*Category H Open Championship (Level Singles for Handicaps 70+) 2024

Play started on Friday, when Oxford Student Ladies 2nd’s player, Grace Beglan (4), faced Hatfield’s Lis Hughes in the 75+. A dominant display from Beglan resulted in a 6/1 6/0 victory in a match in which Hughes did very little wrong. The Oratory’s Alex Hilton (2) then faced MCC’s Guy Schanschieff in the 70-74 draw. The 2nd seed won a pair of tight deuces on the bounce at 3/0 and 4/0 up in the first set and never looked back - with Hilton going on to win 6/0 6/1.

Saturday followed with six further Quarter Final matches across the two draws to take place. First, the three remaining 70-74 draw Quarter Finals. Sarah Lambie of Holyport was first up, and was the first unseeded player to take out a seeded player, beating the Oratory’s Robin Russell (4) 6/1 6/3 in an incredibly impressive display - especially as Sarah was playing American Doubles as a mother to be! Her partner, Daniel-Konrad Cooper, then became the second player to take out a seeded player, beating Hatfield’s Martin Hornby (3) 6/0 6/3 in another strong performance from the Holyport membership. The final of the 70-74 Quarter Finals saw Newmarket’s George Aretakis (1) beat Jenny Jones (Radley) 6/3 6/3 in a tight contest, in which Jenny put up a great fight against the top seed.

With the 70-74 Quarter Finals concluded, the remaining 75+ draw Quarter Finals were underway. MURTC junior Jessica Offen, who got to the Semi Finals of the u15 Schoolgirls last weekend, put on a show unlike anything the MURTC professionals had seen her do before in the first match. In a battle of the Pique serves, she took out Leamington’s Ian Calvert (3) 6/3 6/0, utilising a demi pique which caused havoc - and coped well with Ian’s challenging full Pique. 75+ draws top seed Alex Stobbs, from Holyport, then faced Seacourt’s Tony Browne.

Stobbs became the third and final Holyport member to win a Quarter Final in the tournament, completing a 100% win rate for the club - winning 6/0 6/0 and utilising a strong variety of serves. The final match of the day saw Queens’ Harri Johnson (2) take on MURTC’s Sebastian James, who had stepped in to replace a fellow MURTC member only 3 days prior to the tournament. The two young gentlemen put on a fine show in what can only be described as the match of the Quarter Finals, with Johnson going on to win 6/4 3/6 6/3 in an epic finale to the day’s tennis.

On to the Semi Finals, it was the 75+ that would take place first. Alex Stobbs (1) faced Grace Beglan (4) in an exciting contest. Beglan took the lead, going 6/3 4/0 up, before Stobbs put on a masterclass of serving and returning (including beating worse than a yard on the floor) to win the second set 6/5. It was Beglan that prevailed, winning the final set 6/1, in which her game was raised to a whole new level. With Jessica Offen having to withdraw, Ian Calvert (3) was recalled to the tournament to take on Harri Johnson (2). Despite seven games going to deuce, Johnson went on to win 6/2 6/1 in a match that felt far closer than its scoreline.

The 70-74 Semi Finals would see similarly enthralling tennis, with George Aretakis (1) facing Sarah Lambie. In an incredibly tight contest, it was Aretakis that would go on to the final, winning 6/5 6/3 to win the match. Daniel-Konrad Cooper then faced Alex Hilton (2) to decide our other finalist with Cooper again taking out a seeded player, winning 6/4 6/5.

The 75+ final took place first, in which we suspect there was the youngest combined age of finalists in the Category tournaments across the country - in which Grace Beglan (4) took on Harri Johnson (2), at a combined age of 44. Beglan, the Goddaughter of Ben Ronaldson, went on to win 6/4 6/4 - winning her first Real Tennis title.

After the excitement of the 75+ Final, the 70-74 Final was the last match to be played. Daniel-Konrad Cooper would take on George Aretakis (1) to avenge his wife, who was knocked out by Aretakis only 3 hours prior to the final. In another match closer than its scoreline, Daniel-Konrad Cooper would go on to win 6/3 6/3 - completing a hat trick of wins against seeded players throughout the tournament.

Congratulations to Daniel-Konrad Cooper and Grace Beglan on their success! The tournament had the best vibe of any tournament we have hosted at MURTC this season, with a superb support from the Dedans from players for both old friends and new friends alike. With the inaugural Category H tournament being a huge success, we already cannot wait for next year's tournament. Thanks to the T&RA for their support for the Category H tournament.