Third Centenary Tennis Clubs event of 2025 for East Glos
By David Barham, East Glos member and CTC coordinator
Since 2023, East Glos has been a member of the Association of Centenary Tennis Clubs (CTC), an umbrella group comprising 96 clubs in 29 countries across five continents. All member clubs have a history dating back at least one hundred years. The CTC is a fraternity with a shared love and passion for tennis, promoting international friendship and camaraderie.
Teams from East Glos have recently played at CTC events in Berlin and Birmingham. Hence, the anticipation and excitement were palpable as the latest East Glos team boarded the Eurostar to play in the CTC Seniors Tournament at Le Tir Tennis Club in Paris. For this outing, the East Glos team comprised Sue Wilson, Mandy Walker, Elizabeth Yin, Nigel Watson, Ken Dawson, David Knowles and Dave Barham.
Back: David Knowles, Ken Dawson. Front: Mandy Walker, Sue Wilson, Dave Barham, Elizabeth Yin, Nigel Watson
Drinking from the cup of hope and inspiration, champagne corks were popping as they headed towards Paris, one of the iconic capital cities of Europe. A city renowned for its culinary wealth.
The collective consciousness of the challenge ahead might have consumed the team as much as the cuisine at Polpo, the restaurant they were enjoying on the River Seine. But the atmosphere might have drifted back 90 years to a similar dinner in the same city. The British Davis Cup team, on the eve of the challenge round, dined at the lakeside Café Royale in the Bois de Boulogne, their next destination.
Le Tir Tennis Club is situated in the heart of the Bois de Boulogne and was the setting for the CTC 2025 seniors tournament. Originally founded in 1865 as a shooting club, tennis was introduced in 1899 and quickly became the club’s central sport, which today offers a variety of other activities.
In extensive grounds of well-manicured gardens and water features, the traditional Parisian-style clubhouse only hints at the light, spacious and modern interior. The French windows and doors overlook the superb clay courts. Offering a perfect venue just four miles north of Roland Garros, it came as no surprise to learn that Le Tir is favoured as a practice location in the week before the French Open.
On Saturday morning, the teams gathered together for the welcome breakfast reception. Following the draw, in accordance with Davis Cup tradition, the captains presented their team selections, which were posted on each court. East Glos was drawn against Real Club de Tenis Barcelona, which, like Le Tir, was also founded in 1899. A club with strong British origins, it is now one of the most esteemed clubs in Spain, hosting both the Barcelona Open and Davis Cup ties.
The tie opened with the singles, and the enormity of the task quickly became clear across the net, facing David Knowles, a former US intercollegiate and Venezuelan Davis Cup player, Juan Jose (Pepe) Boveda.
Sue Wilson would face Juan’s wife, Nuria Alasia, an accomplished player in her own right. All of the Barcelona players were vastly experienced and methodical clay courters par excellence.Despite every endeavour and tenacity that scaled the heights of resistance, East Glos were unable to stem the tide of pressure from Barcelona, which turned points into games and eventually sets.
Yet the team exhibited a level of play and courage that the club can be proud of. David Barham, who played the top singles player of the tournament, Carlos Rodriguez, best summarised the spirit and sportsmanship of the whole team. They came off court exactly as they started, with smiles and an embrace. Pride of place on the first day went to Mandy Walker and Nigel Watson, who took the husband and wife team, Alasia and Boveda, to 6-4 in an extremely close first set.
The tournament dinner, which followed the close of play, was a magnificent and delicious affair. It would appear to be conceived to honour and delight the guests. Cocktails were followed by a five-course meal, which exuded both flavour and colour. The president of Le Tir gave an inspiring speech, which was warm, witty, and humorous, but above all, reminded us of the values enshrined within the spirit of the CTC. An occasion which enriched the whole weekend.
Sunday saw a team not only replenished but also resurgent and enthused. Propelled by the experience of the previous day, the clay no longer seemed like a house of horrors, but a surface to express every aspect of the game. Dancing across the court with balletic footwork and executing offensive shots from every angle of the court just seemed to magnify every winner in the triumph over the Northern Club from Manchester.
David Knowles and Nigel Watson won their respective singles matches after losing a few games. Sue Wilson would defeat Aloisia Oldland one and three, while Elizabeth Yin overcame Dhura Gramsegaran in a titanic first to finally prevail three and one. Once again, it was the doubles which proved to be our best discipline.
Sue Wilson and David Knowles dominated over the strong Salmmed and Linkomies love and love, while Mandy Walker and Nigel Watson defeated Williams and O’Rourke, one and three.
Ken Dawson and Dave Barham overcame a sluggish start to break early in the second set of the men’s doubles. The lead they would hold throughout. The final result was a seven-rubber-to-two victory to secure third place and a podium finish. Le Tir would win the tournament by the narrowest of margins, with Barcelona in second place.
During the presentation ceremony, warm compliments were exchanged between the participants and the teams as a whole, along with promises to meet again in the future. The CTC was established with the vision of bringing countries and people together through sport. The Paris seniors tournament reflected these aspirations, which have borne fruit and continue to grow.
Despite a lunch provided at the club that would have been a credit to a five-star hotel, the team chose to celebrate at an Italian restaurant, Livio, where a magnum of Barolo was the star attraction of the night. The team enjoyed a brief opportunity to see a little of the city the following day before their return home.
Our club was founded in 1883. It is unknown what our members at that time thought about the first international tennis competition, played just seven years later in Boston, between the United States and Great Britain for a trophy that would become the Davis Cup.
This year, East Glos has entered three international CTC team tournaments. Hopefully, our future history will show that we embraced the ideas and principles of the CTC to spread friendship through tennis for the benefit of all our members.