from his experience across many sports to fight his way back into the first set. At 5-all both players had set point, but Theo eventually won it. Having won the first set, his nerves dissipated and the shots he had been missing were sailing over the net with ease. There were plenty of close games in the second set, but the momentum of winning the first set saw Theo win the crucial points and the second set.

Bristol’s Wilf Walker was unstoppable in his first set of the 30+ singles. He got to every ball, and couldn’t miss the targets. Tim Drayson (Queen’s) was unsurprisingly taken aback and struggles to settle in. But Tim regrouped at the start of the second. He tightened up his railroad, and all the balls that Wilf had been hitting effortlessly into the dedans, started hitting the penthouse and net cord instead. Tim ran chased everything down and suddenly Wilf was on the back foot. Going into the 3rd set, the momentum was still with Tim and he took an early lead, but Wilf found a bit of his earlier form and started to come back. Either player could have won the match, each having a few set points each, but Wilf found the right shots at the critical moment.

The third singles saw a very high standard of Tennis and spectators could have been forgiven for thinking it was the 40+ singles, not 50+. Astrid Drayson hit some incredible volley returns off some very tricky serves. However, nerves got the better of her… she missed some shots that she would ordinarily hit with ease, and she struggled to find a serve to contain her opponent. Henry Thornbill on the other hand, was hitting his serve very well from the start. He was slightly disconcerted to see some of them come back with interest, but he didn’t get flustered and kept the pressure up. This helped him relax, and secure the victory.

The final doubles saw some incredible Tennis despite the fact that it was a dead rubber. James Skeggs came out with a vengeance, determined to make the match score reflect how close the day had been. His partner Dominic Geddes hit some incredible volleys to make it hard for the Bristol team to know where to hit it. Chris Banard and Reggie Williams started very well, but perhaps relaxed a bit too soon, and found themselves stuck at the hazard end too often. There were some cracking rallies, but Queen’s won the majority of them.

It was such a close match decided by a few crucial points that could have gone either way. Bristol were deserved winners, but Queen’s can be proud of how they played, and will be understandably disappointed that a few more of the results didn’t go their way. Both teams were champion sports… the atmosphere was great and all the players conducted themselves with grace.

Many thanks to Al and Ros Clark who prepared the food and hosted the day on behalf of the Hyde Tennis Club. Thank you to the T&RA and in particular Nick Brodie for organising the tournament. Many thanks to Pol Roger for sponsoring the Final and providing the highest quality Champagne and wine for the prizes and reception. Finally thank you to everyone who took part in the Brodie Cup this year, especially Queen’s and Bristol.