Greetings!

We gained an extra hour last night—and Chase the First reached a milestone! For 15 years, this newsletter has shared the people, matches, and moments that make court tennis special. Now we’re starting our 16th year, and I’m so glad you’re along for the ride.

There’s plenty to catch up on this month: the French Open, the IRTPA Players Championship, the Senior Challenge, and the Hadden Tomes weekend. We remember Charlie Matheson and his contributions to the game, get a helpful tip on consistency from Steve Virgona, and take a look at the latest Top Player Lists and upcoming events. December also brings the USCTA Annual Dinner, Awards & Auction.

Thanks to Ryan Carey, our creative director and friend, for his help each month. We make a great team.

Until next month….

Sincerely,

Jane Lippincott - Editor

U.S. Court Tennis Association

29th USCTA ANNUAL DINNER, AWARDS & AUCTION

The 29th USCTA Annual Dinner, Awards, and Auction will occur on Friday, December 11th, 2026 at the Racquet and Tennis Club in New York. Dress code will be black tie. 

The following is a summary of key highlights:

Cocktails and Silent Auction: 6:30 PM

Dinner, Awards, and Live Auction: 7:30 PM

Key Honorees:

2026 Hall of Fame Inductee: Haven Pell 

Haven Pell learned court tennis from his father, Clarry Pell. A former Navy officer whose career included law and finance, he helped establish Prince’s Court near Washington, D.C., in 1997 and its successor at Westwood Country Club in 2022. He served on the USCTA board and as chairman of the United States Court Tennis Preservation Foundation. He is the author of Around the World in Fifty Courts and will be inducted into the International Court Tennis Hall of Fame in December 2026. 

Other 2026 award recipients to be announced at the event.

Auction Items:

Exciting lots this year include rare tennis books, posters, golf outings, dinners, getaway destinations, and the Lot 12 paddle raise to benefit the National Fund and the Tennis Professionals. The auction catalog will be available on the USCTA website later this month, with online pre-bidding open from December 8th through December 11th.

Invitations & Tickets:

Paperless Post invitations with RSVP details will be sent next week. Attire will be black tie. Dinner tickets will be available for purchase exclusively through the USCTA website.  

Additional Information:

On December 12th, be sure to stop by the USCTA-sponsored luncheon on the club’s second floor during the Whitney Cup matches.

Ted Goneos and Ben Lawrence are co-chairing the event. Please reach out to them with auction item contributions or any questions you may have.

Ben Dickinson, John Lumley & Barney Tanfield

BREAKING NEWS:

BELOW ZERO

Ben Dickinson won the Below Zero, defeating Barney Tanfield 6–5, 6–3 in the final. A full story will follow.



2026 IRTPA PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

by Nick Howell

The IRTPA Players Championship returned to Aiken Tennis Club for the second consecutive year. With 35,000 world ranking points available, the tournament was an important event on the professional calendar, being the penultimate event in the world ranking race before its conclusion at the British Open.

Satellite Tournament

Before the main event got underway, the Satellite Tournament took place, serving both as a qualifying event for the Players Championship and as a tournament in its own right. Players needed to win their opening match not only to progress in the Satellite but also to secure a place in the main draw.

There were a couple of late withdrawals, most notably James Stout, the former Rackets World Champion and world No. 1 doubles squash player, who was forced to withdraw due to family reasons. James had not competed in a world-ranking court tennis tournament since before 2020, and our members were particularly excited about the prospect of seeing him play. While it was disappointing, family understandably comes first, and James has assured us he hopes to return next year.

There was just one qualifying match, between Pete Dickinson and Jack Josephs, which proved to be a very close contest, with Pete edging it 6/5.

Quarter-final day produced a couple of upsets. Vaughan Hamilton, one of the favourites for the title, was beaten by Pete Dickinson, while Josh Dodgson, who has previously recorded victories over top-10 players, lost to Josh Smith. Smith, who has had limited competitive play over the past few years due to injury, showed signs of returning to his best form.

In the evening matches, seeded players Max Trueman and Lewis Williams progressed comfortably to the semi-finals.

Josh Smith continued his impressive run with a comfortable victory over Pete Dickinson in the first semi-final. The second semi-final was a much closer affair, with No. 1 seed Lewis Williams taking on fourth seed Max Trueman. Max took the opening set, but Lewis fought back strongly in the second before eventually securing a 3/6 6/5 6/3 victory.



The final was therefore set between Lewis Williams and Josh Smith - Newport's Head Professional. Lewis will soon be taking up the position of Senior Professional at Newport.

Anders Cohen, Bill Barker, Halsey Spruance & Alex Jamieson

2026 SENIOR CHALLENGE

by Rob Whitehouse

The Racquet Club of Philadelphia was proud to host the Senior Challenge last weekend. We had 21 players enter the event, including a few “youngsters” who helped make up a combined age of 115 years!

The matches were played using a 75% handicap, which led to plenty of competitive and exciting matches throughout the weekend.

The Combined Age Division created some great and different matchups and was a terrific way to get some of our newer seniors involved in competitive matches. Allen Whittemore, Eric Levine, Phil Straus, and Andrew Brown were all first-time players in the Senior Challenge. There were several exciting 10–9 battlesthroughout the draw, with Halsey Spruance and Paul Bolster coming through on the top side of the draw.

Dick Tanfield teamed up with younger partner Alex Matulas, and the combination paid off. Matulas covered a tremendous amount of court and came up with some great movement gets, while Tanfield finished off a number of long rallies with his superb length, which resulted in them taking the final 10-7.

The Main Draw, where all players had to be over 50 years old, featured nine teams.

Halsey Spruance and Alex Jamieson got off to a great start, picking up two tough wins on their way to the finals. They first defeated Dick Tanfield and Paul Bolster 10–6, followed by another solid 10–6 victory over Alex Dean and Rob Whitehouse to earn their spot in the championship match.

On the other side of the draw, Bill Barker and Anders Cohen had a real tussle in their first-round match against Guy Elzey and Alec Monaghan, scraping out a 10–7 victory. Bill and Anders settled in and saw the ball much better in their semifinal, coming away with a strong win over Kenny Soffer and Eric Levine.

That set up a great final between Spruance & Jamieson and Barker & Cohen.



Spruance and Jamieson had been playing steady, confident Court Tennis all weekend and continued that momentum in the final. Halsey Spruance was on fire with hitting the grille, helping his team pull out a hard-fought 10–8 victory over Bill Barker and Anders Cohen to capture the Senior Challenge title!

Congratulations to Halsey and Alex, and a big thank you to everyone who came out and made the weekend such a fun and competitive event. It was great to see so many players enjoying the competition and keeping the spirit of the Senior Challenge alive at RCOP.

Another unforgettable weekend at The Tuxedo Club, perfectly blending the historic tradition of court tennis with the fast-paced energy of padel! Delivering first-class decor, exceptional dining, and top-tier entertainment year after year is no small feat, and it speaks volumes about the dedication of GM Randy St. John and the entire club staff.

The camaraderie, intense competition, and high level of athleticism across all divisions are exactly what make the Hadden Tomes weekend such a signature highlight on the club's calendar.



• Flight III Champions - Maria Panico & Dianne Christensen
• Flight III Finalists - Alice Devereux & Scott Mullins
• Flight I Champions - Kurt Mueller & Josh Scherer
• Flight I Finalist - Ben Alcorn & Steve Klepper
• Flight II Champions - Laura Veldkamp & Paul Brooke
• Flight II Finalists - David Grier & Len Mazzone

Ave Atque Vale

Charlie Matheson

by Haven Pell



Charlie Matheson died the other day. He was one of the original board members of Prince’s Court and one of the architects who designed it. As with all boards, some members did more work than others, and Charlie was high on the list. 

When it became clear that the design would include a glass wall, he took Freddy Prince, our lead donor, on a field trip to "study" the glass walls for various Basque games in southwestern France. He downplayed the importance of the availability of fox hunting in that region to say nothing of the opportunities for superior wine drinking. Freddy became a convert and another obstacle was overcome.

After a site was found, the biggest challenge was fundraising, and that played into the design of the court. We couldn't take different dimensions from different courts and cobble them together without risking offending donors. We worried about conversations that might go like this.

"You are copying the tambour angle at fill in the blank court?  That's a terrible decision. I never played well on that court. I'm not giving."

At least, that was our concern.

Charlie and I agreed on two rules and he followed them assiduously. First, pick one court and copy it exactly. Second lie, even to me.

Charlie said he chose Newport as the model, but I never measured it. To this day, I have no idea what the actual dimensions were.  We raised the money and the court got built. That was the point. 

He also helped to arrange our first fundraiser at Ruth Buchanan, his mother-in-law’s, house in Newport. It was instrumental in getting court tennis in Washington started on its continuing journey.

Charlie was the artist for the famous print that now hangs in almost all the world's court tennis courts. Note to collectors: We still have some.

He signed a copy and gave it to me, with the inscription, “by my work, my faith is shown.”

The world court tennis community owes much thanks to Charlie Matheson for his largely unsung contributions.



Here is a link to his obituary.

https://www.moserfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Charles-Tompkins-Matheson-Sr?obId=49840067

Camden Riviere, John Lumley, Steve Virgona & Rob Fahey

2026 FRENCH OPEN RESULTS

Men's French Open

Singles

Camden Riviere def. John Lumley

6-0, 6-4, 1-6, 5-6, 6-5

Doubles

Riviere & Lumley def. Steve Virgona & Rob Fahey

6-3, 6-1, 6-1

Women's French Open

Singles

Claire Fahey def. Sarah Vigrass

6-0, 6-0

Doubles

Fahey & Vigrass def. Kadi Meldrum & Claire Voegele

6-1, 6-0

Sarah Vigrass, Claire Fahey, Claire Voegele & Kadi Meldrum

TIPS FROM THE PROS

CONSISTENCY

by Steve Virgona

While down in sunny Aiken for the 2026 IRTPA Championships last week, I had a few questions from members in the higher handicap range about improving their game. A huge thanks to the members and the organizing committee for their wonderful hospitality and generosity.

This month’s tip is geared toward those members, although it’s a useful reminder for all of us!

Identifying how points are won—or lost—is one of the simplest ways to improve. At this level, points are far more often decided by an error than by an outright winner. Keeping the ball in play is crucial. Each time you make your opponent hit another shot, you give them another opportunity to make a mistake.

With that in mind, give yourself plenty of clearance over the net. I suggest aiming six feet above the net. If the ball travels farther than intended or lands on the penthouse, so be it—you’ve still given yourself a chance by staying in the rally.

Much like golfers who leave their shots short, tennis players often underestimate what it takes to get the ball to its target. Gravity, a heavy ball, and imperfect timing can all contribute to a shot falling short. Giving yourself extra height creates a valuable margin for error.

There’s a familiar saying in golf: 100% of putts that don’t reach the hole don’t go in. In tennis, a ball hit into the net gives you no chance of winning the point.

A ball hit too high or too far, however, can still work in your favor. It might reach a gallery, take an awkward bounce, or result in a chase. Even if none of those things happens, your opponent still has to play another shot.

Next time you’re on court, keep your goal simple: clear the net comfortably and make your opponent hit one more ball. You don’t need to hit more winners to win more points—often, you just need to make fewer mistakes.