The British Real Tennis Open was held recently and saw the participation of most of the world’s top professionals, including the reigning world champion, Camden Riviere from the USA. For an amateur player to make it through the qualifying rounds and into the main draw would be a significant accomplishment.
Over the last few days, three of Seacourt’s best young real tennis players competed against the professionals at the Queen’s Club in London. Max Trueman was the first to play against ex-Seacourt pro Nino Merola. Despite Nino being the favorite, Max won the first set and came close to causing an upset before losing 6/5 4/6 2/6 and failing to progress to the main draw.
Next up was Will Flynn, who won his qualifying match against professional player Vaughan Hamilton and advanced to the main draw to face Zak Eadle. Once again, Will was the underdog, but he played an epic 5-set match, coming back from a 1-5 deficit in the final set and saving 11 match points along the way. In the end, he lost 6/5 in the fifth set after a 3 ½ hour thriller.
Finally, Ollie Pridmore won his first-round match in the main draw against the professional and ladies’ world champion, Claire Fahey. He convincingly won 6/3 6/2 6/3, which means he will face the world’s No. 2 player, John Lumley, tomorrow at noon. Despite the odds against him, Ollie’s recent performance indicates that he may be capable of causing an upset.
Congratulations to Seacourt’s young amateur players for their impressive performances.