Last Sunday saw the welcome return of Sunday Social Tennis, with an encouraging turn out of old and new members on a dry, sunny afternoon.

Sunday Social has always been popular with members as it’s a great opportunity to play with different people and catch up with friends. Social distancing requirements meant we had to forego the usual mouth watering tea and cakes but we hope it won’t be too long before that fine Club tradition can be reinstated.

Bridget & Marian organised the first Sunday Social after lockdown and it was lovely to welcome new members Milla & Tom B, and Katy H-J attending her first ever Social session. Roubina, Emin & Dennis emerged from isolation and it was great to see them back on court. They joined Chris D, John F, John B, Trevor, Alan C, Julianne, Riejet and Penny.

To find out more about all the advantages of Club membership, take a look at our Membership packages. There’s something for everyone, whatever your skills and experience.

We look forward to greeting more members, new and old, at future Sunday Social sessions.

Summer at Gunnersbury Triangle Club wouldn’t be the same without the Summer Championships so we’re very pleased to add this annual competition to our calendar as we rapidly get back on track after the COVID lockdown.

Our six fabulous courts are in great condition for the multiple singles and doubles competitions. The Championships are open to all members including our Summer Special trial members and anyone who joins the Club and submits their entry before Sunday 28th June. If you’re new to the Club it’s a great way to meet other players.

The tournament will run from early July to the end of September and entry fees are just £3 per singles event and £5 per pair for each doubles event.

There are categories for everyone, whatever your skills and experience: 

Mens Singles (Holder Ian Bailes)

A knockout event with the first round losers joining less experienced players in a Plate competition.

Ladies Singles (Holder Philippa Wallbank)

A knockout event with the first round losers joining less experienced players in a Plate competition.

Mixed Doubles (Holders Philippa Wallbank & Ian Bailes)

A knockout event with the first round losers joining less experienced players in a Plate competition.

Mens Doubles (Holders Ian Bailes & Graham Ford)

Ladies Doubles (Holders Jane Cooper & Philippa Wallbank)

Invitation Doubles (4th team players & below)

These 3 doubles competitions will be round robin unless we have 12 or more entries in which case the event will become a knockout.  In the round robin events the top team in each box will be the winner.  If there are 2 boxes in an event then the top team in each box will play a final.

Let Battle Begin!
We have almost 50 members signed up to the new Singles Tennis Ladder and offer a big welcome to Ana, Gillie, Jonny and Jamie who signed up this week. Players can play other players upto three places above and must play their first match before July 1st (and mark an Asterix next to your name on the ladder) to avoid sliding to the bottom of their group.

The Ladder is in the clubhouse and new players are welcome all summer . Email Jack at – [email protected] for more information and to sign up.

Our Summer Special Offer is now closed but you can still join at a discounted rate for this year. Go here for details

One of life’s simple pleasures for me and most tennis players must be the act of cracking open a new tube of tennis balls. The sharp fizz of the pressure being released promises a match of good bounces and responsive performance.

Unfortunately that fizz also starts the clock running on what will be a pretty rapid decline in performance, as the pressure begins to seep out of the balls. If you are a regular player you might get a few more sessions out of them, but all too often they languish in your bag until it’s time to give them to the dog or put them in the practice bucket!

Globally we get through approximately 325 million tennis balls a year enough to make a decent ball pit in Centre Court!

So what if I told you that for not much more money than your current choice of ball you could buy a ball that according to the manufacturer plays for up to 4 times longer and at the same time does a little to help save the planet. All you have to do is give up the fizz!

I stumbled across the Wilson Triniti ball a few months ago and bought 24 from here. Wilson have made a completely new ball that does not need to be pressurised to work which means that gone is the pressure packaging and in comes a fully recyclable cardboard octagonal tube.

Ah I hear you say I’ve tried pressure-less balls before they were way too bouncy, hard, dead or all of above. Well contrary to any bad experiences you may have had with previous pressure-less balls the Triniti ball plays really nicely with good touch and spin.

Wilson have also produced a new felt which lasts well and does not turn into a fuzzy mess at the first sign of rain. In fact most of the sets I played with the ball were wet or very wet and not only did they not fuzz up they also seemed to pick up a lot less water than any other ball I’ve played with. Which means of course that they maintained their bounce even in extreme conditions.

I have been playing with them in as many matches as I can persuade my opponents to try them. Everyone who played with them had good things to say with most liking the consistent bounce-ability.

So the big question is how long do they last?

Sadly I don’t know, all I can tell you it’s at least 34 sets, as that’s how many my first set of balls have completed, come rain or shine, over the last 2 months! I put a dot on one of balls for every set the balls played. Never for one moment did I imagine I would run out of space!

So mission accomplished they play well, last well and don’t hurt the planet, just like it says on the tin, sorry I mean cardboard!

I want to tell you about my positive experience of joining the Gunnersbury triangle club and why I believe you should consider joining as well.

I am resident in one of the streets surrounding the Gunnersbury triangle club and have been for about seven years now. I joined the club when I moved to the area and I am glad I did. I mean that sincerely and I get an awful lot from the club and it is important to me. It offers a myriad of events, opportunities and ways to do sport, train, socialise and learn new skills.

I am no different to anyone else and work hard in a busy job. I work in healthcare and it can be very very intense, pressured and frequently it is stressful. I have an allotment at the club, and this is just one of many offerings the Gunnersbury triangle club provides from tennis to yoga to Karate. The allotment and my time there growing veg and winding down is precious to me and allows me to slow down, learn new skills, listen to the experience of others and that allotment is a precious release and a pleasure in my world. I’ve recently joined the snooker club because I wanted to try something completely different. I am a novice but have been welcomed and warmly coached and encouraged by the club members who meet on a monday and wednesday evening. It is a relaxed and fun way to learn a new skill and I’m loving it. I also value the social side of the club and meeting and connecting with neighbours, now friends, who are warm and fun and supportive.

I get a lot from the club with what I have described above and I hugely value it and the people I connect with there, in my life. It is incredibly warm and friendly and relaxed and also ridiculously inexpensive to join. It is very well run and the Chair and leaders genuinely listen to their members and seek to improve and meet their members needs. That is special. In all honesty I do not know the extent of the sport and social offerings it provides as I am enjoying and I am satisfied with what I do currently. I haven’t needed to look for anything more but I know the club offers more and would respond to suggestions and ideas.

Our club is a rarity for communities and has a precious place in my life and I know in the lives of others who run and attend it. It is the people who make it so good and I would wholeheartedly urge a visit at least to come and meet us. I defy you to then resist joining. I would , as is no surprise, recommend joining the triangle club as it provides so much with such genuine engagement and care for so many of us for what is actually so little in what we are asked to contribute.

Marina Foxlee, our Tennis Chair, has been named as LTA’s Volunteer of the Year.

The LTA award “recognises the inspirational individuals and venues, including 25,000 volunteers and 2,700 clubs”. Winning the national award after county and regional stages, is a huge accomplishment for Marina personally and for Gunnersbury Triangle Club.

Marina masterminded a £200k refurb at the club which included putting in a new kitchen, toilets and showers, easy access toilet and step free access to the clubhouse.

After the award ceremony, Marina met the Duchess of Cambridge who asked about the club. Marina described GCT as very community focussed, with many long standing family members, that warmly welcomes everyone, whatever their age or ability. Marina highlighted the programmes that our Head Coach Debbie runs to build community engagement and encourage juniors and families to play.

Marina also met Judy Murray and many of the LTA leadership team. They all talked about the LTA mission to grow tennis by making it relevant, accessible, welcoming and enjoyable for all. GTC very much supports this vision by providing opportunities for all to play, whatever their standard.