Tennis

Rosebowl competitors beat the heat!

On the hottest day of 2023, 12 pairs of GTC members took to the courts in the hope of winning the coveted Chittenden Rosebowl – a trophy celebrating the life of the Club’s founder, Henry Chittenden. Uniquely among all the Club’s tournaments, couples competing for the Rosebowl are carefully matched so that everyone stands an equal chance of adding their name to the illustrious roll call of previous winners.

It was great to see plenty of new members as well as familiar faces and, this year, it was Jane and Aadil who fought off the competition – and the heat – and Sue and Fabrice who were runners up. The consolation prize went to Heidi and Maciej.

 

Well done to everyone who took part and made sure it was another memorable day at the Club.

 

 

Paul Busfield Memorial Celebration Tournament

Sixteen pairs braved the hot weather on June 25 to take part in the 5th annual tournament in memory of Paul Busfield and to celebrate his life at the Club he loved. A strong breeze and plenty of rests in the shade with watermelon and ice cream helped keep players cool as pairs edged their way to the finals or the bar, depending on performance!

Congratulations to trophy winners, Wiebke and Bridget, and runners up Lizzie and Charlie, and to Florence and Fernando who won the Glitter Ball Competition, and runners up, Jane and Andrew.

A huge thank you to Debbie and Jane for organising, Trevor for making the amazing ‘Glitter Ball’, and all participants and cake and snack makers who helped make it such a friendly and meaningful event.

 

Big Night Out goes from strength to strength

Last week’s Big Night Out at GTC showed off the social side of our great sports club! An array of talented musicians, songwriters and singers, including some of our own multi-skilled members, lined up to play a wide range of music from country and western to classical – and much more.

“It was lovely to see the club full and busy and to hear the strains of music while we played our tennis match,” said one of our first team members.

Here’s a taster of the fantastic music on offer at Big Night Out – the last Thursday of every month.

Open mic at 8pm followed by guest appearances from the likes of Westbound Piccadilly and Pedwar. Come and enjoy the performances or book your place to play music, sing, recite poetry or tell stories on [email protected]

Worthy winners of latest Summer tournaments!

Move over Novak and Nick, and congratulations to Bridget, Chris, Gwen and Mario – worthy winners of GTC’s annual Wimbledon Tournament.  With a 9.30am start on one of the hottest days of the year, 17 pairs took to the courts to compete for a trophy almost as impressive as the real thing at SW19. Some fiercely competitive matches followed, and all were conveniently completed in time for members to fill the Bar ready to watch that other Wimbledon final!

It was another sunny Sunday when members competed for the Paul Busfield Memorial Cup – a special tournament held each year in memory of Paul, a dear friend who gave so much of his time to GTC.

A total of 34 members signed up to play some ‘Fast Tennis’ –  becoming a regular format for some of our tournaments: first pair to win four games, sudden death at deuce and a sneaky net serve special, which Paul would have approved of. The rather challenging wind made for some interesting and exciting play, and no pair finished without winning a game!


The overall winners of the beautiful cup were Ingrid and Ilan, runners up were Penny and Tim K, and in third place were Vanessa and Gerry.  The Plate winners were Elaine and Dennis and in second place were Jo C and Stephen N.

 

Junior tennis is flourishing at GTC

Our younger members showed off some great tennis at GTC yesterday, with Middlesex girls league matches against Hurlingham and Brondesbury, a very popular Road to Wimbledon tournament for girls and boys aged 11-14, and a packed Family Fun Time.

It was really encouraging to see how much the Juniors playing in Road to Wimbledon improved during their five short set singles matches – some very promising players for the future.

Family Fun Time was so busy that Head Coach, Debbie, had to get creative to keep everyone entertained. Juniors vs parents proved to be the favourite game, closely followed by beat-the-coach.

GTC has a thriving Junior Tennis Section, with affordable membership packages for all ages including free membership for tennis tots under 4. Extensive coaching classes are available to get younger members off to a great start and build a love of tennis to last a lifetime.

 

 

Merry Christmas!

Sixteen pairs signed up to play in GTC’s ever-popular Christmas Mixed Tournament this year – and played some fantastic round robin and knockout matches before Pip and David were crowned worthy winners.

Then it was time to savour legendary mince pies made by our own head coach, Debbie, and retire to the Bar for more festive celebrations.

There’s lots of social tennis on our six all-weather courts throughout the Christmas holidays and plenty of competitive matches as we enter the later stages of the Winter Championships. With membership rates now down to just 20% of annual subscriptions, take a look at our full range of adult, family and junior packages: https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/GunnersburyTriangleTennisClub/Membership/Join

Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy 2022 from all at GTC!

New LTA video highlights the benefits of GTC membership

When the LTA came to Gunnersbury Triangle Club to film Marina Foxlee, they were left in no doubt what a great place it is to play tennis and make friends. The video, which celebrates Marina’s success in winning the LTA’s London and South East Volunteer of the Year Award last year, shows why GTC membership means much more than tennis.

“I love this club, I’ve met so many lifelong friends here, I’ve had so many laughs and so many good times. To me, that’s what tennis is!” said Marina.

She described her satisfaction in winning the volunteer award not just for herself but for the Club:

“Yes, I was chair and I drove a number of things but about half of the adult members volunteer at one point during a year so it was a great sense of achievement for the Club.”

Marina stressed the benefits of joining GTC in terms of teams, programmes and activities available to members throughout the week, whatever their age and level of tennis.

Take a look at the video and see who was playing the day the LTA came to Acton!

Volunteer of the Year Award

 

 

Let tennis brighten up your Autumn and Winter!

Inspired by some great tennis on the recent finals day of the Summer Championships, Gunnersbury Triangle Club members are preparing for a packed Autumn of competitive and social play.

The Winter Championships are already underway, with categories for all standards, and the very successful Tennis Ladder for singles enthusiasts is continuing throughout the Autumn and Winter with new players joining every month.

Social Play sessions on Sunday afternoons and Wednesday evenings are great opportunities to meet other members, and one-to-one and group coaching sessions run by the Club’s LTA accredited coaches are as popular as ever.

With six all weather artificial courts to play on, including four with floodlights, and attractive six-month membership rates to take you through to Spring, make tennis part of your exercise routine at one of the friendliest sports clubs in West London!

 

Social tennis is back  at full strength

Social play is now back at Gunnersbury Triangle Club on both Sunday afternoons and Wednesday evenings, with courts filling up with  Members who pre-book online to join in each session.

The current arrangements are enabling members to enjoy one of the most popular ways of meeting other players at the Club while sticking carefully to social distancing guidelines.

Drinks are available during and after play, outdoors from the recently re-opened bar.

As well as social play, new and old members have been making the most of the recent good weather, with plenty of singles and doubles play on our six all-weather, artificial grass courts. Summer Championship matches are underway and the Singles Ladder is as popular as ever.

Good luck everyone!

*Sunday social play is from 2pm and Wednesday social play is from 6pm

New Tennis Ladder is a big hit!

Dozens of members battled it out in an unprecedented number of singles matches at the Club in June – thanks to the new Tennis Ladder. There were plenty of ups and downs and almost everyone played a match during the month.

 

We were delighted to see some of our newest members signing up for the Ladder and wish them luck during July. Players can challenge anyone up to three places above them but if a player moves ‘out of reach’ after a match is organised, the game can still go ahead. The result will be valid and players can move places depending on who wins.

The Ladder remains open to new players all Summer – you just need to be a Club member. So check out our special discounted membership packages. There’s something for everyone including adults, juniors, seniors and families.

Of course, you don’t have to play competitively, there are plenty of opportunities for social play and group coaching at the Club so you can meet new people and soon become a regular on our six fantastic, all-weather, artificial grass courts.