The Northern Lawn Tennis Club was delighted to host this year’s CTC tournament, welcoming our friends from Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club and, for the first time, Het Spieghel.
It was a particular pleasure to welcome Fitzwilliam back to The Northern. Our clubs share a long and valued history within the CTC, and it was wonderful to continue that tradition once again. The Northern’s members were equally pleased to welcome Het Spieghel to their inaugural CTC competition. Although they were new to the event, they immediately embraced its spirit, and it was a pleasure for everyone to meet such excellent competitors and, more importantly, new friends.
The weekend began on Friday evening with welcome drinks on the clubhouse terrace, accompanied by a live jazz band overlooking the grass courts. It provided the perfect setting for old friendships to be renewed and new ones to be formed.
Play commenced on Saturday morning, with The Northern 2nd Team facing Fitzwilliam and The Northern 1st Team taking on Het Spieghel. The opening matches produced some excellent tennis. The Northern 1st Team edged a closely contested encounter with Het Spieghel 6–3, while Fitzwilliam defeated a resilient Northern 2nd Team 9–0.
Saturday evening’s dinner was another highlight of the weekend. Players from all four teams enjoyed excellent company, thoughtful speeches and the opportunity to strengthen the friendships that make the CTC such a special competition.
Sunday brought challenging weather, but thanks to the flexibility of all the teams, play continued on the clay courts before returning to the grass later in the afternoon to complete the tournament. Het Spieghel secured third place by defeating The Northern 2nd Team, while Fitzwilliam delivered an outstanding performance in the final against The Northern 1st Team, winning all of the singles matches to secure a deserved victory.
Hosting the tournament was a privilege for everyone at The Northern. The standard of tennis was excellent, but, as always with the CTC, it was the camaraderie, sportsmanship and friendships that defined the weekend. They thoroughly enjoyed welcoming all the teams and look forward to seeing everyone again at future CTC events.
