The matches were played in glorious September sunshine and showcased some of the finest, hardest-fought tennis seen at The Heys since 1904!
At the Junior end, Maryam Khan edged past Rose Martin in a nail-biting battle to claim the U14 Girls Title, whilst budding star Evangeline Mertena served up a giant-killing performance to become possibly our youngest ever holder of the U17 Girls Trophy — at the tender age of 8 — with a gutsy, back-and-forth match that ended in 3-2 win against Maryam.
In the Boys Section, Noah Wride, son of Club stalwart Dave, produced a masterclass to take both the U14 and U17 Titles against Ben Hackett. Ben, whose game continues to go from strength to strength, proved a fierce and worthy contender, with many games battled out to deuce — but it wasn’t quite enough to see off Noah, who is fast becoming a real force on court and building a trophy cabinet to rival his dad’s.
The Ladies Doubles saw Mariam Meftah / Sue Marcroft produce a dominant display to see off Sally Bell / Emma Jones 6-3, 6-2, whilst in the Men’s Doubles, Ben Drinkall / Tom McGinley (Winners) and George Sykes / Luke Boulton served up an absolute thriller of a 3-setter, with the first two sets both decided on nail-biting tie-breaks. All those spectating were in awe of the sheer quality on display — a match that raised the bar and sent a real statement of intent to the Bolton League!
In the Ladies Singles, recently joined Members Leah Denning and Beth Wilcox went toe-to-toe with Leah claiming the Title, whilst in the Men’s, our Doubles-winning partnership of Ben and Tom – turned rivals for the day – going head-to-head in a white-knuckle contest that pivoted on a Champions tie-break, with Tom edging it. A real shame anyone had to lose such a closely fought battle, but a fantastic showcase of the strength in depth at the Club. In the Men’s B section, Adrian Wang cemented his status among the elite, claiming back-to-back glory to become a two-time Trophy winner edging out Dominic Clarke.
Our only remaining fixture is the Mixed Doubles, which will see Ben / Mariam take on Tom / Deana — a mouth-watering prospect. For those wishing to watch – hold the date 10th October – it promises to be another spectacle of top-drawer tennis.
And finally, a massive thank you to the volunteers working tirelessly behind the scenes to organise all the logistics of players, courts, balls, trophies — and even the weather! — leading up to the day. Special mention to Graham for his brilliant photography, capturing moments that will live long in the memory for years to come.
Marc Conway
