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]

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.

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.