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2026 Season

Finals Day — Saturday 12th September

The Colchester and District Friendly Tennis League finals were held at Kirby Tennis Club on Saturday 12 September 2026.

It's not only the American Open that can have surprising turnarounds in matches this year. In the Ladies Singles final, having lost the first set 6-1, Anita Filer recovered to win the third set tie-break 17-15 resulting in a 1-6, 6-4, 17-15 win. Another notable success was in the Junior Section, where Isabella Clarke of Spring Lane convincingly won the junior tournament at the third attempt. The Finals involved 30 participants from 7 different clubs across the district. Overall, the competition produced several close matches and was enjoyed by both participants and spectators alike. At the end of the event Christine Clark, Chair of the committee, presented the winners and runners-up shields and the relevant trophies. She thanked Kirby Tennis Club for hosting the event and those who helped by scoring the matches and providing refreshments, with special thanks to Sherry Hodgson for organising the whole tournament and making finals day run so smoothly. She then presented winning league teams with their trophies.

For full scores see Individual Tournaments

Junior singles finalists Isabella Clarke (Spring Lane) (winner); Elliot Grindon (Spring Lane)

Ladies Singles finalists Anita Filer (The Officers' Club) (winner); Nicky Potter (Spring Lane)

Mens singles finalists Alex Temple (West Mersea) (winner); Onder Savas (Wivenhoe)

Mens doubles finalists Contenders for the John Sambrook Cup Gavin James & Alex Temple (West Mersea) Martin Picker & Neil Westbrook (Little Clacton) (winners);

Ladies doubles finalists Mari Berncastel & Sofia Grace (Kirby) Sarah Creese & Lucy Struth (West Mersea) (winners);

Mixed doubles finalists Martin Picker & Sarah Morton (Little Clacton) Lucy Struth & Matt Capon (West Mersea) (winners);

Veteran mens doubles finalists Rony Moreira & Andrew Hodgson (The Officers' Club) Kevin Eastaugh & John Carpenter (The Officers' Club) (winners);

Veteran ladies doubles finalists Sherry Hodgson & Anita Filer (The Officers' Club) (winners w/o); Sarah Ward & Karen Ainley (The Officers' Club) Sorry no photo due to walkover

Veteran mixed doubles finalists Contenders for the Don Rampling Cup David Simpson & Karen Ainley (The Officers' Club) Carol Wright & Jeremy Wedge (Kirby) (winners);

Married Couples Doubles Sherry & Andrew Hodgson (The Officers' Club) Russ & Debbie Sainty (Dedham) (winners);

The Annual General Meeting (and fixtures meeting) was held on Tuesday 31st March 2026 at The Colchester Officers' Club and the following clubs have affiliated to The Friendly Tennis League for the 2026 season and have entered the following teams:

2025 Season

Finals Day — Saturday 13th September

The Colchester and District Friendly Tennis League finals were held at Wivenhoe Tennis Club on Saturday 13 September 2025, the culmination of matches between 116 participants across 10 events. The Friendly League is intended for competitors who play in leagues below division 1 of the C&D tennis league in the Colchester and District area. It runs both leagues and knock-out competitions, and the day was for the finals of the knock-out competitions to take place. Seven clubs were represented on the day: Spring Lane, Little Clacton, Kirby, Colchester Officers Club, Wivenhoe, Frinton, and West Mersea. As expected for the Friendly League, all of the matches were played in a good spirit and the many supporters for competitors were generous and good-natured in their support. Some 8 of the 10 finals were completed on the day &mdash: the remaining two were rained off and will be played on dates to be arranged by the participants.

Christine Clark, who chairs the league, presented the winners’ trophies and winners’ and runners-ups’ plaques to each finalist. She thanked Wivenhoe Tennis Club for hosting the event and the volunteers who had made the event possible by officiating matches and helping with refreshments. Special thanks were given to Sherry Hodgson who organised the knock-out competitions and the finals day.

Finally, Christine presented the league competition winners’ shields. These were East Bergholt for the Ladies’, Lexden Hill for the Men’s, and Dedham for the Mixed. The day finished at 4.00pm with heavy rain falling, leaving the Veterans Ladies’ final between Nicky Potter & Christine Metson (Spring Lane) v Christine Clark & Clare Smee (Wivenhoe) and the Married Couples’ final between Andy & Sherry Hodgson (Officers Club) v John & Lucy Carpenter (Officers Club) to be arranged by the participants.

For full scores see Individual Tournaments

Junior singles finalists Jasper Wilding (Frinton) (winner); Isabella Clarke (Spring Lane)

Ladies Singles finalists Nicky Potter (Spring Lane) (winner); Janet Sullivan (Little Clacton)

Mens singles finalists Dave Aston (The Officers' Club) Alex Temple (West Mersea) (winner);

Mens doubles finalists Contenders for the John Sambrook Cup Gareth Lee & Joe Bushell (Kirby) Neil Westbrook & Martin Picker (Little Clacton) (winners);

Ladies doubles finalists Sarah Morton & Barbara Ager (Kirby) (winners); Sherry Hodgson & Sarah Ward (The Officers' Club)

Mixed doubles finalists Martin Picker & Carol Wright (Little Clacton) Jasper Wilding & Charlie Macnamara (Frinton) (winners);

Veteran mens doubles finalists John Carpenter & Kevin Eastaugh (The Officers' Club) (winners); Keith Monk & Onder Savas (Wivenhoe)

Veteran ladies doubles finalists Nicky Potter & Christine Metson (Spring Lane) (winners); Christine Clark & Clare Smee (Wivenhoe)

Veteran mixed doubles finalists Contenders for the Don Rampling Cup Jeremy Wedge & Natalie Cowie (Little Clacton) (winners); Martin Picker & Carol Wright (Little Clacton)

Married Couples Doubles Andrew & Sherry Hodgson (The Officers' Club) (winners); John & Lucy Carpenter (The Officers' Club)

April 2025

The Annual General Meeting (and fixtures meeting) was held on Tuesday 1st April 2025 at The Colchester Officers' Club and the following clubs have affiliated to The Friendly Tennis League for the 2025 season and have entered the following teams:

News from previous years

• 2024
• 2023
• 2022
• 2021
• 2020
• 2019
• 2018
• 2017
• 2016
• 2015
• 2014
• 2013
• 2012
• 2011
• 2010
• 2009
• 2008
• 2007
• 2006
• 2005
• 2004
• 2003

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