Ffion wins The Appeti Sponge Ball Championship 2011!

Our November social saw academy players, their families and coaches taking to the courts for this year’s Appeti Sponge Ball Championship.

This tournament has become an annual event with all ages mixing together to compete on mini courts with 23” rackets and sponge balls

This year a number of our players fancied their chances and were all keen to showcase their skills during the round robin box stages. After two rounds of very close matches with some fantastic rallies Richard and Ffion met in one semi Final whilst Tim faced Graham in the other. Once again there were some great points with Richard and Ffion’s match being decided by a net cord!

The final saw Ffion coming head to head with Tim. In the early stages both players matched each other point for point but Ffion’s depth of shot proved too much for Tim and a new Champion was crowned with Ffion taking the title 10-7

The tournament finished with everyone enjoying fish and chips from Wincheap’s ‘Marino’s Fish Bar’ whilst discussing their favourite shot of the evening.

Appeti Tennis welcomes 90 New Players!

Over the last month Appeti Tennis, in partnership with The Canterbury High School, have been working with nine local primary schools delivering their 123 Junior tennis programme.

The nine schools involved were:-

Bridge and Patrixbourne Primary School

Chartham Primary School

Hernhill Primary School

St Mary’s Primary School

St Peter’s Methodist Primary School

St Stephens’ Infant School

Swalecliffe Primary School

The Canterbury Primary School

Wincheap Primary School

Each of these schools have received four free weeks of coaching funded by The Tennis Foundation during curriculum time. From this outreach programme we are pleased to welcome over ninety new youngsters to our Canterbury centre where they are learning more about the game of tennis.

All the youngsters that have decided to develop their tennis further will receive eight more weeks of subsidised coaching delivered by the same team of coaches who have been busy working with them at their schools. Tim Bean, Ffion Newberry, Richard Myall and Graham Hunt are all looking forward to coaching this new wave of promising players.

It is hoped these keen youngsters will continue and want to follow in the footsteps of our older players already involved in the Appeti Academy.

Thanks again to The Canterbury High School and The Tennis Foundation for supporting this year’s programme.

The Appeti Tennis Championships 2011

The 2011 Appeti Championships finished last weekend with finals being closely contented throughout Sunday.

The day started with our 14U players taking to the courts.

The Boys 14U final proved to be a rematch of last year. Dan Gould met Jamie Wallace in what proved to be another close battle. Jamie took an early lead but Dan dug deep and fought back to level the score. After some fantastic rallies Dan managed to edge ahead and took the first set 7-5. The second set was no different to the first with Dan wanting to reverse last year’s scores. Both boys played some great tennis throughout but Dan managed to secure the title for 2011 by taking the second set 6-3.

Meanwhile on the other court the Girls 14U final saw Saffron Taylor, who is part of The Canterbury High School programme, playing Evie Robertson. Saffron played well but Evie’s greater experience showed through and helped her take the match 6-1, 6-0

The 10U event saw Ollie Richards and Dushan Sreckovic meeting head to head. There were some brilliant points which had all the spectators on the edge of their seats as both boys pulled out all the stops to try and win through. Unfortunately for Ollie, Dushan just couldn’t miss and played some stunning shots to ensure he left the court victorious with a winning score of 5-3 4-2.

Graham Hunt, a member of The Canterbury High School Tennis Academy, and Michael Williams met in the 16U final in what proved to be another close affair. The boys have met a few times before and Michael had the slight edge going into the match. However Graham’s hard work and effort over the last few months paid off and he was thrilled to take the match 6-3, 7-5.

Our first doubles event was next on court with Evie Robertson joining forces with Dan Gould to take on Martin Dovey and Saffron Taylor for the 14U Mixed doubles final. Martin and Saffron put up a great fight but Evie’s and Dan’s experience and strength helped them win through in straight sets 6-4, 6-0

The mens singles pulled the greatest crowd of the day with Tim Bean and Richard Myall, two of the centre’s coaches, facing each other. Their pupils had entered into the spirit of the day and showed their support through personalised banners for their respective coach. Both men have beaten each other in the past and so a close match was guaranteed. In the fifth game Tim managed to break serve and never looked back to take the match 6-2, 6-2.

The 12U draws took to the courts next with Saffron Taylor meeting Rosie Hewett in the girls and Martin Jones meeting Dushan Sreckovic in the boys. Both matches were won by the older more experienced players but both younger opponents put up a great fight and clearly showed their potential for the future. Well done to Saffron and Dushan the 12U champions for this year.

The final matches of the day saw Richard Myall and Tim Bean join forces to take on the 14U singles finalists, Dan Gould and Jamie Wallace in the men’s doubles final and four of our younger players, Oliver Richards and JoJo Thomas meeting Dushan Sreckovic and Elliot Wraight in the 14U doubles final.

Both matches were close but Oliver and JoJo won through to take the 14U title, 6-3, 6-1 whilst the coaches won through to win this year’s mens title but who can tell what will happen in the future!!!

We’d like to congratulate all our players who have competed in The Appeti Championships 2011 and well done to all our trophy winners!!

Kent Junior County Closed Championships 2011

The final week of the ‘Appeti Summer Tour’ saw fourteen of our youngsters competing in the Kent Junior County Closed Championships 2011 at Bromley Tennis Centre.

The biggest news of the week saw James Davis become the 12U Boys County Champion. James won through five rounds of the 12U Boys Singles draw without dropping a set to reach the final, where he met Jonah Smith. James played faultless tennis and proved unbeatable taking the title, 6-2, 6-1.

This was a great win for James who has worked hard to get himself back to fitness after having to withdraw from his previous Grade 3 final. It is also a great win for tennis in East Kent, our area is notorious for a lack of tennis opportunity and activity, so for a homegrown boy to achieve such success is great for the area. James has been training with Appeti Tennis since he was 6 years old, he and coach Richard Myall have worked together since his first lesson. Richard was there on Sunday to see James take the title and the smile is yet to leave his face. A huge congratulations to James and Richard on their success.


Charlotte Hobbs also had a successful week reaching two consolation finals. Her first, the Girls 18U, was against Naomi Wylde and this proved to be a closely fought affair. At the end of the second set Naomi just pulled ahead in the tiebreak to take the match 6-2, 7-6. Later in the afternoon Charlotte returned to court to face Jenny Tomei in the Woman’s singles. This time Charlotte was able to totally dominate the match to win through 6-0, 6-2. In the 16U Girls Consolation both Evie Robertson and Hannah Tonry reached the semi finals.

The 14U Boys event saw both Jamie Wallace and Dan Gould continuing their impressive summer. Jamie knocked out the number 2 seed Liam Van Den Hoek in an exciting match which saw him playing some of his best tennis. The final result of 7-6(2), 7-6(2) was well deserved. Jamie came close to causing another upset when he played Nicholas Brookes in the quarter finals. Jamie played well after a slow first set and won a nail biting second set but Nicholas was just able to pull ahead in the third set to win the match 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.

In the 9U forty five boys competed to qualify for the final compass draw of sixteen. Both Ollie Richards and JoJo Thomas successfully reached this stage with Ollie just losing out in the consolation final.

Graham Hunt finished his summer with a great match against Nathan Fawcitt, who is two ratings above him, just losing in the third set tiebreak whilst Saffron Taylor, Nathaniel Wyatt Gittins, John Jones, Rosie Hewett and Rob Sotillo all played well and were able to gain valuable tournament experience over the week.

We would like to say well done to all our players on a great summer of tennis!

See the photos here...

Tunbridge Wells Summer Junior Tournament 2011.

Next stop on the ‘Appeti Summer Tour’ was the Tunbridge Wells Summer Junior Tournament 2011.

With lots of players of all ages competing, the week proved to be a busy one. In the girls draw, Charlotte Hobbs reached the Quarter Finals of the 18U Singles, beating fellow Appeti player, Hannah Tonry, along the way. Hannah went on to reach the Quarter Finals of the 14U Girls Singles, being beaten by eventual winner Sarah Wray (6.1). In the Consolation Girls draw both Hannah and Evie Robertson reached the Semi Finals. Evie had more success in the 14U Girls Consolation Girls draw, where she reached the final and played Hannah Watton in a really close, nail biting match. Well done to Evie who was victorious, beating Hannah 7-6 (3) 7-5.

Dan Gould had a great week reaching the quarter final of the main draw 14U Boys singles, only losing out to higher rated player, Elliot Ward.

On Friday Jo Jo Thomas, Ollie Richards and Ciaran Brewer competed in the 9 & Under Boys Singles under the watchful eye of coach Tim Bean. Jo Jo Thomas narrowly missed out on reaching the semi finals losing in three sets to eventual finalist, Steven Rich, 7-5 5-7 14-12.

Ciaran returned the next day to compete in the 8 & Under Boys Singles alongside Will Gee. Both boys were joined by coach and former 18U and 21U Kent Champion Ffion Newberry. Ciaran and Will played some great tennis and both reached the semi finals of the draw but although both fought hard did not make a place in the final.

Well done to all the players that competed this week.

Check out the photos here.

Devonshire Park Open Tournament

Next stop was Devonshire Park Open Tournament in Eastbourne.This tournament is played on the site of The Aegon International Tournament that takes place in June, so juniors from the Appeti Academy got to compete on the same courts as the likes of Venus and Serena, Na Li, Lleyton Hewitt and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

In the Boys 14U draw James Davis reached the quarter finals struggling through a back injury that eventually meant he had to withdraw from the final of the Boys 12U draw. James is now resting to ensure that he is back on form to compete in the AEGON British Junior National Championships in Bournemouth at the weekend.

Also competing in the 14U draw Dan Gould continued his form by beating 13 seed Joshua Pollard 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 in a really great match. Dan went on to lose to eventual winner Logan Burgess Hayes.

The Sargeant brothers, Scott and Leigh played some exciting tennis over the week. Leigh competed in the Mens draw where after easing through the first round, took seventh seed, Oliver Gan (5.2) to a close match. Leigh played extremely well and only lost 4-6, 2-6. Scott, clearly inspired by his brother, had a great run in the Boys 16U Consolation. Scott reached the semi final, beating an 8.2 along the way, only to lose to runner up, Kyle Rossi, in a close match.

In the 9U draw both Ollie Richards and Jo Jo Thomas reached the quarter finals watched by coach Tim Bean.

The girls also had a good week of tennis with Charlotte Hobbs playing some fantastic tennis against third seed Alice Johns in the Girls 16U draw and Evie Robertson reaching the semi final of the Girls 14U Consolation draw.

It was a really enjoyable week at the Devonshire Park Open Tournament and an exciting opportunity to play at such a special venue.

Click here to see the photos.

The Essex Open Tennis Championships - 2011

The summer started really well for the Appeti Tennis Academy with players attending the Essex Open Tennis Championships in Billericay. Three players, Evie Robertson, Jamie Wallace and Hannah Tonry reached the quarter finals of their respective draws.

Hannah had a great week beating an 8.1 in her first match in the 16U. Hannah continued her form in the 18U draw reaching the quarter finals where she played a fantastic match against eventual finalist 7.1, Rachel Porter. At 5-4 up in the second set Hannah took her opponent to deuce but unfortunately didn't close out the set.

Jamie also played well all week, losing out to finalist Jared Linzell (6.1) in the 16U and reaching the quarter finals of the 14U draw losing out to 7.2, Levi Lowe-Lennon, 6-4, 7-5, in a very close match.

Dan Gould played positive tennis all week and earned himself a place in the 14U Boys Consolation final and looked good until he had to retire with a strained muscle in his arm. Luckily, his arm recovered enough to compete in the semi finals of the 14U Mixed Doubles draw. Dan and partner Evie Robertson proved to be a great team and worked hard to take opponents Leanne Judge and Oliver Norton to a third set tie break but were unable to close it out, eventually losing 7-5, 2-6, 10-5. It looks like a promising doubles partnership could develop though.

On Friday the younger players from Appeti arrived at Billericay ready to compete. Jo Jo Thomas and Ollie Richards were taking part in the 9 & Under Boys Singles Qualifying. There was some superb tennis from both boys in their boxes, with Jo Jo qualifying for the main draw the next day where he reached the quarter finals.

Once again thanks to Billericay Tennis Club for a warm welcome and to Tennis Services UK for a great tournament.

Click here to see the photos.