The weekend of September 23-25 saw the five group winners of last year’s Centenary Tennis Clubs competitions gather at Tennis Club Genève in Switzerland to play the Association’s flagship Winner’s Group competition.

Joining the host club in action were teams from I.CLTK Prague (CZE), Kungl Lawn Tennis Klubben (SWE), Le Tir Paris (FRA), with defending champions TC Parioli Rome (ITA) and runner-up Villa Primrose Bordeaux (FRA) also invited.

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances TC Parioli Rome was not able to attend, which led to some adjustments to the tournament schedule. In order to ensure that the five remaining teams each had at least two matches in the three-day event, qualifying rounds between I.CLTK and Le Tir and Kungl LTK & Villa Primrose were held. The Czech and Swedish clubs advanced from their respective ties and joined TC Genève in the main draw, which was played in a round robin format, allowing Le Tir and Villa Primrose to battle for fourth and fifth place overall.

The final of the event was a battle between I.CLTK and their Swiss hosts. With two suitably strong teams – the Czech line-up included former top professionals Jan Vacek and Iva Budarova Simunkova, while TC Genève counted upon the experience of players such as Anthony Dupuis, Christelle Fauche and Susanna Villaverde – it was no surprise to see the final go the wire. The Czech team eventually edged to victory by a margin of 5/4.

The final day saw an on-court prize giving ceremony, at which CTC President Juan-Maria Tintoré was on hand to offer the Cup to the winners I.CLTK, and medals to the participants. As always, the competition had an important social aspect, with an official dinner on the Saturday night at the host club, where the players exchanged gifts and souvenirs. The dinner was also attended by the CTC President and representatives from the Association’s main partner, private bank EFG International.Final Standings:

1. CLTK Prague
2. TC Genève
3. KLTK Stockholm
4. Primrose Bordeaux
5. Le Tir Paris

Results:

ICLTK Prague beat le Tir Paris 7:0
Kung LTK Stockholm beat Villa Primrose Bordeaux 5:4
Villa Primrose Bordeaux beat Le Tir Paris 8:1
ICLTK Prague beat Kung LTK Stockholm 7:1
TC Genève beat Kung LTK Stockholm 7:1
I CLTK Prague beat TC Genève 5:4