Dear Jane,

We got off to an incredible start in 2025. We may have set a new record in tournaments over the month, with 119 players ranging from juniors to new players and seasoned players participating in eight tournaments. Wow!

Speaking of tournaments, congratulations to all of the winners. There were lots of hotly contested matches and a strong spirit of camaraderie. While everyone was a standout, we had to give a shoutout to the three junior players, all under 16, who made it to the semifinals of the Wharton Cup. Bravo to the next generation! Read on for all of the results.

Congratulations to Camden Riviere on winning the 2025 Australian Open. Camden is back in our new series from the Wayward Racquet Club Instructional Videos this month. This month’s topic is “Half Volley Drill”. Steve Virgona penned this month’s “Tip from the Pros” on “The Area of Uncertainty” – where should you hit your backhand when you are at the service end? Read and watch these two tips, and you will lower your handicap!

Regarding pros, The US Open is in Washington at the end of the month. There are still tickets available. We hope you can attend in person; if not, Ryan Carey will stream all the matches. The tournament could be a great preview of the upcoming World Championship in September.

Not to be outdone, the women will be playing in the Ladies US Open in Philadelphia next weekend. Again, Ryan will be streaming the matches, but we hope you can stop by and watch some play. The US Ladies will also be a preview of the Ladies World Championship in May. We have included preliminary information on both World Championships hosted by Newport. 

As we write, 22 players are battling it out in Philadelphia for the Noll Cup. Stay tuned; we will post the final results tomorrow. Also, this month, the seniors are hitting the court in Aiken for the US 60s and 70s. There are a lot of gold medals flying around these days! Finally, Tuxedo will host the 121^st Gold Racquets – always a spectacular weekend.

And on that note, all we can say is that the momentum keeps going – the US court tennis world will not miss a beat!

Until next month….

Sincerely,

Jane Lippincott - Editor

U.S. Court Tennis Association

2024 U.S. Open Champion Camden Riviere

FINAL CHANCE TO GET TICKETS TO THE U.S. OPEN

Tickets for the US Open are available by clicking here! Come watch a packed field of professionals, including Camden Riviere, John Lumley, and Rob Fahey, play for a $75,000 prize purse at Westwood Country Club. Events kick off on February 22, with the opening dinner on Sunday, February 23. Play concludes Saturday March 2 (singles final and cocktail party) and Sunday March 3 (doubles final). Don’t miss it!

2025 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION

by Tony Hollins

2025 REAL TENNIS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Newport, Rhode Island

September 23rd to 27th, 2025

THE MATCH

The National Tennis Club at the International Tennis Hall of Fame is honored to host the 2025 Real Tennis World Championship. The match days will be held on the following dates:

• Day One: Tuesday, September 23rd
• Day Two: Thursday, September 25th
• Day Three: Saturday, September 27th

We are excited for a week-long showcase of extraordinary court tennis with Camden Riviere vying to defend his title. His challenger will be one of the following four contenders: John Lumley, Nick Howell, Ben Taylor-Matthews, or Steve Virgona. The challenger will be decided through the eliminator process beginning in March.

The autumn is a beautiful time to visit Newport, Rhode Island, and the club will have a robust schedule of social activities alongside the main event. For those who are looking for athletic activities, we will be running a handicapped court tennis doubles event called The Pineapple Cup. We will also be providing an informational packet of ‘things-to-do’ in Newport, should you wish to enjoy all that the area has to offer.

If you are interested in staying up to date on the latest news regarding the event, please email Tony Hollins at thollins@tennisfame.com and you will be added to the 2025 Real Tennis World Championship mailing list. As news is announced, we will also be updating the tournament website: 2025worldchampionship.com

We look forward to seeing many of you in September!

World Championship First Round Eliminator Schedule

John Lumley vs. Steve Virgona

March 20th - Racquet Club of Chicago

March 26th & 28th - Racquet Club of Philadelphia

Nick Howell vs. Ben Taylor-Matthews

March 25th, 27th and 29th - Aiken Tennis Club

2025 LADIES WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION

by Tony Hollins

DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: FRIDAY, MARCH 14TH, 2025

The National Tennis Club is thrilled to host the 2025 Ladies Real Tennis World Championship. The event will feature singles and doubles draws under the new World Championship rules (link below). Alongside the main event, we will also be hosting a gender non-specific handicap doubles tournament.

Prize money will be a minimum of $10,000 (USD). Final purse to be confirmed at the time of the draw.

Please read on for information on the event:

World Championship Match Schedule:

Saturday, May 24th - First round qualifying singles

Sunday, May 25th - Second round qualifying singles

Monday, May 26th - Main draw singles (#3 seed vs. Qualifier B; #4 seed vs. Qualifier A)

Tuesday, May 27th - Main draw singles quarter-final (two matches)

Wednesday, May 28th - Main draw singles semi-final (one match)

Thursday, May 29th - Main draw doubles semi-final (two matches)

Friday, May 30th - Championship match - Singles final

Saturday, May 31st - Championship match - Doubles final

Social Events:

Monday, May 26th - Opening cocktail party (National Tennis Club)

Thursday, May 29th - Cocktail party hosted by Bettie and Jonathan Pardee (540 Bellevue Avenue)

Saturday, May 31st - Championship Dinner (location TBD)

Handicap Doubles:

The National Tennis Club will be hosting a handicap doubles tournament to run alongside the main events. This will be available to tournament players, traveling spectators, and NTC members. The specific format will be determined by interest. An additional entry fee will apply.

A complete copy of the Ladies World Championship rules can be found by following this link: LADIES WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RULES - UPDATED OCTOBER 6, 2024

If you have any questions about the event, please contact the National Tennis Club pro shop:

Email: ntcpros@tennisfame.com

Pro Shop Cell: 401-602-2429

Pro Shop Landline: 401-849-6672

Eric Haab, John Beam & Tim Welles Photo by R&T

2025 ETCHEBASTER

by John Beam

On Friday, January 17th, thirty player s from eight clubs arrived in Midtown Manhattan to compete for the prestigious Etchebaster Trophy, contested annually since 1964. Representatives from the clubs in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Chicago, Tuxedo, Paris, and New York were all present with trophies and gold paint on their minds.

The round of thirty-two kicked off on Friday afternoon, with both East and West courts hosting some entertaining competition. There were several closely contested matches, with Clarke Jones and John Schafer both winning 6-4 in the third, while Tom Love won the final game against Ben Nalle to take the deciding set, 6-5. Top seeds made their presence known on both sides of the draw with dominant wins from Tim Welles, Will Zhang, Eric Haab and Daelum Mawji. Similar to prior years, the path to the semi-finals was pretty straightforward, with all four top seeds advancing to the highly anticipated Sunday semifinals.



Another Etchebaster squash vs. tennis battle ensued in the top semi, with Tim Welles of New York (squash) defeating Will Zhang of Philadelphia (tennis) in a well-fought 6-2, 6-3 affair. Tim has been one of the more active players in New York this past year, and his hard work is clearly paying. Will Zhang can hardly be considered a “novice”, having debuted this past December for the Philadelphia Whitney Cup. Be on the lookout for both these players in the future.

U.S. LEVEL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Sawyer Duncan, Jonathan Lewis & Geoff Ellis

2025 GREEVY CUP (20-29)

Geoff Ellis def. Sawyer Duncan

6-5, 6-5

Brad Ursprung, Jimmy Burke & Chris Tomasevich

2025 BURKE CUP (40-49)

Brad Ursprung def. Chris Tomasevich

6-4, 6-3

Kurt Mueller & Aidan Bae

2025 WHARTON CUP (50-59)

Kurt Mueller def. Aidan Bae

6-3, 6-4

Chris Yalanis, Tony Hollins & Albert Nichols

2025 HICKEY CUP (60-69)

Chris Yalanis def. Albert Nichols

6-5, 6-3

Jeff Norton & Reeve Harde

2025 FAULISE CUP (70+)

Reeve Harde def. Jeff Norton

6-2, 6-1

NOTE: The Noll Cup (30-39) is being played this weekend in Philadelphia. Results in our next issue!

TIPS FROM THE PROS

THE AREA OF UNCERTAINTY

Members often ask me, " Where should I hit my backhand when I'm at the service end?"

I advise to hit cross court, and to hit to the area between the winning gallery line and the tambour on the mainwall, the area I like to refer to as the "area of uncertainty". If you direct your shot to this part of the court, it usually creates many problems for the player at the hazard end. They are forced to make a quick decision with a variety of outcomes:

1. Is the ball hitting the main wall tambour, therefore going behind me?

2. Is the ball hitting the tambour square?

3. Is the ball missing the tambour altogether?

4. Is the ball going in the grille?

5. Is the ball missing the tambour and going to hit the backwall on the fly and roll?

Even a seasoned player (or professional) can struggle reading this part of the court, whether at home or on a neutral site.

The other important aspect is the shot can be played with a minimal amount of risk and with a significant reward.

When at the hazard end, you should focus on what you know. For a right-hander, you know it's a backhand so you should have your racket back behind your left tricep with shoulders turned ready to play the ball. If it misses the tambour altogether, you are turned ready to dive into the corner to retrieve the ball. This is probably the most difficult area of the court to read and requires hours of practice to play the ball effectively.

As my members will attest, I am a big proponent of "prevention is better than cure"

Less time spent at the hazard end reduces the likelihood of having to deal with this difficult ball - aim to be at the service end as much as possible.

2025 JUNIOR/FAMILY WEEKEND

by Dawson Lane

The Tuxedo Club hosted the Junior Handicap Singles and the Family Handicap Doubles on January 18th – 20th and by all accounts was a successful weekend of court tennis.

Forty-nine matches were played across the holiday weekend, with 11 Juniors playing in the singles and 15 teams in the Family Doubles.

Junior HCP Singles

Walt Laukitis, Henry Nieuwerburgh & Elliot Philpott all won their respective round robins to move into the JR HCP Singles main draw semi-finals.  Anson Devinney & Jonah Serotta tied with 17 games won in their round robins and had a 7:15 AM Sunday morning tie-breaking match to see who would be the 4th player in the main draw.  Anson and Jonah put on quite a show at 7:15 AM with an 8/7 nail-biter going to Anson!



In the first semi-final, Anson was able to reverse a loss to Walt Laukitis in the round-robin and move through to the Final.  In the second semi-final, Henry Nieuwerburgh continued to play solidly, mistake-free tennis and eased by Elliot Philpott for his place in the Final.

The Final was an entertaining match for the spectators, but Henry’s combination of a decent handicap and very steady play proved too much for Anson to overcome! Congratulations to Henry, a deserving Champion!

In the back draw, Paul Nieuwerburgh and Kurt Mueller played well below their respective handicaps in a 4/3 0/4 4/3 semi-final win for Kurt, which set up another rematch of a round-robin match in the Final against Jonah Serotta. In their round-robin match, both players thrilled the crowd with some great tennis, as Jonah earned a well-deserved 6/4 win.

A great group of Juniors and evidence that the game has its hooks into the youngsters!

Want to find out what happened in the family doubles? --- Follow the link below.

Photos courtesy of Hobart Real Tennis Club

2025 AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Ladies Singles

Claire Fahey def. Lea Van Der Zwalmen 6-0, 6-2

Ladies Doubles

Claire Fahey/Saskia Bollerman def. Lea Van Der Zwalmen/Jess Garside 6-1, 6-3

Men's Singles

Camden Riviere def. Kieran Booth 6-1, 6-1, 6-1

Men's Doubles

Camden Riviere/Chris Chapman def. Rob Fahey/Ben Taylor-Matthews 5-6, 6-1, 6-0, 3-6, 6-0