Are you fuelled up for the season?

This is an extract from a recent article in Tennis Life magazine written by Anne Parkhurst, Academy Director for the David Lloyd Leisure Tennis School.
It applies to all of us as we are all striving to improve.  We practice hard and feel our game is improving but yet when our level drops during tournaments we wonder why.  Here are some points that we can all do very easily without any extra effort.

Have you ever watched what the pros do as they change ends or take time between sets?  They always have some fluid and sometimes a cereal bar, a banana or another similar type of snack.
The fluid they take can be just plain water or some sort of energy drink - but it is likely to be both.  A normal tennis match will take over an hour  and research shows after playing for an hour water is not enough to keep the body working at a high level.  Players need to replenish the electrolytes that they have lost in playing so energy drinks are essential.
When taking a drink the pros generally start with some water then some energy drink and they repeat this 4 or 5 times at every change of end, even at the change of ends in the tiebreak.
You will notice that the pros maintain almost the same standard of play at the end of a match as they did at the beginning.  One of the main reasons for this is obviously their level of fitness but being fit won't help you if you become dehydrated and lack energy.  As your energy level drops so does your concentration and that is when mistakes happen.
Assuming club players want to improve, can they learn from the pros?  Are hydration and diet important in tennis?  Does what happens before and after a match matter?  The answer to all these questions is yes?

Eating for Tennis.The first objective for a player at any level is a balanced diet with regular meals that will give enough fuel for general day to day living, training and matches.
It is important to have regular intake of protein and carbohydrates as well as fats and fibre - the five a day rule is a good one.  You also need to balance your food intake with your exercise output.
Where tennis can be a difficult sport in which to think about diet and getting your energy levels right is that there is no real season.  When you do compete you could play several matches in a day: and you never know how long each match can take, so a daily high quality diet is a basic need.

How to prepare for a hard practice, match or tournament.One secret of the pros that we can all benefit from is to understand wht and when they eat.  Fuelling up with energy from complex crbohydrates like pasta, cereal and bread before a match is important because of the "slow release" nature of the energy this gives you.
On the day of a match breakfast is important, again to build the energy stores you will need (try to avoid fatty foods because they take a long time to digest).
Make sure you eat three to four hours before you play or practice so that you have time to digest the food.  If you know you have practice or a match after school/work, make sure you have lunch so your energy levels are high.

During the match or practice.
Like what we said earllier make sure you have water and an energy drink and take some regularly, also have either cereal bars or fruit and eat some pieces at a time.  Try to avoid chocolate because this just gives you a quick boost and does not rebuild your energy stores.

After the match or practice.This is very important to get right.  You should try your best to have some complex carbohydrates and protein very soon after playing.  Both have been proved to be necessary to help your body recover more quickly.  Eating within 30 minutes of playing would be best.

Summary
So to play at your best, make sure you always have a balanced and adequate diet.
Make sure you have complex carbohydrates sometime before you play and that you have small cereal bar type snacks in your bag for a long match.
Make sure you have a protein and carbohydrate meal within an hour of finishing so your body can recover quicker.
Begin hydrating the day before your match.
Always start a match or practice well hydrated.
Take enough water and an energy drink you like on court with you.
Drink a few mouthfuls of fluid each change of end and also between sets.  Do this at regular intervals in practice too.
Rehydrate after practice/match even if you don't feel thirsty.

These are very relevant to players no matter what your level and hopefully should help us all.

Check out other articles available thru this blog here.

Mahers Sports Tennis Promotion Due Soon

Maher Sports are running a tennis promotion week again this year where there will be loads of deals and discounts available in store on ALL their tennis products for this week only, ask in store for details.

In conjunction with this they will be holding an OPEN DEMO NIGHT on Thursday the 24th of June in The Sports Village from 7 - 9pm where various staff and coaches will be on hand to advise you when choosing a racket.  You will be able to try any racket from their full range on the night.
This night is open to anybody and again for more details ask in store or phone 021-4271244.

Kinsale Open underway

Check out the draws and keep up to date with results here.

Douglas Senior Open Singles - Doubler pour Bercy

Douglas Senior Open Singles Championships finished yesterday in this unique event on the Cork Calender.

This is the only singles only tournament in Cork and every year it produces some excellent tennis, with a double for Bercy.

The results are as follows: (winners name first)
MS1: Antoine Bercy V Conor Kelly 6-3, 6-3
MS2: Antoine Bercy V Silvio Di Blasi 6-3, 6-1
MS3: Silvio Di Blasi V Mark Riordan 6-1, 6-3
WS3: Clodagh Fitzgerald V Marion Healy 6-1, 6-3
MS4: John Ryan V Nicky Power 6-1, 6-0
WS4: Joanna Riordan V Ann Bogan 6-2, 6-4
MS5: Kevin Monahan V Michael Kukucha 7-6, 6-1
WS5: Karen O Neill V Fiona Kealy 6-4, 7-5
MS6: Brian Fitzgerald V Kevin Sheehan 1-6, 7-6, 6-3
WS6: Sarah Dunne V Deirdre Deane 6-2, 1-6, 6-2.

Congratulations to Douglas on a well run tournament and best of luck for the Open doubles later in the summer.
Photos courtesy of Douglas Tennis Club.

St.Michaels Vets Open Results

St.Michaels Vets Open attracted a strong field for this years open Vets, with players coming from across Munster and again this years finals were played in fabulous sunshine.
Below are the results:
Mens O-35
Winners-Rob Murphy & Liam O Brien
Runners Up-Silvio Di Blaise & David McCarthy
Ladies O-35
Winners-Deirdre McSherry & Trudy Kennedy,
Runners Up-Ann Naughton & Alice Keating
Mixed O-35
Winners-Rob Murphy & Deirdre McSherry
Runners Up-Silvio Di Blaise & Un Ryle
Mens O-45
Winners-Joe Donovan & Pat Smith
Runners Up-David McCarthy & Pat Coleman
Ladies O-45
Winners-Tish Canniffe & Maggie O Toole
Runners Up-Freda Roycroft & Kay Lynch
Mixed O-50
Winners-Billy & Freeda Roycroft
Runners Up-Noel Murphy & Roz Healy
Mens Vintage
Winners-Derry Verricker & Brendan Boylan
Runners Up-Billy Roycroft & Donal Murray

Munster Junior Finals Day - Teams and Schedule

MUNSTER BRANCH

TENNIS IRELAND

FINALS DAY – JUNIOR CUP/PLATE COMPETITIONS

30TH MAY 2010

IN
SUNDAY’S WELL BOATING & TENNIS CLUB

U.12 MAHER SPORTS CUP

sponsored by MAHER SPORTS LTD., CORK
ST. ANNE’S TENNIS CLUB WATERFORD VS LIMERICK LAWN TENNIS CLUB

U.12 MAHER SPORTS PLATE
sponsored by MAHERS SPORTS LTD., CORK
RUSHBROOKE TENNIS CLUB VS BANDON/ST MICHAELS

U.14 CUP
RUSHBROOKE TENNIS CLUB VS ST. ANNE’S TENNIS CLUB

U.14 PLATE
WHITECHURCH VS LARKSPUR

U.16 CUP
RUSHBROOKE VS LIMERICK LAWN

PROGRAMME OF PLAY
Play at 10am
U.14 CUP: No. 1, 2 & 3 Boys’ Singles, No 1 Girls’ Singles Courts 1, 2, 3, 4
U.14 SHIELD: No. 1, 2 & 3 Boys’ Singles, No. 1 Girls’ Singles Courts 5, 6, 7, 8
Play at 11.15am
Under 14 Cup: No. 2 & 3 Girls’ Singles
Under 14 Shield: No. 2 & 3 Girls’ Singles
Under 12 Maher Cup: No 1 & 2 Boys’ Singles, No 1 & 2 Girls’ Singles
12.45PM
U14 Shield: 1 Boys’ Doubles, 1 Girls Doubles if necessary
Under 12 Maher Shield: No 1 & 2 Boys’ Singles, No 1 & 2 Girls Singles
followed by No 3 Boys Singles and No 3 Girls Singles
Under 12 Maher Cup: No. 3 Boys’ Singles, No 3 Girls’ Singles
1.30pm
Under 16 Cup: 6 singles
Followed by:
DOUBLES WHERE NECESSARY
U12 MAHER SPORTS CUP
U12 MAHER SPORTS SHIELD
U14 CUP
U16 CUP

Sundays Well Munster Senior Open - Enter here

Sundays Well Munster Senior Open runs from the 12th to the 19th of June.
As with every other year a big entry is expected, so get your entry in early.
To enter just click on the link, Enter here

Munster Junior Teams Finals Day - Sundays Well Tennis Club

Munster Tennis


The finals of the Munster junior team competitions comes to a close this Sunday in Sundays Well Tennis Club from 10am.

There will be 3 age groups (U-12, U-14 & U-16) taking part with main events and plate finals taking place.

A great days tennis is guaranteed from our future stars.

All supporters welcome.

French Open - Keep in touch with the scores.

Keep in touch with the latest happenings in the French Open.
All the latest news and scores from the official site.

Douglas Senior Open - Scores as they happen

Up to date scores available here.

Next Davis Cup Match - Ireland V Lithuania

Tennis Ireland has confirmed that the BNP Paribas Irish Davis Cup team will play their Europe/Africa Zone Group II match against Lithuania at Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club on 9-11 July 2010.

This match will hopefully attract big crowds all weekend and with all Irish players well currently it should make for a great weekend of tennis.

To buy your tickets for the weekend from the Tennis Ireland website, just click here.

St. Michaels Saturday morning Schedule

Saturday 22nd May

9.30AM
P o Connor& P o Connor V N Murphy & R Healy
R Murphy & L o Brien V J Don / P Smith
D M c Sherry& T Kenn V E Ryan / L Brohan

11AM
P O Connor & D Fitz V F Roycroft & K Lynch
D M c & Silivo V J Mull & J Conn
R Murphy & D Mc Sherry V G Exshaw & E Ryan

Today is also Finals day, so make sure you check your time at the club after your matches.
Best of luck to all involved.

Date for your Diary

Anyone in the market for a new racket?, Maher Sports are holding an open Demo Night on Thursday the 24th of June in the Sports Village Cork.

You will be able to come along and try out any of their rackets with coaches and sales staff on hand to assess your game and answer questions about the rackets.

More details to follow but keep the night free for testing.

Kinsale Senior Open Doubles - Enter here

Kinsale Tennis Club Open Doubles Tournament May 27th - Jun 3rd.
Please click here to enter online or click here for an entry form.
Don't be late, get your entries in.

Douglas Singles next on the Senior Calender

DOUGLAS TENNIS SINGLES OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS MAY 22ND TO MAY 29TH 2010

Kindly sponsored by Bord Gais Energy

Tournament chairman Sarah Batterham .
All Competition draws dates and times will be published on the link below.

Draws available here.

St.Michaels Open Vets Schedule

Kindly sponsored by Scally's SuperVALU and Munster Drain Services
http://www.munsterdrain.com/
Please note that play commences on Thursday & Friday at 6.30 pm sharp
Any queries etc on order of play please contact the club on
021 - 435 7910

Order of play for Thursday & Friday as follows:

Thursday 20th May

6.30 pm
Freda Roycroft & Kay Lynch V Sandra Lane & Paula Mullane
Noel Murphy & Roz Healy V Martin Hanan & Delores Fitzgerald
Jim Connolly & Jim Mulcahy V Ron O'Mahony & John Porter

8.00 pm
Kaylene Kennefick & Ann Hosford V Brenda Crowley & Pauline Kelly
David McCarthy & Karen Higgins V Ron O'Mahony & Ann Naughton
Derry Vereker & Brendan Boylan V John Coakley & Tony Ryan

9.15 pm
Mark Exshaw & Vincent Quirke V John Coakley & Tony Ryan
John Geary & Frank Norberg V Pat Coleman & David McCarthy

Friday 21st May

5.30pm
Joe Donovan & Pat Smith V Stan Devorski & Conor McCarthy

6.30 pm
Pat Coleman & Elga O'Donovan V Mark Exshaw & Mary Donnelly
Vincent Quirke & Michael Leogue V Donal Murray & Billy Roycroft

7.30pm
Joe Donovan & Pat Smith V Martin Hanan & Thomas Cregan

8.00pm
Silvio Di Blaise & Un Ryle V D McC/Higgins-O'Mahony/Ann N
Elga O'Donovan & Louise Brohan V Susan O'Leary & Mary Donnelly
Tish Canniffe & Maggie O'Toole V Kennefick/Hosford-Crowley/Kelly
Billy & Freda Roycroft V Michael & Liz Leogue

9.15pm
Thomas Cregan & Mark Exshaw V Jim Connelly & Jim Mulchay

Please check the draw in the clubhouse for further information
The draw for order of play for Saturday will be posted on the website and in the clubhouse on Friday.

Ph: 021 4357910
Fax: 021 4357483
E-mail: stmichaelsltc@gmail.com
http://www.st-michaels.ie/

Please check the clubhouse or website for further schedules.

Bishopstown Senior Open Photos

Bishopstown Senior Open Doubles Results

Bishopstown Senior Open finished last Sunday in beautiful sunshine and with excellent tennis.
There was a great turnout to watch some fabulous tennis with a lot of the finals providing some very entertaining and hard fought matches.
I hope you were all looking your best as photos will be posted soon and again will be provided by Derek Lane.
A special word of thanks to the sponsors for the week - MARY FOYLE TRAVEL COUNSELLORS, we all know the importance of sponsors and they are always greatly appreciated.

Results: (winners listed first)
MD1+2: Cian Blake\Conor O Callaghan V Conor Kelly\Conor Twomey 6-3\3-6\6-1
WD1+2: Carmel Daly\Joanne Williamson V Connie Creed\Mary Claire McCarthy 6-2\6-0
MX1+2: Connie Creed\Conor Twomey V Sommer Craig\Robert Murphy 6-2\7-5
MD3: Michael Aherne\David Murphy V Brian Foley Snr\Brian Foley Jnr 6-3\6-3
WD3: Clodagh Fitzgerald\Siobhan Murray V Ann Coveney\Lisa Long 6-2\7-6
MX3: Darragh Quinn\Hugh Harrington V Monica Williams\Fergus Bowen 3-6\6-1\6-2
MD4: Paraic Crehan\Michael Kukucha V Paul Healy\John Ryan 4-6\6-3\7-6
WD4: Carol Mulcahy\Joanna Alice Riordan V Patsy Dunlea\Carmel Ellis 6-3\6-3
MX4: Maria Harrington\Diarmuid O Mathuna V Joanna Alice Riordan\Billy Perrott 6-4\6-3
MD5: Senan Ahern\Damien O Donovan V Brian Barnes\Kevin Day 6-2\6-2
WD5: Lelia Blake\Eileen Geaney V Laura Ahern\Sheila McCarthy 6-1\7-6
MX5: Mary Barnes\Brian Barnes V Catherine McCarthy\Niall Coonan 6-3\1-6\7-6
MD6: Tom Moore\Tim Ryan V Kieran O Callaghan\Alan Preston 4-6\6-1\7-5
WD6: Fidelma O Brien\Eadaoin O Riordan V Tina Bushe\Linda St. Ledger 6-4\6-3
MX6: Eadaoin O Riordan\Tim Ryan V Suzanne Marie McClean\Paul O Connell 7-5\6-2

Carrigaline GSK Junior Open Results

The Carrigaline GSK Junior Open finals were played over the May bank holiday weekend with some very entertaining matches.
As you can see by the winners list, the tournament attracted some of the best of local talent.
Well done to all who took part, especially the winners.
Congratulations to the tournament committee on running a very successful tournament and a special mention to the sponsors GSK.  All tournaments need sponsors and it is great to see companies still willing to support local sports.
U12 Boys Winner: Sean O'Callaghan (Sundays Well)

U12 Girls Winner: Tanya Cox (Limerick Lawn)

U14 Boys Winner: Niall Casey (St Michaels)

U14 Girls Winner: Alex Duboy (Carrigaline)

U16 Boys Winner: Mark Hannon (Rushbrooke)

Congratulations Conor Niland - Winner of ATP Challenger event in Israel.

What an amazing week for Conor in Israel.  He is currently playing some of the best tennis of his career and this was obvious after his second round victory over world no.75 and former Austrailan Open finalist(2003) and Wimbledon semi finalist(2008), Rainer Schuettler, seeded 3 in this event.

Before the event Conor was ranked 222 in the world and to win the event he had to beat 4 players ranked above him.

The same applied for the final where he beat Brazilian Thiago Alves tournament seed no.4 and world ranked 116.  The final was a hard fought 3 set match and despite losing the first Conor came back to win on a score of 5-7, 7-6, 6-3.

Conor now moves well inside the worlds top 200 and becomes the Irish number 1 again.

Well done Conor and best of luck for the rest of the season.

More from Conor here.

St. Michaels Open Vets

It’s that’s time of year again where all the vets are kindly requested to rid themselves of their Zimmer frames and cast off those winter thermals.
The annual vets’ tournament starts on the 20th May and continue to the 22nd.
Always a very well supported event with a lively social element. Entry forms are available on line, please click the request online tab below and enter on-line. Alternatively, e-mail your entry to us at stmichaelsltc@gmail.com.
There will be a BBQ on the Friday night (21st May) with light and strong refreshments available at the usual nominal cost. A great night is guaranteed and we hope as many as possible will get involved and enjoy the few days.

East Cork Junior Championships

The next open event on the junior calender is The East Cork Junior Championships in Lower Aghada Tennis and Sailing Club from the 12 - 16th of May.
This event is always well run and all visitors are made feel very welcome.
For all who know Lower Aghada you'll know it is set in beautiful surroundings, so at least if your game isn't going great you can enjoy the scenery.
For details about this event contact the club on 021-4661200.

Niamh Coveney - A players account of her Fed Cup Debut.

The following is an article written by Niamh Coveney of Sundays Well Tennis Club on her first experience in a Fed Cup match.
Anyone who knows Niamh will know how serious she is about her tennis and it is great to see this dedication and hard work recognised.
I would like to thank Niamh for writing this piece and wish her well in her future outings for Ireland.

"Although arriving at 2am on Thursday morning wasn't ideal it was great to finally have made it to Cairo. Myself and team captain Garry Cahill travelled out together with Lynsey Mc Cullough due to arrive on Thursday night. Julia Moriarty and Amy Bowtell were already out there and had secured a 3-0 victory against Malta in our opening tie on the Wednesday.


On Thursday we had our toughest match up against Morocco who proved too strong, Bowtell lost 6-2 6-0 with Moriarty losing 6-3 6-3. Myself and Julia teamed up to play the doubles and although it was a dead rubber we gave it everything and were unfortunate to lose 6-4,4-6,6-3. Despite hitting 3 fresh airs, my first match on the clay had gone pretty well! Algeria had a surprising victory over Malta defeating them 2-1 in the other tie in our group.

Friday was the first day the the whole team was together as Lynsey arrived Thursday night, the team spirit was lifted in the Irish camp! We faced Algeria in a winner takes all match as we were the two teams fighting for the second place spot in our group, with Morocco qualifying for play-offs in first place. Bowtell was unlucky to lose 6-1 in the third after playing an amazing first set winning it 6-0. Her opponent was very tough and willing to stay out on the court rallying all day which proved too much for Bowtell who looked to be fatiqued and carrying an injury by the time the third set came around. Moriarty also got off to a great start winning the first set 6-0 but her opponent fought back, Moriarty regained her composure to win 6-4 in a very tense third set. 1 rubber apiece heading into doubles and although I would have relished the opportunity to play the deciding match, Lynsey and Julia were selected to team up for the doubles and lost 6-1 in the third set. This loss meant that Morocco and Algeria qualified for play-offs from our group with Morocco due to face Eygpt and Algeria to take on the favourites Turkey. The winners of these ties would gain promotion to Europe/Africa Zone Group II.

Although I was a spectator that day, as a team we learned that a match can always be turned around even if you lose the first set 6-0 you just have to keep fighting.

The final day of what had been a tough few days and we were due to take on Moldova in the play-off for 5th/6th positions. It was still a very important match as it would decide our seeding for next years competition. Bowtell was carrying a stomach injury so I was selected to take her place in the number two singles spot. I got off to a bad start going 5-0 down within a few minutes and couldn't seem to get rid of my nerves. I was very disappointed to lose 6-2 6-0 in a match I'm sure I would have won had I just been playing on our lovely artificial grass! The lack of practice on the clay made it very difficult for me to play well. Luckily Julia didn't have the same problem and won her singles easily, 6-1 6-2. 1 rubber apiece again and Julia and Lynsey teamed up for the doubles doing brilliantly to take the match 7-6 in the third set. A 2-1 victory against Moldova meant we finished 5th overall with Turkey and Morocco both gaining promotion to Europe/Africa Zone Group II.

Although my Fed Cup debut didn't go exactly as how I had imagined, it was an honour to represent my country and hopefully I'll get the oppourtunity again. This experience will stand to me, and all the hard work is most definately worth it when you put on that Irish tracksuit. May I make the suggestion of a few clay courts in Cork perhaps? Maybe someday!Thanks for the support",

Niamh Coveney

Bishopstown Senior Doubles Championships next on the agenda.

Bishopstown Senior Doubles Championships starts on Sunday the 2nd of May and runs thru to Sunday the 9th.  Like every year there should be a good turn out for this popular event.
The event is sponsored this year by MARY FOYLE - TRAVEL COUNSELLORS.
To check your draw or keep up to date on the scores over the week, click here.

Sundays Well Open Vets by picture.

Many thanks to Derek Lane for providing the photos from the event.

Sundays Well Vets Results

Sundays Well Veterans Open finished yesterday in beautiful sunshine and with some very good tennis to match.
These are the results of the finals day: (Winners Listed First)
Ladies Vintage Singles: Round Robin Event, Winner Marie Duffy
Mens Veteran Singles: Des Dillon V Ray McGinley ret. inj.
Mens Vintage Singles: Dick McCarthy V Mick Prendergast 6-4, 6-0
Mens O\35 Singles: Silvio di Blasi V Robert Cummins 5-7. 6-3, 6-2
5,6 & & Mixed: Denis\Margaret Cronin V Don Cahalane\Ann Collins 6-4, 6-4
Ladies Veterans Doubles: Alice Keating\Ann Naughton V Marie Duffy\Grace Reidy 6-4, 6-4
Ladies Vintage Doubles: Eileen Devey\Margaret O Sullivan V Oonagh Levis\Meg O Gorman 6-3, 6-2
Mens Veterans Doubles: Joe Donovan\ Pat Smith V Noel Fitton\ Pat Coleman ret. inj.
Mens Vintage Doubles: Dick McCarthy\Mick Prendergast V Martin Leahy\ Brendan Boylan 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Open Graded Mixed: Conor Twomey\Joanne Williamson V Sean Frank\Karen Higgins 6-2, 6-4
O\35 Ladies Doubles: Ann Naughton\Un Ryle V Karen Higgins\Elga Ryan 6-3, 6-3
O\35 Mens Doubles: Derek Lane\Rob Leahy V Niall Chandler\Robert Murphy 6-7,6-3,6-1
Vintage Mixed: Martin Leahy\Kay Lynch V Larry Power\Oonagh Levis 6-3, 6-3.

Kinsale Open Doubles coming soon.

Kinsale Tennis Club now accepting entries for 2010 Open Doubles Tournament 29th May to 6th June. Details of events you wish to enter or enquiries to open@kinsaletennisclub.com

Sundays Well Vets Open Draws Available here.

Check out the draws for Sundays Well Vets Open here, from Wednesday the 21st.

Buying or Selling secondhand rackets?

I have being asked is there anywhere that someone can sell there old rackets, ebay isn't a local enough audience, club noticeboards can be too small an audience, so some place where you can target tennis people.
Well you can now on Cork Tennis!

There is criteria for people to use this and full details can be obtained by contacting me either on rob_leahy@yahoo.co.uk or 086-8215333.

If you have a racket to sell you will need to send me info such as, make and model, how much you bought it for, how much you want to sell it for and pictures, aswell as other info.

If you want to buy a racket, you can do this a few ways, paypal is the easiest (if you have an account), but for all details on buying and selling click the link below to go to the racket page.

If this interests you contact me on the above number but for now have a look at some of the bargains available, shop here.

Sundays Well Vets Open 2010.

Sundays Well Vets Open runs this year from Thursday the 22nd of April to Sunday the 25th of April with entries closing on Friday the 16th.

This is one of the bigger Vets tournaments in Munster and is sure to attract a large entry from across the province.

It is a great achievement for Sundays Well to be even holding a Vets tournament this year after the disaster that took place in the club back in November, when all courts and the clubhouse was under about 3 feet of water.
Well done to all involved and best of luck for the tournament.

To enter online, click here.

Rushbrooke Easter Open - Photos courtesy of Derek Lane

I would like to thank Derek for providing the photos from Rushbrooke. 
All the photos shown are available from mrdereklane@gmail.com .
Derek will be taking pictures at all open events this year for the Cork Tennis Blog, so make sure you are dressed appropriately and have your make up done properly, you have being warned!

Derek is also available at the above email address if you have any other events you would like photographed.

Carrigaline GSK Junior Open

Carrigaline Glaxo Smith Kline Junior Open will take place from the 30th of April to the 3rd of May with entries closing on the 26th of April.

Entries can be:
emailed to brian.walsh@bowengroup.ie
or phoned in (evening times only) on 4373077.
Any forms can be posted to:
Brian Walsh
1 Ashgrove Lawn,
Carrigaline, Co.Cork.

This is a singles only competition with events for boys and girls in the U12, U14 and U16 age groups with plate events in all.

Best of luck to Carrigaline and all who take part in this event.

Congratulations to Cork's Niamh Coveney on her Fed Cup selection

Niamh has being to the fore of Cork, Munster and Irish tennis for some time now and this was recognised in the best possible manner this week when she was named on the Irish team for their upcoming Federation Cup match in Egypt.
This is a great achievement for Niamh and all involved with her tennis so well done all and best of luck in Egypt Niamh.

Blake makes it a hat-trick of titles at Rushbrooke

Jamie Blake of Bishopstown Tennis Club continued his dominance of Mens tennis in Munster with a hat-trick of titles at The South of Ireland Omni Court Championships held at Rushbrooke tennis club this Easter weekend.

His day started with the Mens Singles Final against Kevin Rea, Limerick Lawn where he proved too strong for Kevin and came out on top with a scoreline of 6-1. 6-1.

This was followed with a very tough and entertaining Mens Doubles, where Jamie partnered his brother, Cian, in a match against Daragh Glavin, Naas, and Tom McGrath, Glenegeary.
This match went all the way to a third set and at 4-1 down in the third you might have thought it was all over, but the Blakes knuckled down and fought back in very tough, blustery conditions to turn things around and win 6-4 in the third.

With little or no break Jamie and Daragh returned to the court for the mixed doubles final where Jamie teamed up with Lynsey McCullough (who had a hat trick of her own) and Daragh teamed up with Cork's Niamh Coveney for an entertaining mixed doubles with Jamie and Lynsey coming thru 6-3, 6-2.

These were just some of the matches played in a full programme starting on Thursday.
The results for the weekend are listed below: (winners listed first)
Mens Singles: Jamie Blake V Kevin Rea 6-1, 6-1
Womens Singles: Lynsey McCullough V Niamh Coveney 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
Mens Doubles: Jamie\Cian Blake V Tom McGrath\Daragh Glavin 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
Wmns Doubles: Lynsey McCullough\Niamh Coveney V Mary Claire McCarthy\Richael O Driscoll 6-1, 6-0
Mixed Doubles: Blake\McCullough V Glavin\Coveney 6-3. 6-2
MD 3: Eamonn Crotty\Conor McCarthy V Patch Holloway\Mark Reardon 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
WD 3: Clodagh Fitzgerald\Siobhan Murray V Suzanne Hayes\Maura McCarthy 1-0 retired
MX 3: Lisa Long\Jim Connolly V Monica Williams\Gus Bowen 6-4, 7-6
MD 4: Gus Bowen\John Hurley V Ronan Farrissey\Kevin McCarthy 7-6, 6-2
WD 4: Roisin Rasmussen\Carol Daly V Patsy Dunlea\Mary McGarry 6-1, 6-4
MX 4: Norma Coughlan\Nick Cloke V Colman\Roisin Rasmussen 6-4, 3-2 retired
MD 5: Pat Cronin\Johnathon Mulcahy V Parag Dalsania\Brian Hayes 6-2, 6-4
WD 5: Emma Crowley\Aoife Moloney V Mary Barnes\Tricia O Leary 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
MX 5: Tara Mekerjee\Michael Kukucha V Una Horgan\Senan Ahern 6-1, 6-1
MD 6: Tom Moore\Tim Ryan V Colm Burke\Donal McCarthy 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
WD 6: Orla Bowen\Caroline Lawlor V Liz Moore\Catherine Tibbets 6-2, 7-6
MX 6: Eadaoin O Riordan\Tim Ryan V Catherne Tibbets\Tom Moore 6-4, 7-5

Congratulations to the winners and all who participated and well done to the organisers on a very successful weekend.

What it takes to be No.1, watch this!

Congratulations to David Gardiner, Winner of Brookfield U-14

Congratulations to David Gardiner, Rushbrooke, on his great win in the Under 14 Singles in Brookfield, Dublin.

David was seeded 2 so was expected to get to the final but in a competition where there was 65 competitors a seeding doesn't guarantee anything.

In the final David beat Osgar O Hoisin, the number 4 seed on a score line of 6-0, 7-5.

This was a great achievement, following on from his great run to the final of the Nationals in Bangor last weekend.

Best of luck for the season ahead David and well done.

Draws for Rushbrooke Easter Open available here.

Rushbrooke Easter Open is starting this Thursday and the draws will be available here when posted.
Draws here.

Cork Players do very well in National Matchplays.

The national underage matchplays were on over the weekend across the country and Cork players did very well.

In the under 12 category Cork had 1 boy, Adam O Sullivan and 1 girl, Alexandra Duboy playing.
There are 16 participants in each age group so competition is tough.
Alexandra finished 6th but was very unlucky not to have being higher as she lost a few matches in the Champions tiebreak.
Adam did very well and finished a fabulous 3rd in very stiff competition.  This is a great achievement and should leave him looking forward to the summer where he can aim to challenge for the No.1 spot.

In the under 14 age category Cork again had 2 representatives, Emily Daly and David Gardiner.
Emily finished 7th in a very tough group while David had a great weekend with some outstanding results and was so unlucky in the final where he lost the Champions tie break 10-8.  This really is as close as it gets.

In the under 16 age category Cork had 4 girls playing and they all did very well, Rachel Daly finished 7th, Tara O Connor came 6th, Jane Daly was 5th and Siobhan Ryan Bovey had an exceptional weekend where she came 1st. 
Siobhans' dedication and hard work has paid off and we hope she has a very successful year ahead.

Tennis in Cork is in good hands.

Busy weekend of Tennis in Cork

This weekend is going to be a busy weekend for tennis in Cork.
It starts on Friday in Rushbrooke with the U-12 National Championships. This event sees the best juniors in the country playing for the National Matchplay Title and runs from Friday to Sunday.

And on Sunday the finals of The Winter League take place in Sundays Well.
The Winter League is a very tough event played over the worst of conditions across the province.
All the teams involved will be desperate to take home the titles to justify all their hard work over the winter months.

Tennis fans you'll be spoilt for choice this weekend.

Cork Teams in Winter League Finals

The largest team competition on the Munster Tennis calender reaches the final stages this weekend.
The Winter League Finals will be held at Sundays Well Tennis Club this Sunday the 28th.
There will be 8 teams invovled from across the province and covering 4 grades.

The Grade 1 final was played last weekend, again in Sundays Well and unfortunately for the Cork representatives, Sundays Well,  they lost out narrowly to Limerick Lawn on a 3-2 scoreline.

Hopefully the Cork teams will have better look this weekend.
There is a Cork club in each of the finals and your support would be greatly appreciated.

Grade 3
Crosshaven A V Nenagh B

Grade 4
Carrigaline B V Nenagh

Grade 5
Bandon B V Nenagh A

Grade 6
Monaleen V Crosshaven B

Best of luck to all Cork clubs this weekend.

U-12 National Championships on in Cork

The U-12 National Championships are on in Rushbrooke this weekend, starting on Friday at 1pm.
These are Ireland's top juniors and hopefully some of our future stars.
There should be some great tennis to be seen.
Come on out and support the Munster players.

Ardfield/Rathbarry AGM

Attention all members of Ardfield/Rathbarry

AGM

Monday the 29th of March

in

The Mountain House

at 8pm.

World Team Tennis in Mexico

Best of luck to Cork players, Grace Reidy, Sundays Well Tennis Club and Liam O Brien, Rushbrooke Tennis Club representing Ireland in the World Team Vets Tennis in Mexico.
They head off this weekend.
Do us proud guys!

Are you ready? - Season is about to begin!

Rushbrooke Easter Open is the first Open of the season and every year attracts a big entry.  This year should be no different. 
The tournament runs from the 1st to the 5th of April and entries close on Friday the 26th of March. 
Entry forms are available from the club, can be taken over the phone at 021-4811451 or downloaded here.
It promises to a great weekend of tennis and socialising.
Hope to see you there.

Cork University performs well at Intervarsities

Every spring the Irish Universities host their annual Tennis Intervarsities. This years event was hosted by University College Dublin, at the picturesque Mount Pleasant Club in Central Dublin. The organisers of the event were Brian Gibney and Naoise McEoin, both from the area and playing in Fitzwilliam and Donnybrook respectively.

This year University College Cork sent up three teams, two mens and a ladies teams.
Men's 1st:
1. Rob Mawe (c)
2. Rob Sheahan
3. Jamie Blake
4. Conor Kelly
5. Maurice Reidy
6. Luke Warner

Men's 2nd:
1. Kevin McCarthy (c)
2. Declan Whelan Curtin
3. Cathal O'Connor
4. Stephen Crofts
5. Mark O'Donovan
6. James Cooney

Ladies:
1. Tracey O'Rourke (c)
2. Grace Morrissey
3. Vivenne Hoary
4. Maria O'Brien
5. Fiona Jagla
6. Olivia Creed

The men's draw contained 4 round robin sections each with three teams. The men's 1st included UCC 1, Tralee IT and UCD 2. The men's 2nd included UCC 2, DCU and UCD 3. The ladies draw was knockout all the way due to a smaller entry.

On the Monday both men's teams played and won. UCC 1 beat UCD 2 to a score of 8-1 (Best of 9 rubbers). And UCC 2 beat UCD 3 also 8-1. Unfortunately the ladies team lost to UCD 2 and were forced into the plate event.

On the Tuesday morning UCC 2 played DCU, consecutive champions for the previous 6 years. UCC 2 lost 9-0 but could take pride in some of the performances. This result would now put UCC 2 into the plate event against Trinity College 2.

On the Wednesday UCC 1 beat Tralee IT 7-2 to advance to the semi-finals. The semi-final matches were randomly drawn and they were Trinity College 1/UCC 1 and Dublin City University/UCD 1. Later that day UCC Ladies would beat UCD 3 to advance to the final of the plate.

On the Thursday morning the semis of the men's main draw took place. DCU would beat UCD 1 with a score of 5-1. UCC 1 played a strong Trinity team including Leinster Interpro players: Mark Carpenter and Gavin Gilhawley.

The singles were divided 3-3 with Jamie Blake beating Andrew Stevenson 6/2,6/1. Luke Warner beat Jack McHugh and Conor Kelly scored a great win against Simon Clarke 6/4,7/5. Robert Mawe, Maurice Reidy and Robert Sheahan all lost in close matches. The doubles would decide the result and unfortunately Trinity would emerge 2-1 victors.

In the plate event both UCC 2 and UCC Ladies would lose in the finals of the plate. The men's team were beaten 5-3 by Trinity 2 and the ladies 5-2 by Galway. The ladies match saw a great victory for UCC Ladies captain Tracey O'Rourke against Connacht Interpro player Marion Hanley, 6/4,6/3.

On to finals day and a sence of deja-vu as both DCU men's and ladies would walk away with the trophies. DCU men's would beat Trinity to a score of 5-0 with strong performances from their players Simon Wrafter, Dara McLoughlin, Dara Rowan and more. The ladies event was closer with a result of 5-4. Some great matches could be seen including Cork's Niamh Coveney and Jenny Claffey.

The event was fantastically organised by UCD and Mount Pleasant Tennis Club and we at UCC are looking forward to next year in Galway.

Article submitted by Kevin McCarthy.

Nationals Qualifiers

Congratulations to all the Cork Juniors who qualified from the Provincials last weekend and will now go on to represent their clubs and Munster in the up coming Nationals.

U-12 Girls - Alexandra Duboy - Bishopstown
U-12 Boys - Adam O Sullivan - Rushbrooke

U-14 Girls - Emily Daly - Rushbrooke
U-14 Boys - David Gardiner - Rushbrooke

U-16 Girls - Rachel Daly - Rushbrooke
                    Siobhan Ryan Bovey - Rushbrooke
                    Tara O Connor - Rushbrooke
                    Jane Daly - Rushbrooke

If I have left out any other Cork player who qualified, my apologies, if you would pass on details I will put it up straight away.
I am currently waiting on the U-10 results.

Coaches or Clubs Promote yourself here!

Attention Club Captains, Secretaries or Coaches.

If you would like to promote your club or future activities within your club, pass your details on to me and I will post them here on my blog for you.

If you're a coach and want to advertise yourself or upcoming camps or clinics, let me know and I will add them to the blog.

You can contact me on rob_leahy@yahoo.co.uk
I will post anything that is related to tennis in Cork for you.

Davis Cup - Why Not in Cork?

I was at Day 1 of the Ireland v Turkey Davis Cup match yesterday and was treated to some outstanding tennis.

I must admit when I arrived and heard that Luke Sorensen was out injured, I was disappointed as I had hoped to see him play and show my appreciation for his Australian Open efforts, but when the first match started any disappointment was quickly forgotten.

It was James McGee's singles debut and even though his world ranking (502)was higher than his opponents(1200), the experience of his opponent at Davis Cup level (playing since 1998) would have been a huge factor and would have made it an all the more difficult debut, but boy did McGee come out firing.
His all round game, fitness level, agility as well as amazing service returns really showed why there is a difference in the rankings.
It was my first time watching James play and I was very impressed, his willingness to come forward whenever possible is something that is severely lacking in tennis nowadays and at 22 he is only going to get better.
Watch this space!

As impressed as I was with James and not wanting to insult him in anyway, the next tie was the mouthwatering one.
Marsel IIhan, ATP ranking 129 Vs Conor Niland ATP ranking 244, you would expect a step up in levels and for me there was.

I have known Conor since he was a young boy, have being beaten by him and watched him play in his first Senior Interpro but this was a totally different player at a totally different level.

It was going to be a very big ask for Conor to get a result as not only was his opponent ranked higher than him but he also qualified for the main draw of the Australian Open this year and lost a good second round match to Fernando Gonzalez and at 22 is definitely a name for the future.
It was a fabulous no holes barred game of tennis, with unbelieveable rallies, big serves and great retrieving.
The main difference was Conor's overall ability to turn defence into attack time and again.
Marsel had a very big serve and forehand but for every big shot he hit, he found Conor there waiting with a counter punch that most of the time he had no answer to.
In a post match interview Conor said he was delighted with the way he played and the way he has being playing lately and still thinks he is improving.  I hope so.

With the doubles to come today, it could be all over by this evening and then we hope Britain come thru to set up an eagerly awaited clash in Dublin?

And now it comes to my heading, why Dublin? Why not Cork?

Before yesterday I would have thought we wouldn't have a chance at bringing a Davis Cup to Cork but when I saw the lay out in Fitzwilliam yesterday there is no reason in the world why The Sports Village could not hold a Davis Cup match.
Grand stand seating could be set up on one court with the matches played on the second court.  The soccer carpet could be lifted off the other 2 courts to make them available for practice. 
The courts are of a very high standard so that won't be a problem. 
A marquee could be set up for catering outside as it was in Fitzwilliam.  One or two little touches here and there and a bit of planning and the Davis Cup could come to Cork.
I have no doubt the Cork public would fill the place, the kids would benefit from watching that standard of play as not all can make it to Dublin for every home match.

After all it is Tennis Ireland, not Tennis Dublin.  Something to think about!

Munster Branch AGM

The Munster Branch will hold their AGM on the 31st of March at 8pm in The Firgrove Hotel, Mitchelstown.
This is open to all and is the place to make your point on any issue that my be concerning you or find out what is the plan for the coming year.

Tennis Ireland Roadshow

Tennis Ireland will present a series of workshops for parents, coaches and club officials which are designed to provide information on the latest development in our sport.
The roadshow reaches Cork on the 22nd of March at the Sports Village (old tennis village).
The plan for the day is:

Parents
12pm—2pm
Development of Young Tennis Players from 5-10 years old
Presented by Tennis Ireland Development Staff

Coaches
6pm - 7pm
ITN Assessor Training—On Court
Presented by the Coach Development Officer

Club Officials and Coaches
7pm—9.30pm
National Player Database
Presentation on the benefits for your club and your members
Understanding the process and technology supporting the project
Presented by Tennis Ireland Development Staff

Davis Cup this weekend.

Davis Cup this weekend - Here's what you can look forward to.



Come on Ireland!

Cork Juniors Taking Part in Interprovincial Matchplays

The Junior Interprovincial Matchplays are on this weekend in various clubs around Munster and Cork clubs are well represented in all age groups.
Anyone interested in watching some very good tennis (boys and girls U-12) can make their way to Rushbrooke Tennis Club on Saturday where play starts at 10am.
Best of luck to all Cork players.

Under 10 Girls

Aoife O Driscoll - Sundays Well
Kate Littlejohn - Kilworth

Under 10 Boys
Rory O’Neill - Sunday’s Well
Ronan O’Callaghan - Sundays Well
Eoin Carey - Kilworth
Joe Lonergan - Bishopstown
Ethan Monkhouse - Kinsale
Alex Mulligan - Rushbrooke
Jeremiah Cronin - Kinsale

Under 12 Girls
Alexandra Duboy - Bishopstown
Eilis McCarthy - Cork Parks
Michelle Graef - Kinsale
Chloe Condren - Kinsale
Sophie Merry - Sundays Well

Under 12 Boys
Sean O’Callaghan - Sundays Well
Cathal Sheehy - White Church
Adam O’Sullivan - Rushbrooke
Eoin O’Sullivan - Bandon
Kiran Lynch - Lower Aghada
Eamonn O’Sullivan - Bandon
Paul Lyons - Mallow

Under 14 Girls
Emily Daly - Rushbrooke
Emma O’Sullivan - Bandon
Lisa Moloney - Bishopstown
Claire Cronin - Sundays Well
Kerrie Williamson - Lower Aghada
Aisling O’Riordan - Rusbrooke

Under 14 Boys
David Gardiner - Rushbrooke
Niall Casey - St. Michaels
Colm Alton - Lakewood
Daniel Moloney - Bishopstown
Rory O’Hara - Ballinlough
Conor Clarke - St. Michaels
Ben Clancy - Kilworth

Under 16 Girls
Siobhan Ryan-Bovey - Rushbrooke
Stephanie Corkery - Carrigaline
Rachel Daly - Rushbrooke
Jane Daly - Rushbrooke
Tara O’Connor - Rushbrooke

Under 16 Boys
Cian McCarthy - St. Michaels
Niall Woods - Cork Parks
Conor Cashman - Cork Parks
Mark Hannon - Rushbrooke

An Article written for Cork Blog by Irish Davis Cup Player Conor Niland.

The following is an article written by Conor for the Cork Blog, it gives us an insight into life as a pro player and highlights what young players can expect if they would like to pursue a career as a professional player.
I would like to thank Conor for his time in doing this piece for my blog and wish him every success for the years ahead.

"I have been playing professional tennis since 2006, as well as playing for a year in 2001, and have found it be an enjoyable and quite challenging existence. As one of the few truly global sports, the standard of professional men's tennis is very high. There are 55 countries represented in the world's top 300. Golf, often considered an equally global sport, has 28 nationalities in its top 300; almost exactly half.


A significant amount of travel is one of the main things to contend with as a pro player. While many would like the idea of extensive travel, the reality of this life is airport terminals and near-permanent jetlag. If you asked a player if they could change one thing about the pro tour, they would invariably say, "Less travel." The travel demands grow as your ranking improves. Tournaments at the ITF Futures level (ranking 1800-300) are played in circuits of three or four weeks in one particular country. The ATP Challenger (300-100) and ATP World Tour (100-1) are not organised like this, and at this level it is rare to play three consecutive weeks in one country. I have played five tournaments so far this year, and they were in four quite disparate countries: UAE (Doha), Australia, Russia, and France. Doha is one of the few tournaments on before the Australian Open, and there are no events in Australia after the Open. My only option was to fly back to tournaments in Europe, which makes for an expensive start to the year.

I receive some funding from the Irish Sports Council and welcome help from Fitzwilliam LTC, but the rest comes from my parents and whatever prizemoney I can earn. Travelling with a coach is a further expense; I paid for Conor Taylor from the BNP Paribas National Academy in DCU to come with me to Russia, but I travelled alone to the four other tournaments. A lot of national federations would pay for a coach to travel with their top players, but this is not available to us in Ireland.

I will play approximately thirty tournaments this year, and will pay for a coach to travel with me as much as I can. A lot of training is done at tournaments, as we spend so much time on the road. This is another reason why travel with a coach is so beneficial. I generally play three or four tournaments followed by one or two weeks at home. I train in DCU with Tennis Ireland coaches Garry Cahill and Conor Taylor. I work a lot on physical fitness, and try to make improvements to my technique and gamestyle.

There can be a lot of ups and downs as a professional tennis player. Winning is a great feeling, and playing a great match at Davis Cup, in front of a crowd, or at a Grand Slam is very special. You compete almost every week, however, and you have to win five straight matches against very good players to get through the tournament without a loss. Even if you manage to win a tournament, there will be somebody else to play the following Monday. There are only a handful of players in the world who regularly win professional tournaments. That is why you cannot get too excited or too disappointed based on results, though losing should never feel good! You just have to make sure you are preparing and competing as well as you can, and keep pushing on. Sometimes you have to book a flight to a tournament directly after a very tough loss, and play a first round in another country two days later. So dwelling too much on a win or a loss is not a good idea.

I think there are three things that are essential to making it as a professional player; you need to be a good athlete, have consistently good coaching & competition from a young age, and of course be a hard worker. Many of the top 100 players in the men's game are European, and most of those from Western Europe. This should be good news for Irish players. There is a myth that professional tennis is full of players from very tough circumstances in Eastern Europe, who are just more committed than anyone else. This is not the case - the top level of men's tennis is dominated by players from regular backgounds in Germany, France, Spain and America, the sons of dentists and accountants and teachers. So you shouldn't be intimidated by thinking others want it more than you because of where they are from. Commitment and motivation are vital, but people are driven in all sorts of ways. There is no doubt women's tennis is dominated by Eastern European players, though I think for reasons that don't begin and end with 'hunger'.

Professional tennis can be a challenging lifestyle, but the rewards for success are very high. Playing each year in front of Irish supporters in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York would definitely be worth travelling for."

An Interview with Local Cork player and coach, Liam O Brien.

Liam is the current Interpro captain of the Munster Senior and U-18 teams.
He is a playing member of the Munster Vets O-45 team and has represented Munster Seniors for an amazing 17 years.
He has recently being selected to play in the World Team Championships in Mexico and still finds time to coach.
The following is an interview Liam did for the blog. (Read more)

Lakewood Tennis Club Website Update

Lakewood Tennis Club are constantly working to improve things for their members and are now in the process of updating their website (http://www.lakewoodtennisclub.ie/) to help keep their members informed.
Check it out and watch this space for further news from Lakewood.

Carrigaline Spring Open Doubles Coming Soon

The annual Spring Open Doubles Tournament for Grades 5, 6 and 7 combined will commence on Saturday 20th March 2010 with the finals being held on Saturday 27th March 2010.
There will be three events, Ladies Doubles, Mens Doubles and Mixed Doubles.
There will be a plate in each event.

Entry forms are now available to download from the website and are also available in the Clubhouse.
Entries may either be posted or emailed to Brian Walsh.
Contact details are on the Entry Form.
Closing date is Monday 15th March 2010 at 13.00 hours.

The draw will take place in the Clubhouse on Monday 15th March 2010 at 20.00 hours.
Fixtures will be available online through Tennis Ireland’s Tournament Software.
A link from this website to the Tennis Ireland Tournament Website will be provided once the draw is completed.

Attention members of Ballinlough Tennis Club

Monday February 22nd 2010


ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of
BALLINLOUGH TENNIS CLUB
at
8.00 p.m. in the CLUBHOUSE.

All Members Welcome

Cork Teams doing well in Winter League

The Winter League is a very popular team competition run by the Munster Branch over the winter period.  It is run over all grades and well represented in all.
Here is an update on the competition so far: Cork Teams in Black

Grade 2: Semi Finals
Nenagh V Sundays Well
St. Annes V Rushbrooke.

Grade 3: Quarter Finals
Crosshaven A V winner of Bandon v Lakewood
Limerick Lawn V winner of Ballinlough v Sundays Well

Grade 4: Last 16
Rushbrooke A V Larkspur Cashel
Carrigaline A V Crosshaven A
Carrigaline B V Rushbrooke B
Sundays Well B V Ballinlough B
Kinsale B and Ballinlough A Bye

Grade 5: Last 16
Kinsale A V Mallow
Bandon B V Crosshaven
Castleview V Sundays Well B
Nenagh A V Lower Aghada B
Ballypatrick V Bandon A

Grade 6: Last 16
Crosshaven A V Runner Up Group 4

Larkspur Cashel V Sundays Well A
Crosshaven B V Bandon
Quarter Finals
Ennis A V Ballinlough A
Ennis B V Sundays Well B

Feedback Welcome

Hi all,

Would love feedback from you all.  If there is anything you would like to see added or any questions you might have you can email me at rob_leahy@yahoo.co.uk

If you are a club or a coach and would like to advertise something or promote yourself let me know.
Rob

Borg V McEnroe - A Classic

A Bit of a Laugh

Interview with Emma Murphy - Irish Fed Cup Player

The following is a piece by Emma Murphy, Irish Fed Cup Player and graduate of San Diego University.

Tennis in the USA
Imagine waking up every morning, winter, spring or fall and seeing the sun splitting the stones. As tennis players when the sun is shining all we want to do is grab our rackets and grind in the warmth of the sun. This was my feeling every day when I lived and trained in San Diego, California.

I first arrived in San Diego when I was 18 on a scholarship for 4 years.
Read on.....

Update from Rushbrooke Tennis Club for the start of their season

RUSHBROOKE LAWN TENNIS AND CROQUET CLUB NEWS

FEB/MARCH/ APRIL ‘10

AFTER THE LONG AND COLD WINTER BREAK, TENNIS ACTIVITIES COME OUT OF HIBERNATION AND THE SOUND OF BALLS BEEN HIT, ANGUISHED CRYS OF “out” ONCE AGAIN GRACE THE LAWNS OF RUSHBROOKE.

THE FAMOUS TRIBES TOURNAMENT IS IN FULL SWING AND THE SEMI FINALS WILL BE PLAYED
ON THE WEEK END 19/20TH FEBRUARY, WITH THE FINALS ON SATURDAY 27TH  AT 7 AND 830 PM FOLLOWED BY PRESENTATION AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES, TO WHICH ALL MEMBERS AND FRIENDS ARE WELCOME.

MARCH 17TH SEES A NEW MEMBERS DAY TAKING PLACE IN THE AFTERNOON AT 4PM, AND ALL NEW AND PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS ARE WELCOME.
CLUB OFFICERS AND CLUB COACHES WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE TO OFFER GUIDANCE
ON STARTING “8THS”, COACHING, SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AND COURT BOOKING SYSTEM.

THE FIRST OPEN TOURNAMENT OF THE SEASON TAKES PLACE IN RUSHBROOKE,
“THE CHAMPIONSHIPS OF COUNTY CORK”
FROM 1ST APRIL – 5TH APRIL 2010.
ENTRIES WILL BE TAKEN ON LINE, JMFCONNOLLY@HOTMAIL.COM
OR BY TEXT TO 0851623983
OR BY PHONE TO 0214811451, 730PM – 930PM, MONDAY TO THURSDAY,
WITH CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES, FRIDAY 26TH MARCH 830PM.
DRAW AND PLAYING SCHEDULE FOR THE FIRST ROUNDS WILL BE PUBLISHED
ON MONDAY 29TH MARCH.
“IT IS PLAYERS RESPONSIBILITY TO ESTABLISH WHAT TIME THEY ARE PLAYING!”

MARCH ALSO SEES THE NATIONAL UNDER 12 RANKING TOURNAMENT TAKING PLACE IN RUSHBROOKE ON FRIDAY 26TH – SUNDAY 28TH MARCH.
PLAY STARTS AT 1PM ON FRIDAY, 10AM ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY.
COME ALONG AND SEE THE BEST YOUNG JUNIORS PLAY.

WE IN RUSHBROOKE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT THESE EVENTS, AND
THROUGHOUT THE SEASON. WATCH THIS SPACE FOR FURTHER NEWS.

BARRY CONNOLLY, TENNIS CAPTAIN, RLTCC.

Size Up Your Opposition - Article by Nick Bollettieri.

The following is an article I came across recently and I think it is an area of the game that is not focused on enough now a days.


Most juniors are obsessed with how hard they can hit the ball and aren't interested in learning how to wina match. If Plan A fails, what's Plan B? More often than not, there is no Plan B. This applies to players of all grades.

This article was written by Nick Bollettieri, founder of Bollettieri Tennis Academy and coach to nine No.1 players over the years.

"One of the most important skills any tennis player can have is the ability to size up their opponent quickly and easily. Often a player will face someone they have never played before or have never seen play before. Knowing how to read their opponent, starting at the warm up...... Read full article

Davis Cup - Ireland V Turkey

Tennis fans here's your chance to watch Ireland's best in action. Fresh from their Australian Open exploits, Louk Sorensen and Conor Niland joined by Barry King and James McGee take on Turkey with the winners probably getting to play Great Britain. This match takes place in Fitzwilliam from March 5th to March 7th.
Hope to see you there.

Cork player Paul Fitzgerald on life in the States

Paul left Cork as Irish No.1 u/18 and has held his own in the college scene with a very good record in both singles and doubles.

"Well it all started in a junior college in Tifton, Georgia and I was ranked 3 in the nation in junior college. I played the national fall tournament in my first year"...... Read more

Young Players Read This!

This is a link to a very interesting article written by Peter Farrell, Coaching Development Officer for Tennis Ireland. The article is from the Munster Tennis website. I hope they don't mind me borrowing it but I think the more people that read it the better chance we have of finding a future star.
Slower Courts

Tennis Photos from Cork 2009

Tennis in Cork - Article written by Conor O Callaghan

This article was written by Conor O Callaghan, Regional Development Officer for Munster Tennis.

Tennis in Cork

Tennis is thriving in Cork. It is widely believed that competition drives every sport on. However the most important aspect of competition is ‘Appropriate’ competition. Many of the clubs in the Cork region...Read more..

New Section Added.

In an earlier post, I told you about a new section to be added to this blog containing information on coaching, interviews with various Cork players and tennis articles all to be supplied by Cork players, well the first article is now available for you to read.
There will be a permanent link on the top right of this blog to bring you straight to this section or you can also click the link below.

Cork Tennis Articles.

International Tennis Number- Have you got yours?

Something also to look out for in Cork and also through out the country is the development of the International Tennis Number (ITN). The ITN is an international tennis number that represents a player’s general level of play. In time it is hoped that every tennis player world wide will have an ITN.

Under this system players will be rated from ITN 1 – ITN 10. ITN 1 represents a very high level player (holding an ATP/WTA ranking or of an equivalent playing standard) and ITN is a player that is starting to play competitively (can serve and return) on a full court using an ITF approved ball.

If you or your club require any further details of the ITN please contact your club coach or you can also contact Conor O Callaghan at cpoc1@hotmail.com.

Features coming soon to this blog.

I have various features lined up for this blog over the coming weeks and hope to continue them over the season ahead.

There will be features provided by various coaches on different aspects of the game, these will cover areas such as fitness, speed, agility and quickness, how tennis is progressing in Cork and Ireland

There will also be interviews with Cork players.

Watch this space.

World Vets Team Event in Mexico

Congratulations to 2 Cork players who will be taking part in the World Team Event in Mexico at the end of March.
They are Grace Reidy of Sundays Well Tennis Club and Liam O Brien of Rushbrooke Tennis Club.
Best of luck on your trip.

Australian Open update

Louk Sorensens amazing run came to an end this morning but he should and will take great confidence from what he has achieved. To run a seed that close shows there isn't a huge difference on any given day between the elite and the guys trying to make it, really it is just to get the opportunity once in a while.
I hope Louk progresses from here and that he inspires young prospects here in Ireland to believe in themselves and hopefully we won't have to wait another 25 years to be getting excited about a Grand Slam.
Although if John Morrissey and Sam Barry have anything to say about this we won't be.
They will be getting under way on Monday next.

The Sports Village :: Tennis, indoor tennis, outdoor tennis

The Sports Village :: Tennis, indoor tennis, outdoor tennis:

I hope with the weather we have being having that people are availing of the fine facilities at the sports village.

They have 2 Indoor International Tennis Federation Medium Fast courts( U.S. open standard)
3 State of the art outdoor Savannah courts.

You can book a court by
emailing sportsvillagecork@gmail.com
or call on 021-4544550

Louk Sorensen - Australian Open Update

The dream lives on!
After having to wait for a rain delay and then told you won't be playing at all today, his nerves must have being up and down all day but when Louk finally got on court against an opponent playing in his fifth open and ranked 180 or so places above him he held his nerve and won in four. 6\4, 3\6, 6\2, 6\1 and nows goes on to play the 33rd seed John Isner of America. This is not only a bigger task as Isner is seeded but also has he stands 6ft 9" tall.
But as they say "the bigger they are the harder they fall".
Best of Louk from Cork.

Cork Parks Tennis

History
Cork Parks Tennis was founded in 1984 and its main aim was to provide children in disadvantaged areas of the City with the opportunity of playing the game of tennis who would not normally have the opportunity to do so. In the first year, with a staff of 8 people Cork Parks Tennis catered for 400 children in 4 areas of the city and since then we have evolved to cater for any child who wishes to develop and improve at the game. The City of Cork V.E.C. played a huge role in the formation of Cork Parks Tennis, providing the necessary funding and support to ensure the project was in a position to get off the ground. In addition Cork City Council and Fás have also been great supporters of the scheme since its inception.

Structure
Cork Parks Tennis has a General Committee which oversees the ongoing running and development of Parks Tennis. The committee meets at monthly intervals and the following is a list of its members.
Dominic Crowley (Chairman)
Catherine Murphy (Coordinator)
Steven Scully (Cork City Council)
Tom Daly (City of Cork V.E.C)
John O’Rourke (Coaching Director)

As Coordinator Catherine Murphy is responsible for the overall running of both the Winter and Summer Programs in conjunction with John O’Rourke. She reports directly to the Committee and is in fact a member of this Committee. John O’Rourke is Coaching Director and has overall responsibility for the structures of the programs. There are then 28 Leaders operating at the various centres in our summer program throughout Cork City and they work closely with John. Cork Parks also operate a winter program in 17 schools.

Development
The Cork Parks Tennis has had a fairytale success story and in 1994 we catered for 4000 children in 14 areas, such as the Glen, Mahon, Togher, Churchfield, Knocknaheeney, etc. Staff numbers have also increased dramatically since 1989 and last year we had a total of 28 employees throughout the Summer. Cork Parks Tennis is now recognised throughout the City as one of the main providers of Recreational Facilities for children throughout these disadvantaged areas.

While this Recreational Facility will always remain our primary concern it is very rewarding to see seven of our members gaining Munster recognition since the inception of the scheme. In addition a number of our players have gained full membership on a scholarship basis with many clubs throughout the City. Presently one of our player’s, Paul Fitzgerald of the Glen was ranked Number 1 at U18 Level in the Country. Paul is now attending University is the US on a full Tennis Scholarship.

Overall Cork Parks Tennis are very pleased with their growth and development to date and look forward to continued progress in the years ahead.

Funding
Cork Parks Tennis is a Voluntary Organization and are very dependent on support from various Bodies including Fás, The City of Cork V.E.C. The Cork City Council and Nestle. As the children catered for in our program are for the most part from disadvantaged areas we fully appreciate that the level of fees, which we collect, will never amount to a significant sum. Indeed, in many cases the fees charged are of a Token Nature as we feel “anything one gets for nothing is never really appreciated'.

In summary therefore Cork Parks Tennis is very dependant on outside support as we will never be really in a position to Self Fund to any major degree.

For more information visit the website at www.corkparkstennis.com

Hit for Haiti

First Tournaments of the season

Juniors
30th April - 3rd May, Carrigaline Junior Open.

Seniors
1st April - 5th April, South of Ireland Omni Championships, Rushbrooke.

Veterans
22nd April - 25th April, Sundays Well Veterans Championships.

For a full list of the seasons fixtures click on link below:
Junior Calender
Senior Calender
Veterans Calender

Australian Open Update

Congratulations to Louk Sorensen on making the main draw of the Open. He will now face Yen Hsun Lu of Taipei who is playing in his fifth Australian Open and has reached the third round here in 2009.
It's a fabulous achievement to be in the main draw and let's hope it doesn't end here.

Unfortunately Conor Niland fell at the final hurdle but not without a fight. He lost in a third set and can be very proud of his performance.

Australian Open 2010 - Irish Interest

As you all know the Australian Open starts on Monday the 18th of January but for the qualifiers they are nearing the final stages.
Ireland has 2 men playing in the qualifiers, one from Limerick (Conor Niland) and one(Louk Sorensen) the son of Cork tennis legend Sean Sorensen.
To qualify each player has to win 3 matches and after todays round of matches both players overcame seeded opponents to advance to the final qualifying round.
So fingers crossed and all going well we could have 2 Irish men in the main draw of the first Grand Slam of the year.
That would be some achievement.
Best of Luck to both Conor and Louk.



Two Irish Juniors, John Morrissey and Sam Barry, will compete in the Australian Open Boys Singles main draw.

Post something on this blog.

If you would like to post information on this blog don't hesitate to contact me.
I would like to keep the blog as up to date as possible so the more info. I get the better for everyone.
You can get me at rob_leahy@yahoo.co.uk
Just to let you know Mahers Sports racket sale is ending on Sunday the 10th of January and currently has 20% off all rackets.

2009 to 2010, The season just gone and what lies ahead?

Well I had a very enjoyable season, my first one back in a while and it was great to catch up with old friends and thankfully along the way made some new ones.

If you are like me now, full after the Christmas season, you will be looking forward to the Winter league returning after the christmas break and looking forward to the season ahead.

Not much tennis being played in my home club, Rushbrooke, at the moment as the courts are frozen but hopefully this will sort itself out soon.

Some of the high points for me over the season were, Federer winning his record 15th Grand Slam, it now ends the Sampras debate, who I personally don't think was half the talent Federer is.
On a local level I was delighted to be at the Maher Sports Cup where I saw probably one of the best junior doubles games I have ever seen, an U-12 mixed doubles between Sundays Well and Rushbrooke. They were all very talented players but what impressed me more was the good mannered nature in which the game was played. No bad calls or questioned calls, plenty of compliments and genuine fun, the way the game should be played.
Next was a personal one, I was part of 2 interpro teams this year and because of not having being involved in a while I was delighted to catch up with some old friends from around the country.

I hope everyone who played this year enjoyed there year as much as I did and I wish you "All the best for 2010".

Youghal Christmas Open

You are hereby cordially invited to the xmas 2009 open tournament for adults at Youghal Tennis Club on Dec 28th at 2.30pm. Prizes to be won & only 5 euro to take part