Old Rugbeians vs Leamington Tennis Court Club

Saturday, 18th February 2023

Result: Lost 2-3

After a 1-3 loss in 2022, the ORs are inching closer to victory in their annual fixture against Leamington.

Despite the early start and long drive, Tim Bolton-Carter (St 74-78) got the day off to a strong start with a 2 sets to 1 win against Rachel Hollington in a level match. After a convincing first set (6-2), Rachel made a come back in the second set (winning 6-5 having been 4-1 down), but was overwhelmed by her experienced opponent in the third set (final score: 6-2, 5-6, 6-3).

This was followed by our first doubles match of the day. Richard Bray (M 58-63) partnered with Paul Yates (W 70-75) to take on Leamington's Olie Warr and Nick Jamieson. Richard's experience and accuracy combined with Paul's skill with both hands meant this was a closely fought contest, narrowly losing 4-6 in the third set (final score: 5-6, 6-4, 4-6).

Paul and Olie were straight back on court to go head to head in singles which saw another three-setter, with Leamington closing down the final set 6-4. This was perhaps the result of Paul having spent almost 2.5 hours on court by that point (final score: 6-3, 1-6, 4-6). 

After three long matches, lunch in the dining room was welcomed by all, with Leamington serving up a delectable feast. Richard reminisced about it being 60 years since he first played at Leamington, and Tim and Paul enjoyed a well-deserved lunch having played their matches during the morning.

After lunch and fuelled by good food and wine, Oliver Buckley (W 67-71) and Miranda Coyne (RB 02-07) had a successful inaugural partnership against Leamington's Caroline Dixon and Bill Slora. Oliver's doubles experience and clever tactics and Miranda's powerful strokes resulted in a two-set win for Rugby (final score: 6-1, 6-1).

With the match now sitting at 2-2, Miranda and Leamington's Norman Hyde both felt the pressure in the final contest of the day. After a strong first set for Miranda, winning 6-2, Norman's experience and clever shot selection combined with a few unforced errors from Rugby, led to a loss in the deciding set (final score 6-1, 4-6, 3-6).

The Old Rugbeians look forward to returning to Leamington in 2024 when we will hopefully pip them at the post!