Another title for Niamh Coveney

Congratulations yet again to Niamh on winning the National Indoors Doubles Title with Grainne O Neill in Dublin yesterday.

Seeded 2 in the event, they were never really pushed, even in the final where they beat 2 current players on scholarship in the States on a scoreline of 6-3, 6-3.

Well done Niamh and best of luck for 2011.

End of Year Review

Well what a year it's being for Cork tennis!

As I sit here with courts just re-opening after the snow, I look back to a very active year for tennis in Cork.

We have had loads of very successful open tournaments, two winning interpro teams packed with players from Cork, internationals at all levels, Irish Open Champions, new courts laid in some clubs and plans for more work in others.

So where to start?

Well firstly let me start by congratulating and saying a big thank you to all volunteers in all clubs who give their time freely to run tournaments, help organise events and generally just give a hand in the day to day running of our clubs.
I had first hand experience of this, when running my own clubs' open tournament this year.  The amount of people that were willing to pitch in and give a hand made me very proud to be associated with such a crowd.

Next I want to mention the coaches, yes, it is their job, but they do so much to promote and make tennis enjoyable for all involved and thankfully, at long last, are producing players of a very high calibre.

This year the junior scene in Cork was very strong.  I mentioned in an earlier post Bishopstowns Academy and the success they have had, Whitechurch are another club with a very promising junior section and also have players on Munster squads, so this will definitely be a club to watch in team competitions for the coming year.
Rushbrooke are very lucky with the strength they have currently in the junior section and this showed again this year with a lot of their juniors winning open tournaments, doing very well in National events and then having 2 of their juniors picked to represent Ireland in the recent Four Nations, Rachel Daly and David Gardiner.
Well done to all the juniors and keep working hard and who knows soon Cork will be the main provider for all Irish teams.

The senior scene is very active both socially and competitively with more than 500 players taking part in open tournaments across the county.  It is a long season for the seniors but none the less very enjoyable and competitve.  The season starts at Easter in Rushbrooke and finishes in September with Bandon.  And looking at the tournament results for the year, there are a  few recurring names but also a good spread of winners across the clubs.
This lead me to design a points system for next years tournaments where by each winner and finalist will receive points and at the end of the year the top man and top woman will win a full Babolat tennis kit, rackets included.  For more info click here.

Some of our top seniors had success in various opens around the country this year, in particular Niamh Coveney, who had an amazing year.  She was firstly selected to make her Federation Cup debut in Egypt, then was part of the Senior Interprovincial winning team, where she lead from the front and to cap off the year was again selected for Ireland in the Four Nations in Cardiff.  She was joined on this team by Jamie Blake who made his Irish debut.  Jamie's was a well deserved selection and recognition of a fine year in which he too helped the Munster Senior Interpros to victory in Dundalk. 

Finally the vets!  Whoever said you mellow as you get older never played Vets tennis.  This is as, if not more competitive than any senior event I have ever played in.
We had internationals, double National title winners, a winning Interprovincial team and a competitive circuit that the ATP would be proud of.
Congratulations must be passed on to Grace Reidy and Liam O Brien on representing Ireland in the World Championships in Mexico, to Ann Naughton and Un Ryle with their two National titles and to those four and all Cork players who were part of the winning Interpro team in Belfast this year.

Tennis is fine and healthy in Cork and let's hope it grows stronger in 2011.

One person I have to thank is Derek Lane and his camera for providing some fabulous and very entertaining shots over the course of the year.  The hairbrushes' and make up were out more than ever this year and it showed, well done boys, so hopefully the girls will make an effort next year.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the blog in 2010 and your thoughts and articles will be greatly appreciated in 2011.

Rachel Daly, National Matchplay Winner

Congratulations to Rachel Daly, winner of the girls U-16 National Matchplay Title.
After 4 gruelling matches Rachel came out on top and finished off a great year in style.
Also this year Rachel success in various open tournaments both in her own age group and the one above, she was selected as an Interpro and then represented Ireland in the Four Nations in Cardiff.
Let's hope 2011 is as successful at least.

Cork Juniors in National Matchplays

The National Junior Matchplays are on in Dublin this weekend and some of our top juniors have braved the weather to test their skills against the best of the rest.

To monitor their progress over the weekend, click here.

Babolat Cork Tennis League 2011 Reminder

Coming soon, Babolat Cork Tennis League 2011.

Find out how you could win, 2 rackets, a racket bag, a set of clothes and a pair of shoes in 2011.

For more details click here.

Life on the Junior International Circuit - John Morrissey

John is a young man following his dream.

The Dream, A Professional Tennis Player, and so far so good.

In internatonal junior tennis your ranking is a combined one based on your doubles and singles results, John has a career high of 30, the highest ranked Irish junior player to date.

In this piece written by John he gives us an insight into life on the tour and what it takes to make it full time.

John is an inspiration to all players out there, but especially juniors.

Thanks to John for taking the time to write this piece, it's well worth a read.

"My name is John Morrissey, I am 18 years old and I have been competing on the ITF Junior tour for the last 3 years and recently the ITF Pro tour as well . I first moved away from home when I was 15 years old not knowing what I was getting into nor how long I would end up living away from home .



It has been amazing: I have been predominately living in Belgium and traveling from there to my tournaments . I have travelled to all 5 continents and played countless tournaments . There is certainly nothing better then when you are traveling seeing new places and meeting great new people and winning , though when you aren't getting great results it can also become very lonely .. and you end up wanting just to come home and see your family . It is also very hard for your family as they want to see you too but I have been lucky in that my parents and siblings have been so encouraging and supportive to me .


Traveling as much as I have you get to meet and the know many other junior players as you are competing at all the tournaments together , and I have been very lucky in that I have met some incredible personalities and some amazing friends ! You learn so much about different cultures and even pick up some bits of different languages!! So there is a lot of fun at these tournaments as well as a lot of HARD WORK!!!


I have had the opportunity to play all four grand slams twice and these tournaments will definitely be one of the major highlights of the last few years for me . As a junior player you get to see the Pro's and if your lucky - which I was - you get to hit with them too !! I practiced with Rafael Nadal twice in Roland Garros !! It was unbelievable and I certainly wont forget that : the speed of his ball, his intensity it is phenomenal !! An other cool thing about the Grand Slams is that you get to eat with the Pro's at some of them : for example I had dinner at the table beside Federer at the Us Open!!


Another huge highlight so far for me was the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, it was only a small draw of 32 elite players. I played amazing throughout the week -beating the world no 3 at that time (Berretta) and ended up making the quarter finals where I lost to Yuki Bhambri a former world No.1 junior. It was an incredible experience as apart from the amazing tennis side of it there were all kinds of athletes there and in the athletes village the mix was incredible- you could have a 4 foot tall gymnast walking on one side of you and a 7 foot tall basket ball player on the other side !!!


Just before the start of every season - from about october to december i take 3 months off tournaments and do pre-season training ; This is by far the hardest part of the year!! I Work on my speed/strength/endurance day after day and the only thing that gets me through it is that I know it is going to help me compete harder and better during the next season!! As I said earlier for the last few years I have been based in Belgium and the fitness trainer there was amazing. So along with his help and the comradery of all the other players doing it along side you it makes it easier and very beneficial!!


My coach Owen Casey has been a great help to me , it was so helpful for me to have someone who was always there for me to call whenever I had any questions about my game or needed any encouragement /advice


As I am 18 now I am starting to move onto the the futures tournaments . I got a wild card into the 15,000 futures in FLTC this summer where i got my first point , so I am hoping that when I get back out playing alot of tournaments I will be able to build on that!"

Irish National Vets Champions - Ann Naughton and Un Ryle

In an earlier post, following their success in the Irish Open Vets at Elm Park, I said Ann and Un were a pair to watch for the rest of the season.

Well I was right, following on from this success, the two were deservedly selected for the Vets Interpro team that travelleed to Belfast.

And with some excellent performances from both players, they helped Munster win the Interprovincial title for the first time in 10 years.

Their season didn't didn't end there, recently they travelled to Kilkenny, where they won the O-40 womens doubles, and now they're just getting greedy.

To put the icing on the cake of a fabulous season, they travelled to Lansdowne Tennis Club, where they took on the best the country had to offer and won the 26th National Vets O-40 Doubles Title.

Well done to both players on a tremendous season.

I asked Ann to put a piece together for the blog and the following is her very entertaining piece.

"26th VETERANS’ NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 5-7 November, 2010. Landsdowne Tennis Club.

Many thanks and congratulations to Gerry Clarke and his committee, and to Landsdowne Tennis Club for all their hard work and for the warm welcome afforded the Munster players.

Report:

Several Munster players sharpened their weapons and ventured into Viking territory for the 26th Veterans’ National Championships. The terrain was a little alien: strange speech, tolls to be paid, canals to be crossed, and care to be taken not to disturb the Giant Avivabird’s nest. The scene before us was ‘all white’ and tournament-software-free, and the rules of engagement were enforced by the legendary Leinster warrior, Gerry Clarke and his household, whose mastery of the traditional ancient craft of Running a Tournament with Pens, Paper & No Fuss is certainly to be admired and cherished. The High Queen of Ireland was in attendance all weekend, dispensing graceful smiles and good humour, and her presence from Belfast was very much appreciated.

There were minor skirmishes on Friday night but most Cork players survived, supported by their Munster colleagues from Tipp and Waterford, the Earl of DESmond and Dick of the Decies. Major exchanges took place on Saturday morning, with the Earl of DESmond, Donovan Joe, Ron son of Ó Mahuna, Dave son of Carthaigh, accompanied by their personal Smyth (P), not to mention our Korean martial arts mercenary, Un Fu, all taking scalps in the early part of the day, and facing deadlier opponents in the afternoon session.

As the light faded, some were forced to retreat southwards, leaving the Earl of DESmond, Dick of the Deicies, Un Fu and Ann of the Littler People, all preparing for the final showdowns. Sunday dawned clear and bright and the Earl fought side by side with the best Korea can offer in single combat against Neilus Wilsonia and the Spanish siren, Mitti Cosmos. Our heroes tried valiantly, abused some rackets, but had to concede eventually to stronger players on the day, but not before 3 sets and inflicting some hurt. Mutterings from Mitti to the effect “I’m going mental” may, just may, have had something to do with the Korean Deadly Slice Dropshot!

Dick of the Deicies, naturally, and in his own nonchalant way, claimed another national title partnered by his affable ally from the North, George Lucas. Ann and Un finished the year with their second national title in the ladies doubles over 40, much to the pleasure and bemused smiles of their husbands and children, who hadn’t seen them since they left home for Causeway Vets in late August.

Normal services have now been resumed in all the homes of those who travelled!"

Comments and Feedback Greatly Appreciated

Hi guys, as we come to the end of the first year of the blog, any comments or feedback, good or bad is greatly appreciated.  You can leave a comment as part of this post or email me at rob_leahy@yahoo.co.uk

Thanks



What to know about Racket Restringing

Would you buy a car and never get it serviced?

That, in a sense, is what you're doing if you never get your racket restrung.

People pay good money for their racket and they like the way it plays when new but, over time, the performance of the racket will change and this is mainly due to strings losing tension and with that their ability to perform.

The strings are the engine of the racket and, if you play regularly, your strings should be changed AT LEAST every 6 months.

In most rackets there is only one string throughout the whole racket. Over time, this string can stretch, slip at the knots or, in our weather, absorb moisture and become lifeless.

In this piece, I will go through the various types of strings available, the type of player they suit, their benefits and downfalls and the tension range recommended for your frame.

Generally, unless you buy a frame-only racket and specify the string type and tension, most rackets will be strung with synthetic gut and midway in the recommended range.
The recommended range is the range at which the suppliers think the racket will perform at its best.
Each recommended range usually offers a 10lb margin eg. 50-60lb.

The higher the tension the greater the control, the lower the tension the greater the power.

Different string types offer different levels of power or control. Below are the different string materials available and also the types of player they suit.

String thickness has a strong bearing on how your racket will perform. String thickness or 'gauge' ranges from 15 (thickest) to 19 (thinnest).
Generally, thinner strings offer greater playability and the possibility of more spin as they embed into the ball more while thicker strings offer greater durability.

Material Types:

Synthetic Gut:
This covers both nylon and synthetic gut, since in reality they are the same thing. Synthetic gut is made up of high quality nylon. Most people still use this type of string as it offers a good level of durability, as well as playability, which is what most club players want.
Even in hybrids, which will be explained later, nylon is generally used as the cross strings.

Topspin:
This is still a synthetic gut but with a roughness to it. It offers everything normal synthetic gut offers but with the potential for more spin as the roughness grips the ball more.

Polyester:
This is the fashionable string of the moment and alot of people ask for this string without really knowing what it is supposed to do. It is a more durable string so for the person that is regularly breaking strings it is one worth considering but know what it does before changing over to it.
It doesn't move and deadens the string bed. This allows the hard hitters, fast swingers, to really go after the ball and still have good control.
Polyester strings offer little power or feel, so expect balls to land short of the baseline unless you increase your swing speed to compensate.
Polyester string is not recommended for beginners, or those suffering from tennis elbow.

Hybrids:
This is where players combine polyester mains with a softer cross string, either synthetic gut, or for the professional feel, natural gut.
This offers the durability benefits of polyester and reduces the stiff, dead feel from the string bed.
Again, not recommended for beginners or players with, or prone to tennis elbow.

How to choose your tension:

As I said earlier "the higher the tension the greater the control, the lower the tension the greater the power".

Control - tighter strings, means less deflection and because of this the ball deforms more, providing less return than looser strings.  This means the ball won't take off when you hit it.
Beginners who say they want control don't need tight strings, they need a soft, forgiving stringbed that lower tensions provide.

Power - When you lower the tension the stringbed will deflect more and therefore the ball less, returning greater energy to the ball thus giving more power.
One of the benefits of stringing the racket at lower tension is less chance of tennis elbow.  This is because lower tensions provide a softer feel and larger sweetspot, reducing the amount of shock and vibration to the arm.

I hope you find this a useful article and if you have any other questions you can email me at rob_leahy@yahoo.co.uk.

Bishopstown Junior Tennis Academy

I have being involved in tennis a long time now and it is really only since I started this blog that I have really become aware of how many people play tennis, how important it is to these people and how much work people do to help promote and improve the game here.

One of these people is Conor Twomey, who 2 years ago was given the job as Head Coach for Bishopstown Tennis Club, and his good working relationship with other coaches in the club has produced a Tennis Academy of the highest level, which is now after a very successful year showing the benefit of all their hard work.

I asked Conor to put a piece together to let us know how the Academy started and how the hard work is paying off.

The following is Conors' account of things:

"Overall Bishopstown has had a very successful year, not only in Juniors but in Seniors and in Veterans. Recently, Cork Blog asked me would I be interested in mentioning a few words in relation to our coaching set up as we have had such a thriving year. To fully understand our coaching set up I have to take you back in time to thoroughly appreciate what we have achieved.

I'm in my car and i'm driving home. It's eight o'clock in the evening and i've just had my interview to become the head coach of Bishopstown Tennis Club. I'm feeling confident about how things went but not overly certain, but I believe i've laid out a good plan of where I would like the club to be in three to five years time. The following day, the call comes through, i've got the job as head coach of Bishopstown Tennis Club.
The first thing to do is to assess where we are at as a club, primarily the Junior side. Over the next few weeks I begin to realise that I am up the creek without a paddle, and a boat that's beginning to fall apart, and the crocodiles are baying for me. We have 1 mini tennis net, 3 soccer balls (punctured) and a couple of furry tennis balls that resemble candy floss from the circus. Numbers are just over a hundred, performance players are thin on the ground, if any. Three of our best Juniors have had to leave the club as there is not a high enough standard for them to play with.

There were plenty of negatives so I had to look for the positives and it was only when I started looking that I realised there were plenty of beneficial aspects to the club. We had a fantastic new chairman, Robert Murphy, and we had some brilliant people involved in the Junior side. Straight away I knew from my experience in sport at any level, you need to have a great team with you so I began assembling a team. The first priority was to increase the numbers attending coaching and the best way to do this was to start making it fun again, the best person I knew to do this was Conor Clarke. In my opinion he is the Rafael Nadal of fun and personifies and is the template of what everything a coach should aspire to be.
Fia O'Farrell also came on board as a Junior co-ordinator and tennis assistant and between the three of us with the support of our Junior committee and chairman, we spent a bit of money, bought some new equipment, pumped up the music, blew up the inflatable targets and started having fun with the kids. Within the year our numbers had increased by a third. Stage one complete.

We're in the car and we're driving home. It's 3 o'clock in the afternoon. We've just been hammered by Bandon in an U10 friendly. To say the atmosphere in the car is tense would be an understatement. Silence is deafening, followed by loud thumps on the dash board by both myself and Conor Clarke. We swear that day, that this will never, ever happen again.

Year 2 - due to the increasing numbers attending coaching, we are able to expand our coaching staff. The first quality I look for in a coach is passion, passion for the game, passion for coaching but most of all someone who truly cares. In steps Cian Blake. Here was a guy with very little experience at coaching and also very young, but has played and helped coach his brother Jamie to a high level and shown a hunger and a drive to succeed. They are exactly the qualities we are looking for to take us to the next level. It is at this point myself, Conor Clarke, Cian Blake reinvent Bishopstown Juniors to become Bishopstown Junior Tennis Academy.

Over the next two years we set up Academy coaching, where each of our coaches, coach the Academy on a voluntary basis throughout the year. It is in these extra sessions that we begin to develop and nurture the fine young tennis athlethes that we have now. Their results are a testament to the hard work that people have put in but most of all a reflection of what outstanding players they are. We are often congragulated and praised on what a great job we've done, but I don't think we've done a great job, we've just done our job. That's what we're paid to do. To me, the real hard work is the work put in by the players and the fantastic volunteers we have in our club. People like Denise McCarthy, Paula Milanne, Michelle Johnston, Caroline Moloney, Robert Murphy, Sandra Lane, Mary Foyle, Catherine Quinn, Mary Mountjoy, in fact the list is endless.

We're in the car and we're driving home. It's four o'clock in the afternoon and the last tournament of the year (Ballinlough) has just finished. We've just won the boys U9's, runner up in the girls U10's, winner of the boys U10's, winner and runner up of the girls U11's and winner of the girls U13's. There is a silence in the car, but not the silence that was experienced two years ago on the way home from Bandon. This silence reflects a feeling of those summer evenings where you're sitting down, relaxed, watching the sun set with not a care in the world. Absolute bliss.

Im in my car, just pulling in to work, and right now there is coaching six days a week with six coaches and a waiting list for coaching. A fully equipped shed that would be the match of any academy anywhere in the world, and each player has a strong identity with their club and I would hope proud members of Bishopstown Junior Tennis Academy. Where we go from here is down to the energy and drive of everyone pulling together to achieve one goal, which is to be recognised as one of the best clubs in Ireland. As I speak our coaches travel every weekend to different squads all over Munster to enhance their skills and become better coaches which in turn will produce better players, which is our only goal . This is a great sport with some great people. Ask not what your club can do for you but what you can do for your club, and anything can be achieved.

Conor Twomey
Head Coach Bishopstown Tennis Club

Cork players do well in Kilkenny.

Kilkenny Open Vets tournament took place last weekend and a large contingent travelled from Cork to challenge for the honours.

There was a strong field in all events with entrants from Tipperary and all over Leinster.

Cork players took part in no less than 7 finals and won 5 of those 7. That is a great achievement and confirms Munsters' recent success at the Vets Interpros.

Congratulations to all finalists especially to Ann Coveney on her great singles win.

Finalists and Winners:
MS 35+ Runner Up - Stan Dvorsky, Bandon
WD 35+ Runner Up - Ann Naughton, Sundays Well partnered by Csilla Varga
WD 40+ Winners - Ann Naughton, Sundays Well and Un Ryle, Bishopstown
MD 45+ Winners - Joe Donovan and Pat Smith, Bishoptown
MX 45\40 Winners - Ron O Mahony, Sundays Well partnered by Trudy Kennedy
WS 50+ Winner - Ann Coveney, Sundays Well
MX 65\60 Winners - Brendan Boylan, Mallow partnered by Breda McCarthy.

Rushbrooke Open Vets Results and Photos

This event attract the best from across Munster with no less than 3 Irish Internationals and all events had some very competitive matches and not just on finals day.

Results:
MS 35+  Liam O Brien V Des Dillon 6-4, 6-4
WS 35+  Connie Creed V Un Ryle 7-6, 6-1
MD 35+  Liam O Brien\Rob Murphy V Des Dillon\Willie Guiry 6-3, 6-4
WD 35+  Connie Creed\Melanie Spivey V Ann Naughton\Un Ryle 6-3, 6-4
MX 35+  Karen Higgins\Rob Murphy V Siobhan Murray\Jim Mulcahy 6-4, 6-0
WS 50+  Michelle Linnane V Adrienne Sherwood 6-2, 6-3
WD 50+  Oonagh Levis\Patricia O Connor V Suzanne Hayes\Kay Lynch Ret.
MXD 55\50+  Oonagh Levis\Larry Power V Colette Miskella\Martin Leahy 6-3, 3-6, 12-10
MD 55+  Donal McGovern\Larry Power V Brendan Boylan\Martin Leahy 7-6, 6-3

Congratulations to all who took part and well done to Alan and his team on a very successful event.

Don't forget to check out about the Babolat Cork Tennis League 2011 and be in with a chance to win a full head to toe Babolat prize.

It's Vets weekend in Rushbrooke!

It's Jazz weekend in Cork and vets weekend in Rushbrooke and they have a lot in common, they'll both be blowing hot air, puffing and panting and playing with strings only the talent will be in Rushbrooke.

Even though it is a small draw, it has a very high standard of entries and should provide some very entertatining matches.

Again there are Munster Vets Interpro selection points at stake this weekend and those who won last weekend in Bishopstown will be looking to add more while those who lost will be looking to stay in contention.

All the best to all involved, let's hope it's an enjoyable weekend.

To check your draw or schedule you can click here.

Bishopstown Open Vets Results

Finals day of Bishopstown vets was played today and a positive start for the winners towards selection to next years Veterans Interpro teams.
Here are the results:
MD35 - Joe O Donovan\Pat Smith V Silvio Di Blasi\Sean Frank 6-3, 6-1
WD35 - Deirdre McSherry\Joanne Williamson V Grace Reidy\Connie Creed 6-0, 6-3
MX35 - Joanne Williamson\Derek Lane V Trudy Kennedy\Donal Neary 6-1, 6-1
MD45 - Joe O Donovan\Pat Smith V Pat Coleman\David McCarthy 1-6, 6-3, 10-8
WD45 - Connie Creed\Grace Reidy V Ann Naughton\Alice Keating 6-3, 6-2
WD50 - Eileen Devey\Margaret O Sullivan V Ann Coveney\Marie Duffy 6-4, 3-6, 10-8
Vin MX - Oonagh Levis\Larry Power V Rose Holohan\Derry Vereker 6-0, 6-4
MD55 - Donal McGovern\Larry Power V John Heffernan\Martin Leahy 6-2, 6-1
MD65 - John Barry\Noel Murphy V Seamus Flynn\Derry Vereker 7-5, 6-4
Grade 5/6/7 MD35 - Ger Moloney\Brendan O Donoghue V Niall Coonan\John O Toole 4-6, 7-5, 10-5
Grade 5/6/7 WD 35 - Mags Cronin\Maria Crowley V Karen Holmes\Sheila Stokes 6-1, 6-2.

Well done to all the winners and congratulations to the tournament committee on a very well run event.

Vets Season 2011 about to begin.

It's getting like the European golf season now where 2011 tournaments are played in 2010.

This is the case for 2 veterans tournaments in a way as they are the first counting tournaments for selection to the 2011 Veterans Interprovincial Teams.

Bishopstown is the first of these and starts tomorrow, Thursday, all draws, schedules and results are available here.

Best of luck to Bishopstown on a successful tournament and good luck to all the players involved.

Babolat Competition Details



An Idea of what you could win!



Babolat Cork Tennis League 2011.

Here's the plan, over the course of 2011 anybody who plays in the Senior Open tournaments can take part in this league.

The league table will be updated after every tournament starting with Rushbrooke Easter Open and finishing after Bandon, unless new tournaments are added.  The calender of events, that the league will be following, will be published in November and can be viewed on this blog.

To be eligible you must have registered before you play your first tournament. 

At the end of this post there will be a link to the competition page where all the rules and registration details are listed.  There will also be an email address for any further information you might need.

On this page you will also find a league table of how the 2010 season would have finished if the same competition were run, well done Joanna O Riordan and Tim Ryan.  Check out how you did in 2010 (a similar points system was used but has being modified for 2011).

I will be sending posters to your club soon, you might make sure it is displayed and let as many members know as possible.  Nothing like a bit of healthy competition.

For all the details on the Babolat Competition click here.

Rushbrooke Open Vets coming soon.

Rushbrooke open vets is going to take place over the bank holiday weekend and remember this is one of the events that will count for Interpro selection in 2011.

Entries are now being taken and can be done by clicking here.

Win a head to toe prize from Babolat!

Watch this space as 1 man and 1 woman will have a chance to win a head to toe prize from Babolat, includes rackets, clothing and footwear.

All will be revealed here soon.....

Mahers Tennis Website Updated

Maher Sports have just added a new tennis section to their website.

It shows all their rackets and accessories, with clothing, footwear and special offer sections to be added soon.

Check it out here..

New Grades

Now that the season is over and the prizes have being won, everyone will be looking to see their grade for next year, especially those who have lost to the same person all year in hope they are upgraded.

You can check out the new grades here.

Bandon Open Results 2010 - Double for Kukucka, Thompson and Wall.

The final open of the Senior season came to a close last weekend and a lot of familiar names were participating in the finals.

Congratulations to Bandon on a very successful tournament hosting a total of 180 players during the week and congratulations to the prize winners.

Results:
MD3 - Niall Cloke\David Thompson V Bill Howie\Eddie Ronayne 6-7\7-6\7-6
WD3 - Marion Healy\Monica Williams V Kalene Kenefick\Kay Lynch 6-3\6-2
XD3 - Lisa Long\David Thompson V Orla Hosford\Eddie Ronayne 7-5\6-2
MD4 - Paraic Crehan\Michael Kukucka V Gus Bowen Paul Healy 6-3\6-4
WD4 - Sabine Graef\Louise McKeon V Dara Carberry\Louise Nestor 5-7\6-0\7-6
XD4 - Michael Kukucka\Tara Mukerjee V Andy Beattie\Orla O Keeffe 7-6\6-2
MD5 - Joe Hanly\Niall Kerrigan V Ed Condon\Niall Hogan 1-6\6-4\6-3
WD5 - AnnMarie Collins\Gillian Wall V Mary Barnes\Trish O Leary 6-1\7-5
XD5 - Ed Condon\Gillian Wall V Moss O Leary\Ann Marie Collins 5-7\6-0\6-3
MD6 - Ross McDonald\Tom Mullane V Brian Doran\Craig Maiden 6-2\6-1
WD6 - Tersea Horn\Meg Thompson V Karen Holmes\Sheila Stokes 7-5\6-3
XD6 - Barry\Fidelma O Brien V James O Sullivan\Noreen Kelly 6-4\7-5

Interprovincial Teams Honoured at Celebration Dinner

On Saturday night last both Munster Interprovincial Winning teams were honoured by the Munster Branch at Sundays Well Tennis Club.

The dinner was attended by The Lord Mayor, Michael O Connell, The President of Tennis Ireland, Letty Lucas, The President of Munster Branch, Cliff Carroll and other distinguished guests.

The dinner was in recognition of the marvellous achievement of both teams. The Senior team won for the first time in 17 years and the Junior Vets team won for the first time in 10 years and to make it all the more special, it was the first time Munster have held both together.

Three people were present at both events, the Seniors in Dundalk and the Vets in Belfast, which made for a very special night and an unbelieveable achievement for the three, of which I was lucky enough to have being one, along with Joanne Williamson who also played in both and Liam O Brien who played in the Vets and was Non-playing captain in the Seniors.

Both teams were congratulated on their fabulous achievements by the various speakers and each player was presented with a gift on the night.

A special word of thanks to the Munster Branch for organising such an event.

Grass courts coming back to Rushbrooke

A group of members who like to be known as the premier eights (everyone is allowed dream) have undertaken a project to bring 2 grass courts back to Rushbrooke.

Those of you who were lucky enough to have played in Rushbrooke during the time when the open tournament used to have 6 grass courts will be looking forward to this as much as me.

I remember some great tennis being played on those grass courts and finals that attracted the best players from around the country and often further afield.

At the moment, as far as I'm aware, Argideen Vale is the only other club in Cork to have real grass courts and while Rushbrooke won't be holding open tournaments on the grass again it will be fabulous to have the opportunity to play some proper serve and volley tennis on the surface it was made for.

The Premier eights will over the next few months be holding fundraisers (this is being fully funded by them, not the club) so if you are in a position to support any of these events please do so.

Updates of how the courts are progressing can be seen on Rushbrooke's facebook page but here are a few photos to show you what's happening.



Photos courtesy of John Carmody.

Two Open Vets Tournaments to go!

Right, before everyone heads off playing Winter Leagues and with the last Senior Open of the year happening in Bandon there is still 2 Vets Open Tournaments left.

This is where the serious tennis will be played, never mind the Munster Cup finals, this is where you will see Interproprovincial Champions in action and with the new selection system these tournaments count for next years team selection.

The first of these opens is in Bishopstown and entries are still being taken, to enter click here.

Join Conor Twomey and co. in Bishopstown.

This is an all doubles event and should provide some very competitive and entertaining matches throughout the tournament, which runs from the 13th to the 17th of October.

The final one of the year is in Rushbrooke which runs over the bank holiday weekend from the 22nd to the 25th of October. Details of entries to follow.

Munster Summer Cup Finals

Scores and report to follow shortly.

An amazing double for Munster

Following on from the great achievement of the Senior team at last month's Interpros the Vets headed to Belfast hoping that lightning would strike twice.

It had being 10 years since the Vets last won the Interpros and while you always hope this could be your year you know it will require a lot of factors to fall into place for you.

One of these factors was addressed early in the year when all vets who were interested in playing for Munster were invited to attend a meeting to decide on a format for selection of teams. In previous years familiar names were appearing on team sheets and unfortunately some of these people weren't playing open tournaments for one reason or another so at the meeting a team of selectors were chosen and one of their main priorities was to tackle this issue.
The result was a team chosen from results and hopefully one that would be prepared for the battle ahead.
Some people agreed with this, others weren't sure it would provide the strongest possible team.

Well results speak for themselves, Munster Vets Interpro Champions 2010, that can't be argued with.

The weekend took a new format, instead of all age groups playing the same province at the same time all ages were mixed so you didn't know until the last match how you faired.

With an overall total of 48 points up for grabs, Munster headed into the final round of play, with 16 points at stake, 3 points ahead of Leinster. While a good advantage nothing is guaranteed as Munster found out at the same stage last year when 4 points ahead.

These 16 matches consisted of 8 doubles and 8 singles matches and none were going to be handed to them.

There is no third set in vets tennis it is a champions tie break (first to 10 points) and these are character building.
Just so you know how important they are Munster won overall by 7 points. The difference at the end of the day was Munster lost 1 champions tiebreak, Leinster lost 8, it was that close.

Congratulations on a fabulous victory:
The Team:
Non Playing Captain: Alice Fawsitt
Ladies 35+
Deirdre McSherry
Joanne Williamson
Jennifer Anne Mulholland

Mens 35+
Rob Leahy
Niall Chandler
Derek Lane

Ladies 40+
Trudy Kennedy
Niamh Kennedy
Grace Reidy

Mens 40+
Rob Murphy
Pat Guiry
David McCarthy
Kieran Galvin

Ladies 45+
Ann Naughton
Un Ryle
Marcella Kelly
Siobhan Murray

Mens 45+
Des Dillon
Liam O Brien
Joe O Donovan

Ladies 50+
Marie Duffy
Gail O Meara
Maura McCarthy

Mens 50+
Pat Smith
Pat Coleman
Noel Fitton
Ron O Mahony

Enjoy the victory but don't overdo the celebrating, as next year's interpros are in Munster and defending it won't be easy.
Well done to all involved.

Some more photos taken by Derek Lane available here.

Ballinlough Open Doubles Results

Ballinlough Open finished on Saturday, and great credit must go to the organisers. Following some horrible weather and with a large entry to contend with it was a great achievement for the tournament to finish on time.

The finals had some familiar faces involved and while the winners will be delighted some of the other competitors will be delighted to see the back of some of the winners who no doubt at this point will have enough points to be upgraded.

Results:
Mixed Doubles 3: Orla Hosford/David Carroll V Marion Healy/Seamus Moynihan 6-4, 7-6
Mens Doubles 4: Nick Cloke/John Hurley V Anthony Coughlan/Jonathon Mulcahy 6-1, 6-4
Ladies Doubles 4: Dara Carbery/Louise Nestor V Lisa Fulcher/Joanne O Keeffe 2-1 retired.
Mixed Doubles 4: Anne Rose Purdon/Odran Cafferky V Louise Nestor/Paul Healy 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Mens Doubles 5: Senan Ahern/Damien O Donovan V James Cooney/Declan Whelan Curtin 6-3, 7-6
Ladies Doubles 5: Teresa O Donovan/Lorna Power V Catherine Griffin/ Maria O Keeffe 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
Mixed Doubles 5: Sheila McCarthy/Tim Ryan V Sarah Dunne/Kevin Moynihan 7-5, 2-6, 7-6
Mens Doubles 6: Derek Murphy/John O Donovan V Jack Daly/Tom Noonan 6-2, 6-2
Ladies Doubles 6: Susan Cogan/Deirdre Deane V Anne Marie O Brien/Michelle O Connell 6-4, 6-3
Mixed Doubles 6: Bridget Webb/Frank Delaney V Liz Moore/Philip Neville 6-4, 6-4.

Well done to all the winners.

Summer Cup Finals this weekend.

After a lot of hard matches and plenty of travelling, Finals day has finally arrived and for some it will all be worthwhile after Sunday, for others disappointment and thoughts of what could have being.

The Finals of the Munster Summer Team Competitions takes place this Sunday in Rushbrooke Tennis Club and anyone who attends should be treated to some fabulous tennis.

Team events always provide great excitement and people can find a new level in these competitions as they are now playing for their team and the pride of their clubs and this sometimes means players dig deeper than they might if it was just for themselves.

Teams from all over Munster will be involved hoping to be crowned Munster Champions.

Division 1: Bishopstown V Limerick Lawn
Division 2: Nenagh V Rushbrooke
Carslberg Cup: Nenagh A V Crosshaven A
Division 4 Ladies: Sundays Well V Crosshaven
Division 4 Men: Sundays Well V Carrigaline
Division 5 Ladies: Tralee V Rushbrooke
Division 5 Mixed: Hillview V Kinsale
Division 6 Ladies: Rushbrooke V Carrigaline
Division 6 Men: Nenagh V Dromahane
Division 6 Mixed: Crosshaven V Dromahane

Best of luck to all teams.

Bandon Open - Enter Here

Entries for Bandon Open are now being taken and you can enter online by clicking here.

This is the last Senior Open of the year and always attracts a good crowd.

To check out your draw and keep up to date with the scores when the tournament starts, all the details will be available on the blog.

Busy weekend for tennis in Cork and Cork players.

This coming weekend is going to be a very busy one for Cork tennis, the finals of the Ballinlough Open will take place on Saturday and hopefully the weather holds out and makes for a very enjoyable days playing and spectating.

The Vets head to Belfast for their Interpros on Friday and Saturday where a large contingent of Cork players will join up with players from the rest of the province to try and bring the title home for Munster. 

And last but definitely not least our 4 Internationals, Niamh Coveney, Rachel Daly, Jamie Blake and David Gardiner head off to Wales for the Four nations, so hopefully we will have headlines galore next week.

Ballinlough Senior Doubles next on calender

Ballinlough Senior Open starts Thursday 2nd of September and as always Ballinlough have received a good entry.

To check your draw or to see when you're playing click here.

Good luck to all competitors especially to those who only require a few points for upgrading.  This is your second last chance of the season.

East Cork Open - Lower Aghada Results

Mens Doubles 1 - Cian Blake\Paul Fitzgerald V Duncan Cronin\Conor Kelly 6\4 6\7 6\2
Womens Doubles 1 - Danielle Geary\Aileen Sutherland V Marie Duffy\Mary Claire McCarthy 3\6 6\3 6\4
Mixed Doubles 1 - Danielle Geary\Conor Kelly V Mary Claire McCarthy\Vince Lawton 7\6 6\3
Mens Doubles 2 - Colm Cronin\Paul Kelleher V Nick McCabe\Eric Young 6\2 6\4
Mens Doubles 3 - Bill Howie\Eddie Ronayne V Paul Kelleher\Jason O Brien 6\4 7\5
Womens Doubles 3 - Marion Gargan\Marion Healy V Berni Kenny\Helen McCarthy 7\6 6\2
Mixed Doubles 3 - Orla Hosford\Eddie Ronayne V Lisa Long\David Thompson 4\6 6\4 6\4
Mens Doubles 4 - Dermot Carbery\Kevin Moynihan V Stephen McCarthy\Ron Sisk 6\1 6\3
Womens Doubles 4 - Louise Nestor\Tricia O Leary V Maria Harrington\Betty Thompson 6\0 6\4
Mixed Doubles 4 - Deirdre Murphy\John Hurley V Susan O Donovan\Paul Healy 7\6 6\2
Mens Doubles 5 - Dermot Carbery\Kevin Moynihan V Kevin Day\Pat O Brien 6\1 6\4
Womens Doubles 5 - Katherine\Sheila Daly V Catriona McGregor\Ticia O Leary 6\3 6\4
Mixed Doubles 5 - Susan Hamel\Brian Wade V Liz Moore\Tim Ryan 6\1 6\3
Mens Doubles 6 - Jack Daly\Tom Noonan V Stephen Bellis\Geoff Hayes 4\6 7\6 6\4
Womens Doubles 6 - Suzanne Buckley\Pauline Byrne V Rosemary McCarthy\Mary Walsh 6\2 6\4
Mixed Doubles 6 - Bridget Walsh\Frank Delaney V Cathy Brooks\Tony Lawlor 6\1 6\0

Congratulations to Cork's International Players

Congratulations to Niamh Coveney and Jamie Blake on their selection to the Irish Senior team,  and Rachel Daly and David Gardiner who have both being selected for the U-14 team for the the Four Nations in Cardiff from the 9th to the 12th of September.

This is a magnificent achievement for all 4 and the very best of luck.

Douglas Senior Doubles Results

Mens Doubles 1\2 - Rob Murphy\Antoine Bercy V Niall Chandler\Derek Lane 6\3, 6\1
Mens Doubles 3 - Bill Howie\Eddie Ronayne V Niall Cloke\Alan McDonagh 7\5, 6\3
Mens Doubles 4 - Paul Healy\John Ryan V Dermot Carbery\Kevin Moynihan 6\2, 5\7, 6\0
Mens Doubles 5 - Neil Hogan\Bobby Thompson V Peter Howie\Tim Ryan 6\3, 6\3
Mens Doubles 6 - Donal Murphy\John O Donovan V Pa O Donoghue\Conor Ahern 7\5, 5\7, 6\2
Womens Doubles 1\2 - Liz Clifford\Karen O Donovan V Lisa Long\Carmel Daly 3\6, 6\3, 6\4
Womens Doubles 3 - Gillian\Louise Brohan V Clodagh Fitzgerald\Siobhan Murray 3\6, 7\5, 7\6
Womens Doubles 4 - Maria Harrington\Ann Rose Purdon V Carol Mulcahy\Joanna Riordan ret. inj.
Womens Doubles 5 - Anne Marie Collins\Gillian Wall V Laura Ahern\Sheila McCarthy 2\6, 6\0, 7\5
Womens Doubles 6 - Susan Cogan\Deirdre Deane V Fiona Doran\Ger O Callaghan 6\4, 6\1
Mixed 1\2 - Conor\Mary Claire McCarthy V Mike Warrin\Carmel Daly 6\1, 2\6, 7\6
Mixed 3 - Eddie Ronayne\Orla Hosford V Kalene Kenefick\Niall Cloke 6\2, 6\2
Mixed 4 - Robert Jenkins\Monica Twomey V Robert Murphy\Edel Coughlan 6\1, 6\2
Mixed 5 - Tim Ryan\Eadaoin O Riordan V Don Cahalane\Maria Crowley 6\4, 7\5
Mixed 6 - Douglas Kelly\Sarah Morris V Declan Whelan Curtin\Rosemary McCarthy 7\5, 6\4.

Federer does it again!

Awards for three Bishopstown Tennis Club Members.

The Cork International Airport Southside Sports Star Awards for August were announced recently and the winners were 3 Bishopstown members Emma Murphy, Cian Blake and Jamie Blake for their part in Munster's magnificent Interprovincial win in Dundalk.

The awards were presented at a luncheon where the July winner, Graham Cummins, Cork City FC, was also presented with his award.

The awards were attended by the parents of the recepients, representatives from the Munster Branch of Tennis Ireland and representatives of Bishopstown Tennis Club.

The Deputy Lord Mayor and the County Mayor both spoke along with Sean O'Sullivan, the organiser. They congratulated Emma, Jamie and Cian along with the whole team, on their great win for Munster and also the fact that Jamie and Cian were the first brothers to win the Senior Interpros for Munster. They also congratulated Bishopstown Tennis Club for being the best represented club on the Munster team.

The awards were sponsored by Gerald McCarthy.


The three winners now been invited to the end of year awards night where they will be put forward for the overall year award, along with others such as Ronan O'Gara, Michael Shields etc.

Congratulations to Emma, Cian and Jamie on their marvellous achievement and best of luck for the overall award.

Photos courtesy of Cork International Airport Hotel.

Congratulations to Siobhan and David - Irish Open title holders

The Irish Junior Open finished yesterday at Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club and Cork were represented in 4 finals as mentioned in a previous post and out of the 4 finals we had 2 winners.

Siobhan Ryan Bovey teamed up with Sinead Lohan to win the under 16 girls doubles.  Siobhan had a very good week as she also reached the finals of the under 16 girls singles where she met an inspired opponent in Jane Fennelly.
This tops off a great year for Siobhan where she won various tournaments and also played Interprovincials at under 18.
Well done Siobhan, we'll watch this space for next year.

David Gardiner was partnered by Eoin McGovern to win the boys under 14 doubles in a very high standard event.
David had a very good week overall where he also got to the semi finals of the boys under 14 singles and was partnered by Rachel Daly to reach the semi finals of the under 14 mixed.
David too has had a great year, in which he won a lot of titles in his own age group and age groups above his.

The fourth finalist was Rachel Daly and after some great matches during the week this was just one too many but still a fabulous achievement to be in the Irish Open final.

Well done to all, 3 definites to watch for the future.

Douglas Senior Open Doubles Finals on Today

The finals of the Douglas Senior Open doubles tournament takes place today and you will be guaranteed a great days tennis if you go along and watch.

With 15 events ranging from grade 1 to 6 there will be something there for everyone.

To see who's winning click here.

East of Ireland Open Update

Niamh Coveney plays in 2 finals today in the East of Ireland at Lansdowne Tennis Club.

In the singles final she takes on fellow Federation Cup player, Lynsey McCullough from Belfast and then partnered by Lynsey they take on Lesley O Halloran and Holly Monahan in what should be a very good doubles match.

Best of luck Niamh.
Scores and results here.

William Fry Junior Irish Open Finals Day

Good luck to all the Cork players in finals today in Fitzwilliam.

Girls Singles U-14 Rachel Daly,
Boys Doubles U-14 David Gardiner partnered by Eoin McGovern,
Girls Singles U-16 Siobhan Ryan Bovey,
Girls Doubles U-16 Siobhan Ryan Bovey partnered by Sinead Lohan.

Well done on getting to the finals now take it a step further.
Keep up to date with scores and results here.

Photos from Dundalk - Senior Interpros, courtesy of Derek Lane

Federer trick shot.

Good luck to all Cork Juniors in Fitz!

Or to give it its full title The William Fry Junior Lawn Tennis Championships of Ireland 2010.
This for the Juniors is the big one, to be the best in Ireland.

There is a huge turnout for this event every year and this year is no different with over 300 entrants across all the age groups.
Qualifying rounds to get into the main draws take place this Saturday and Sunday and play begins Monday morning at 7:30am.

Cork have a lot of players travelling this week and hopefully next week I will be writing about a few Irish Open Champions.

Good luck to all players travelling from Cork (too many to mention) and believe in yourselves.
Draws and results here.

Senior Open Tennis season winding down.

The Senior Open season is winding down with 4 opens to go.
Douglas open doubles is currently up and running and with another good entry, it should be a very enjoyable tournament.

Next on the calender is Aghada where the East Cork Open takes place from the 21st to the 28th of August, entries close on Monday the 16th, to enter just click here or to check your draw click here.
Aghada have added a grade 1 section this year so the event covers grade 1 to 6 doubles.

Aghada is followed by Ballinlough Open, and you can enter online here.
Ballinlough is a doubles only tournament for grades 3 to 6 and is always one of the more popular ones.

The last event on the senior calender is Bandon Open, this will run from the 18th of September to the 25th of September and details on entering this event to follow.

This will bring an end to the 2010 Senior calender of Opens but before we know it the Winter leagues will have kicked off and we'll all be fighting for our clubs over the winter months.

Now On - Douglas Senior Open Doubles

Douglas Open Doubles started Tuesday the 10th and runs until Saturday the 21st.
There are some very big draws and the prospect of some very good matches the whole way to finals day.
To keep up to date with scores or to check your draw, click here.

Andy Murray at his Best?

Munster - Senior Interprovincial Champions 2010

No matter how many times I say it or hear it I don't think I'll ever get sick of it.

The Senior Interpros were on last weekend in Dundalk Tennis Club and what a weekend it proved to be.
I am delighted to have being a part of it and proud to have being part of that team.

The team was Niamh Coveney, Andrea Maughan, Aoife O Neill, Joanne Williamson, Emma Murphy, Jamie Blake, Cian Blake, Paul Fitzgerald, Rob Leahy, Kevin Rea (our sky sports roaming reporter) and our captain Liam O Brien (who seemed to be everywhere).

From the time the team was announced we started to talk about the possibility of winning. We knew we had a strong team and the people on the team had being performing well over the summer so then you start to believe you have a chance.

I have played in a lot of interpros with a lot of talented players but talent doesn't always guarantee success, being part of a team that you believe in and are willing to fight for can help produce results when they don't always seem possible.

We shared that believe and spirit and this was evident from early on the train journey on Thursday morning when Emma started her interviews and the team bonding began.

We practiced well, played some unbelieveable tennis, and every player when finished got behind the next match and provided the most amazing support that I really believe helped unnerve our opponents.

Some people may not understand what this means to us but we shared the most amazing weekend with highs and lows and to watch people dig in when the going got tough made me so proud to be part of this Munster Team.

Well done to all (and I can't believe no-one found those ATP points).

Cork Tennis Photos - Available from Derek Lane

As you probably aware by now all the photos on this blog have being provided by Derek Lane throughout the year.
I would like to thank Derek for this nice addition to the blog and let you all know that you can now buy any of the photos from Derek by clicking here.

International Events happening soon in Rushbrooke

For the last few years Rushbrooke have hosted an Under 18 International tournament and recently added an Under 14 European tour event to its calender and this year is no different.

First up is the ITF Junior World Ranking event from July 25th to July 30th, followed by the U-14 Tennis Europe Junior Tour from the 1st to the 6th of August.

These events are well worth a visit, to watch some of our top players take on future world stars.

Bandon Junior Open

With the senior opens taking a break for a few weeks, the juniors are now in full swing and next on the calender is Bandon Junior Open.

This starts on Sunday the 25th at 9am and it is each players\parents responsibility to check the Bandon website for your schedule.

Best of luck to all competitors.

Cork tennis scene full of Interpros

Congratulations to all Cork players named on the Munster teams for the upcoming Interprovincials.

The Senior's head to Dundalk Tennis Club on the 6th and 7th of August and the Cork players involved here are: Niamh Coveney, Joanne Williamson, Emma Murphy, Jamie Blake, Cian Blake, Paul Fitzgerald and Rob Leahy.

The U-18's are going to Castlebar Tennis Club on the 9th and 10th of August and the Cork players involved here are: Siobhan Ryan Bovey, Tara O Connor, Danielle Geary, Duncan Cronin, Sam Thompson, James Reidy and Shane Healy.

The U-14's are also in Castlebar Tennis Club on the 11th and 12th of August and the Cork players here are Rachel Daly, Emily Daly, Aisling O Riordan, David Gardiner and Niall Casey.

We wish them the best of luck and hopefully we bring home the trophies.

Daly and Gardiner too hot for Limerick

Two Cork U-14 players take the spoils at Limerick, Rachel Daly and David Gardiner went unbeaten in The South of Ireland Junior Open at Limerick Lawn.
This would be an achievement in itself if it was in their own age groups of U-14, but it wasn't it was in both the U-16 singles and the U-18 singles where they beat Munster Interpro players along the way.

This was a remarkable achievement and to top it off they teamed up to make it a hatrick of titles by winning the U-18 Mixed doubles.

Junior Irish Close Championships at Rushbrooke L.T.& C.C.

One of the biggest titles on the Irish junior tennis calender is up for grabs this week at Rushbrooke tennis club and this reflected in a very good quality entry throughout all the age groups.

To keep up to date with the scores click here.

Rushbrooke Senior Open photos

Rushbrooke FDC Championships of County Cork Results

After a disasterous start weather wise we had a lovely day for the majority of our finals day.
With numbers down a little on last year, but still a very big entry we reached finals day with a bit of help and understanding from the players and were then treated to some fantastic finals throughout all grades.
On a personal note, as Tournament Director, I would like to thank all the players for their efforts and accomodation in getting matches played so that finals day happened on time.
I would also like to mention our sponsors FDC Financial Services Ltd., for their continued support in running what is our biggest tournament and always a very enjoyable one. As I have said in each of our other tournament reports, we can't have tournaments without sponsors as tournament fees don't cover the cost of the prizes, so many thanks to FDC Financial Services Ltd.

Results:
MS1 - Kevin Rea V Jamie Blake 7-6\1-6\6-3
WS1 - Niamh Coveney V Tracey O Rourke 6-2\6-0
MD1 - Jamie & Cian Blake V Paul Fitzgerald\Rob Leahy 6-2\5-7\6-2
WD1 - Niamh Coveney\Joanne Williamson V Rachel Daly\Siobhan Ryan Bovey 6-1\6-2
XD1 - Niamh Coveney\Paul Fitzgerald V Joanne Williamson\Cian Blake 6-1\6-1
MS2 - Peter Brennan V Conor McCarthy 2-6\7-6\6-3
WS1 - Connie Creed V Sinead Dunne ret. inj.
MD2 - Joe Donovan\Pat Smith V Glyn Exshaw\Vincent Quirke 6-4\6-4
WD2 - Sommer Craig\Un Ryle V Carmel Daly\Sharon McGarry 6-4\6-3
XD2 - Sinead Power\Martin Cusack V Aine Kiernan\Jimmy Murphy 7-5\6-1
MS3 - Silvio di Blasi V Eddie Ronayne 6-3\6-4
WS3 - Mairead Neary V Joanne O Riordan 6-4\6-3
MD3 - Brian Fogarty\David Thompson V Silvio di Blasi\Kevin McCarthy 6-4\6-4
WD3 - Louise & Gillian Brohan V Oonagh Levis\Ann Coveney 3-6\6-4\6-4
XD3 - Orla Hosford\Eddie Ronayne V Kay Lynch\Niall Cloke 6-3\6-7\7-6
MS4 - Kevin McCarthy V Mike Reeb 6-3\6-7\7-6
WS4 - Siobhan Colclough Halpin V Tanya Colclough 6-4\6-1
MD4 - Colum Stack\Niall Ahern V Dominic Crowley\Noel Murphy 6-3\6-1
WD4 - Trish Murphy\Roisin Rasmussen V Lisa Fulcher\Louise Nestor 6-4\6-1
XD4 - Edel Coughlan\Rob Murphy V Jesse Morris\Nick Cloke 6-3\0-6\6-2
MS5 - James Cooney V Ronan Conway 6-3\6-1
WS5 - Susan O Donovan V Aoife Moloney 4-6\6-2\7-5
MD5 - Senan Ahern\Damien O Donovan V Tim Ryan\Tom Moore 7-6\7-5
WD5 - Ursula Hogan\Jacqui O Mahony V Emma Crowley\Aoife Moloney ret. inj.
XD5 - Laura Ahern\Peter Howie V Tricia O Leary\James Cooney 2-6\6-0\6-3
MS6 - Denis McCarthy V Conor Ahern 6-4\6-4
WS6 - Suzanne Buckley V Pauline Byrne 6-4\6-3
MD6 - Tim Ryan\Tom Moore V Patrick O Donoghue\Barry o Brien 1-6\6-2\6-4
WD6 - Fidelma O Brien\Eadaoin O Riordan V Orla Bowen\Kitty Moynihan 6-2\6-4
XD6 - Eadaoin O Riordan\Tim Ryan V Cathy Brooks\Rod Coleman 6-7\7-6\6-4

Photos to follow shortly.

Kinsale Open Photos 2010

Hi to all who played in Kinsale and apologies for the delay in getting the photos to you. Here they are!

Photos from Sundays Well Senior Open 2010

Carrigaline Astra Senior Open Finals hit by weather

Unfortunately again this year Carrigaline have had a finals day nightmare where the heavens opened and the courts flooded and play had to be suspended.
There was one final completed on the day and one played yesterday but the rest to be completed at a later date.

FDC Championships of County Cork - Rushbrooke

Next on the tournament calender is Rushbrooke's senior open sponsored again this year by FDC Financial Services Ltd.
With a very large entry received this should be another good tournament and any winners will really deseerve their titles.
To check out your draw or find out your schedule click here.

Lakewood Senior Open Results

Lakewood Senior Open finished last Saturday and anyone who attended was treated to some very good finals.
A lot of familiar names in the finals but also some new ones which is good to see.
The results are:
MX 1\2: Mike Warren\Carmel Daly V Rob Murphy\Sommer Craig 7-5\6-3
MD1\2: Peter Brennan\Luke Warner V John O Brien\Mike Warren 6-4\6-2
WD1\2: Grace Reidy\Marie Duffy V Carmel Daly\Melanie Spivey 6-2\6-3
MX3: Silvio di Blaise\Lisa Long V Dave Murphy\Mairead Neary 2-6\6-4\6-1
MD3: Bill Howie\Eddie Ronayne V Alan McDonagh\Niall Cloke 6-1\7-5
WD3: Lisa Long\Mairead Neary V Maura McCarthy\Daragh Quinn 6-1\2-6\6-2
MX4: Pat McCann\Joanna Riordan V John Hurley\Deirdre Murphy 7-6\7-6
MD4: Paul Healy\John Ryan V Declan Alton\Martin Neary 6-0\7-6
WD4: Carol Mulcahy\Joanna Riordan V Lione Buwalda\Maria Harrington 6-3\6-4
MX5: Peter Howie\Laura Ahern V Tim Ryan\ Eadaoin O Riordan 6-2\6-1
MD5: Senan Aherne\Damien O Donovan V Gerry Buckley\Barry Thompson
WD5: Ann Marie Collins\Gillian Wall V Angela O Mahony\Lucy Quill 5-0 retired
Mx6\7: Patrick O Donoghue\Liz Moore V Conor Aherne\Sonya Murphy 6-2\6-2
MD6\7: Tom Moore\Tim Ryan V Thomas Mullane\John O Donovan 7-5\3-6\6-0
WD6\7: Fidelma O Brien\Eadaoin O Riordan V Lynn O Sullivan\Martina O Sullivan 2-6\6-3\6-2

Well done to Lakewood on a very successful tournament and congratulations to all the winners, Carrigaline next for everyone.

Carrigaline Astra Senior Open Doubles 2010

Carrigaline open is underway and as always attracts a very big entry.
This year Carrigaline are delighted to have ASTRA Construction Services Ltd as their sponsor.

To find out when you are playing or to watch the scores click here

Niamh Coveney - Irish Close Championships Winner

Congratulations to Niamh on her win in the Investec Irish Senior Close Championships in Donnybrook last week where she beat fellow Fed Cup player Lynsey McCullough.
Niamh is on a rich vein of form at the moment and hopefully it continues this week in Carrickmines.

Congratulaions Niamh and best of luck this week.

Congratulations to Siobhan Ryan Bovey

Siobhan won the Leinster Junior Open U-16 last week in Lansdowne LTC in very convincing fashion.
She beat the no.2 seed Kate Lloyd 6-1/6-1 in the final.
Best of luck for the rest of the season and congratulations again.

Kinsale Open and Sundays Well Open photos due shortly

Anyone who took part in Kinsale and Sundays Well Opens watch this space for photos taken during both weeks.

Lakewood Senior Open Underway

Lakewood Senior Open is underway and to keep up to date with the scores or to check when you're playing click on the highlighted links.

Busy Times for Open Tournaments

Here's a list of upcoming Junior and Senior events, where you can either enter online or during the week of the tournament check your times and watch the scores:

Junior Events
Douglas Junior Open
Sundays Well
Bishopstown - Bishopstown Junior Open 2010

Senior events
Lakewood - Lakewood Open 2010
Carrigaline - Carrigaline ASTRA Senior Open Doubles 2010
Rushbrooke - FDC Championships of County Cork 2010

Munster Senior Open 2010 Results

Sundays Well finished on Saturday in magnificent sunshine and anyone who attended was treated to some fabulous tennis.

With 30 finals across 6 grades, a full days entertainment was guaranteed and those who showed up to watch weren't disappointed.

A congratulations to Jean Downey and her tournament committe on a very successful week and to the sponsors Caledonian Life.

The results are as follows: (winners named first)
WS1 - Niamh Coveney V Mary Claire McCarthy 6-0/6-1
MS1 - Jamie Blake V Kevin Rea 6-3/6-1
WS2 - Round Robin Winner - Connie Creed
MS2 - Conor McCarthy V Peter Brennan 4-6/7-5/ret inj
WS3 - Clodagh Fitzgerald V Joanne Riordan 6-2/6-2
MS3 - Peter Brennan V Rob Sheahan 6-4/6-4
WS4 - Anne Rose Purdon V Tanya Colclough 6-1/6-1
MS4 - John Ryan V Anthony Coughlan 6-1/6-2
WS5 - Glyslaine Hegarty V Lelia Blake 7-5/6-2
MS5 - Kevin Moynihan V Peter Howie 1-6/6-2/6-2
WS6/7 - Suzanne Buckley V Sarah Morris 6-7/6-1/7-6
MS6/7 - Peter Nolan V Rowen Conway 6-4/6-4
WD1 - Round Robin Winners - Niamh Coveney/Joanne Williamson
MD1 - Bernard De Boer/Rob Leahy V Jamie/Cian Blake 6-4/7-5
MX1 - Round Robin Winners - Joanne Williamson/Cian Blake
WD2 - Connie Creed/Grace Reidy V Sommer Craig/Un Ryle 6-3/6-4
MD2 - Conor Kelly/Rob Sheahan V Joe Donovan/Pat Smith 7-6/6-4
MX2 - Conor Kelly/Un Ryle V Ron O Mahony/Lisa Long 6-0/6-4
WD3 - Clodagh Fitzgerald/Siobhan Murray V Kay Lynch/Daragh Quinn 6-1/6-2
MD3 - Seamus Moynihan/John Ryan V Niall Cloke/Alan McDonagh 4-6/6-4/6-4
MX3 - David Thompson/Lisa Long V Paul O Callaghan/Berni Kenny 7-6/6-1
WD4 - Lisa Fulcher/Joanne O Keeffe V Maria Harrington/Deirdre Murphy 6-2/6-1
MD4 - Gus Bowen/Kevin Moynihan V Declan Alton/Martin Neary 6-1/6-3
MX4 - Niall Ahern/Carol Daly V Noel Murphy/Lisa Fulcher 5-7/6-4/6-0
WD5 - Lelia Blake/Eileen Geaney V Margaret Cronin/Carol Ann O Shea 6-4/6-2
MD5 - Edmond Condren/Robert Thompson V John Mulcahy/Jonathon Mulcahy 6-3/6-3
MX5 - Brian/Mary Barnes V Kevin Day/Trisha O Leary 6-0/6-3
WD6/7 - Fidelma O Brien/Eadaoin O Riordan V Liz Brosnan/Therese Horn 7-5/7-5
MD6/7 - Derek Murphy/John O Donovan V Barry O Brien/Tim Ryan 7-5/4-6/6-4
MX6/7 - Conor Ahern/Eadaoin O Riordan V Paul Hogan/Lyn O Sullivan 6-4/6-4

Maher Sports Tennis Sale Now On.

Maher Sports Tennis Sale Now On

20% off all tennis product for one week only.

Try before you buy - Demo Night this Thursday

in

The Sports Village

from

7 to 9pm

All welcome.

Keep in touch with Wimbledon live scores here

Wimbledon Live scoreboard available here.

Kinsale Open Speech and Photos..

The following is the speech of Kinsale Tennis Club President, Phil Lynch, on finals day of the tournament.
Apologies for the delay in the photos, should have them posted with this article soon.

"Welcome to players and supporters to the 5th Kinsale Open finals day. Welcome especially to Cliff Carroll, President of Tennis Ireland Munster Branch

We started this tournament 5yrs ago with 120 entries and this year I’m proud to say we have had 224 players representing 13 clubs throughout Cork. We really appreciate the support of all our neighbouring clubs and our old friends from the city clubs and welcome to new friends from Clonakilty, their first year of entry and it’s great to see them do so well in the tournament.

We have enjoyed and had been even thrilled by the tennis matches played here during the week – especially in the rain of Sunday and Monday – deservedly a lot of them are here today. We have had an extremely entertaining display of tennis here today – congratulations to all the finalists.

I would like to thank the Kinsale Tennis Committee who is constantly working to ensure the smooth running and development of our club. In particular I’d like to thank sincerely the Open Committee, Fiona Doran, Noreen Collins, Giles Norman, Mick and Rose Scully who have collectively run another successful tournament. Thanks also goes to Michael Buckley, who has kept us fed, making all our dinners throughout the week and with Neil Hogan, the delicious BBQ today. His support throughout the year at all our functions is very much appreciated by everyone here in the club.

In Kinsale we are fortunate to have an enormous team (headed by Rose Scully) who volunteer their time and culinary skills, providing and serving food during the week which you will all agree is exceptional – thank to each one of them.

I would like to especially mention two people – Jim Good for his continuous support to me and to the club and for being our No.1 trouble shooter. The second is Mark Butler for his design and woodwork skills helping to transform the clubhouse and making the kitchen work so much better this year.

Now, on to the prize giving, with a huge thank you to our Sponsors, Giles and Catherine Norman, of Giles Norman Photography. It’s becoming a tradition and always a bonus for the finalists to receive a Giles Norman photograph as a prize. Thank you to them for their continued sponsorship of the tournament.

Also thanks to past members Ashley and Jane Esterhuizen for giving each of our winners a bottle of liquor to enjoy after a hard weeks work.

Finally, On behalf of the club I wish everyone success and great tennis in the summer tournaments, safe home and hope to see you all here next year."