Dan Flower

By Janice North

Over the course of this weekend, the Billie Jean King Cup would see 18 teams competing in qualifier ties at nine locations around the world for a place in the finals in November, with 2022 champions and runners-up, Switzerland and Australia having already gained automatic qualification. Our matches for this weekend were to take place in Coventry against France, who being ranked no 5 in the world, sit 10 ranking positions higher than Team GB. With Emma Raducanu choosing not to play in favour of her preparation for the clay court season, our team comprised of Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart, Heather Watson (who did not play), and for the doubles, Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls.

Of the approximately 60 BATS members who were travelling to the tie, many of us arrived at the Britannia Hotel on Thursday afternoon in good time to meet up in the bar that evening for drinks and a catch up.

We met at 7 and then while some stayed in the hotel to eat, several others made the short journey round the corner to the local Wetherspoon’s, housed in a rather magnificent Tudor building. Standing adjacent to Coventry Cathedral, The Flying Standard was to become our principal hostelry of choice for our breakfast, dinner and drinks throughout the weekend, mainly due to the excellent value for money and speed with which the food was served, although a few of us were just a little disappointed to learn that one of our stock favourites, their delicious macaroni cheese was no longer on the menu. We did however spend a very enjoyable evening anticipating the challenging weekend ahead for Team GB.

While the Britannia Hotel was rather basic and more than a little reminiscent of the legendary Fawlty Towers, it was however situated in the perfect location for us to be able to reach the Coventry Building Society Arena via a fairly swift bus journey of a little over twenty minutes.

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On Day One, the first match to be played was between Katie Boulter and Caroline Garcia, a tough match up for Team GB, but which Katie played with courage and real competitiveness, aided at times by it being clear that the talented Garcia was playing well below her usual standard. After losing the first set in a tie break, Katie fought back to level the match, again with the second set also going to a tie break.

After an extremely competitive third set, yet another tiebreak loomed, but sadly despite a fantastic performance from Katie, Garcia prevailed, winning a third consecutive tie break to give France an early lead of 1-0. It is fair to say that Katie played well above her ranking and gave Garcia quite a fright.

Next up was Harriet Dart vs Alize Cornet. Amazingly, this match also yielded two more tiebreaks, although sadly Harriet succumbed to Cornet in straight sets, despite the latter appearing to struggle with some sort of leg injury. The resulting score line at the end of day one of 2-0 to France left us with a very steep hill to climb the next day if we were to qualify.

However we did enjoy an unexpected treat in the form of being able to witness a presentation by the Duchess of Gloucester on behalf of the LTA to the legendary Sue Barker in recognition of all her amazing achievements and contribution to women’s tennis.

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Two matches consisting of five consecutive tie breaks, which in itself is a very unusual statistic, meant that play on day one did not finish until just after 8:30pm. We dispersed to find our way back to the hotel and then headed back to the Flying Standard for a very late dinner. Even though the food arrived in its usual timely manner, it was far too late for most of us to be dining, so the remainder of the evening was fairly brief.

On Saturday, we went back to Wetherspoons for our second consecutive breakfast, which was absolutely delicious. The breakfast menu had a wide choice of cooked food and coffee “on tap”, which we thoroughly enjoyed again.

Play started earlier on Saturday at 12:00 due to the potential of there being three matches to be played. Team GB would have to win all three rubbers on day two if they were to reach the Billie Jean King Cup finals in November.

First up was the reverse of the previous day’s matches, meaning a quick turnaround for Harriet Dart for her match against Caroline Garcia, the latter of whom was clearly back on form, halting the successive tiebreaks with a very definitive first set win of 6-1. Harriet however fought back to take the second set to a tiebreak and successfully levelling the match. Sadly though, Garcia herself fought back once again to also take the third set by 6-1, and in so doing the match, taking France to an unassailable match victory over GB of 3-0. Harriet was visibly distressed after the match, despite fighting very hard for her team in a very difficult match for her.

After a short break, it was the turn of the doubles pairs, which although effectively a dead rubber, produced a fantastic competitive match. Alicia and Olivia were to play Kristina Mladenovic and Clara Burel.

The British pair took the first set 7-5, but the French came back to level the match at 3-6 in the second. The match then went to an 11 point tiebreaker. Burel and Mladenovich quickly acquired a significant lead and just as we thought all was lost, Alicia and Olivia hung in there and staged a monumental comeback to win the match by 11-9, handing Team GB their only victory for the tie, finishing with a final score of 3-1 to France, presenting them with qualification for the finals in November and meaning that Team GB will have to compete in a play-off tie later in the year in order to book a place in the 2024 qualifiers.

Team GB captain, Anne Keothavong said after the match how proud she was of the players and that they gave it their best against much higher ranked opponents, a sentiment shared by all of us who were there cheering them on.

Bravo Team GB. Onwards and upwards.

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This was the first BATS group trip to watch tennis together since the beginning of the pandemic. We had of course originally been booked and ready to go to watch Team GB play in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Innsbruck last year, but which to our utmost disappointment had been heartbreakingly stolen from us by the Austrian government’s decision to put their country into lockdown just 5 days before we were due to go!

As a result, it was simply fantastic to be finally able to travel to Prague to watch Team GB battle it out on clay with the Czech Republic for a place in the Billie Jean Cup quarter finals later this year.

Several of us who had not visited Prague before, took the opportunity to fly out a few days in advance in order to savour some sightseeing of this beautiful city ahead of the actual match itself. I for one, was bowled over by the magnificent architecture and gastronomic delights we encountered there. We visited the castle and strolled through the many winding, cobbled streets of the Old Town, all made even better by being blessed with gorgeous warm sunshine. We also dined in style at various restaurants, my particular favourite being the Mlýnec, which sits right next to the famous Charles Bridge.

And so to Thursday evening, where we convened as a group at the Kolkovna Celnice restaurant, a bustling place with a great atmosphere. All twenty-five of us sat around a long table to enjoy some Czech hospitality and muse about the upcoming competition.

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The next day, we made the short journey on foot over to the island just across the river to where the stadium was located at the Prague Tennis Club. Unlike the Davis Cup competitions, it was a strikingly low key affair, with little to no hoardings advertising that an international match was about to take place.

However, that was not going to stop us supporting our team in good voice and true BATS style, decked out in our Union Jack flags and red tops, which due to the extreme dip in temperature, quickly ended up concealed under every layer of warmth we could muster! In fact, not only were we sat in the shade, but we were plagued by an icy wind which seemed to swirl around us unabated for most of the time we were sat there.

First up was Marketa Vondrousova vs Harriet Dart, which turned out to be a rather depressing display of incessant drop shots by the Czech, which Harriet simply could not read and as a result, Vondrousova made an easy and quick victory in straight sets at 6-1, 6-0.

Next up was Tereza Martincova vs Emma Raducanu. This match in complete contrast was a competitive contest between the two, featuring some hard hitting shots down the line, winning Emma the match in straight sets, but by 7-5, 7-5. In this match she was fully engaged with the task at hand and her victory celebration at the end showed how much it meant to her, bringing the score to a  1-1 draw at the end of the first day, a position we dared not have hoped for at the start!

By the time we left the stadium and got back to the hotel, we deemed it necessary in order to avoid hypothermia to trot down to a lovely coffee shop nearby and save ourselves with some delicious cake and hot chocolate – purely for medicinal purposes you understand!

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With the weather forecast promising a fall of 5 degrees on the already chilly temperatures of the previous day, on Saturday morning we layered on about as many clothes as we had in our suitcases in a vain attempt to combat what we knew would be a very cold day ahead. And we weren’t wrong. Several of us commented on how the cold seemed to just cut right through to our bones. However, perseverance is a wonderful thing!

We initially anticipated the order of play on the second day to be the reverse of Friday’s matches and first up it was Marketa Vondrousova vs Emma Raducanu. After Emma’s fantastic win the day before, we could have been forgiven for expecting another victory. However, on this occasion it was not to be, as it quickly became apparent that something was ailing her and news quickly filtered through to us that she was suffering from blisters, something she has suffered from before during a match. It was tremendously disappointing to watch the match inexorably slip away from Emma and for Vondrousova to capitalise with another straight sets win of 6-1, 6-1.

At this point, we fully expected the second match to be the reverse of the previous day with Harriet Dart vs Tereza Martincova. However, the Czech team surprised us all by putting in their new rising star, the youngster Linda Fruhvirtova, who while she clearly demonstrated her amazing talent was to our glee, no match for an inspired Harriet Dart, who played astoundingly well. She bageled Fruhvirtova in the first set and looked on course to win the second set with some ease, until she started to struggle to close it out, resulting in Fruhvirtova levelling up at one set all (7-5). In the third and final set, for a short time, it looked as if the same thing might be in danger of happening, however Harriet battled through and took the third set by 6-2 and as a result, the score now stood at a tantalising 2-2, with all to play for in the upcoming doubles match.

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At this point we scurried out of the stadium en masse to thaw out in the sunshine and drink some tea to warm up and thankfully a group decision was made to migrate over to the Czech side of the stadium, which was completely bathed in life-giving sunshine! There was much enjoyable banter between the British and Czech fans and we all settled down to what we hoped might be a victory for Team GB to qualify.

Our doubles team was Harriet Dart, fresh from her resounding victory and Katie Swan vs Marketa Vondrousova and Karolina Muchova, who stamped their authority on the match in the first set by taking it emphatically by 6-1. In the second set, our girls mounted a brave comeback, but sadly it was not to be and the Czech pair won 7-5 to take the match in straight sets and thus the qualification later in the year.

Following the match, the LTA invited us to a reception at the players’ hotel, where the wine and canapés flowed delectably. While it was a disappointing result for us to lose to the Czech Republic, it wasn’t unexpected and we still have the chance to enter the final stages on a wildcard if the UK are successful in their bid to host the event later in the year. I am sure we will be hoping very much that we do and that we can return to cheer on our brave Billie Jean Cup GB Team again.

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Many of our members chose to arrive at the Hampshire Court on Friday for a spot of pampering in the hotel spa or simply to start their catch up with friends a little earlier over a glass of wine and dinner in the restaurant. I was unable to get there until Saturday morning, but due to a swift journey, I was able to arrive with perfect timing to enjoy our pre-AGM coffee.

While we were somewhat sadly depleted in numbers again, we still had a spirited turnout of 14 members. However on this occasion and for the first time in BATS history, we were joined by a new BATS member of the canine variety. Eddie the golden retriever was warmly welcomed by the members and he wasted no time in endearing himself to all present by trotting around with his lead in his mouth.

We then settled into the AGM meeting itself with the previous minutes being approved and several conversations about junior tennis, the upcoming visit to Prague for the Billie Jean King Cup and an agreement about the necessity to ensure that members provided their LTA Advantage membership numbers to secure their ongoing BATS membership. This was felt by all to be the only fair way to ensure fair allocation of LTA ticket distribution for various events, not least Wimbledon.

The AGM meeting lasted for around an hour, after which there was a general dispersal as members went off to have lunch. The annual tennis tournament was due to take place at 2pm, so the six contenders for the trophy had a very quick, light snack beforehand. Kay Gilbert very kindly volunteered to organise the tournament and off they went.

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In the meantime, several of us ventured out to the sunny terrace for a cup of tea. We were very fortunate that this particular weekend the weather was extremely warm and during the relatively short time we were sat there, the sun wasted no time in adding a little colour to our cheeks!

As our very own Andy Murray and Dan Evans were due to play their round of 16 matches at the Miami Open that afternoon, a few of us installed ourselves in the bar to watch them on the iPad. While the timing of these matches was for us most fortuitous, by the time 7pm arrived, it was time to disappear for a quick shower and change of attire in readiness for our evening meal.

The hotel had kindly accommodated us in our private room for dinner, principally so that Eddie could join us once again. We enjoyed a delicious, if protracted dinner and the waiter even brought Eddie some treats too! The winners of the tennis tournament, Anne Hutchison and Kay Gilbert, were awarded their trophies and we held our annual raffle. All in all a most enjoyable evening.

On Sunday morning, as breakfast was served only in the restaurant, Eddie and I were contentedly installed in the bar area for the consumption of our breakfast. However, armed with Wordle and Eddie standing by for any stray bits of food coming his way, this was still a meal to be savoured. After which, we all went our separate ways until next time. For those of us fortunate enough to be going to Prague, this unusually meant a very short gap of just three weeks, so it felt exciting to know we didn’t have long to wait before meeting up again for our next little get together and tennis adventure.

By Janice North.

While several of our members arrived on Friday, I chose to arrive as I always do on Saturday morning, in good time for the start of the AGM itself. Our total number of attendees this year was somewhat depleted at just seventeen, a significant reduction on last year when we had been celebrating in quite different circumstances. Additionally of course, this year our meeting was held amid the unsettling emergence of Coronavirus, a completely unprecedented state of affairs.

It’s fair to say that on top of this, we were confronted by a few little challenges almost immediately. Upon arrival to the conference room, our first source of dismay was the initial absence of coffee, milk and our usual relished individually wrapped cookies, which had been disappointingly replaced by a few loose biscuits in a basket, not exactly reassuringly hygienic in the current climate. 

However, after this minor hiccup we continued gamely into our meeting, only to then encounter “Ant-gate”, a completely new phenomenon whereby a plethora of ants were present in little bowls of sweets on the tables! Not something we’d paid for and so was duly reported to the hotel, with photographic evidence of said ants recorded from various angles by several members!

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After the meeting, we duly dispersed for a quick snack lunch before heading off to the tennis courts for our annual tennis tournament, something I have come to enjoy very much! There were ten of us playing this time and at the conclusion of each set, we acknowledged our congratulations to each other with the completely new method of communication, now known as The Elbow Bump.

As a result of some extremely spirited competition and very close sets, it was nearly three and a half hours later that the winners were decided. Congratulations to Joanna Hobson and Denzil Chapman!

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By 6pm, my poor old body felt ready for a lie down if I’m perfectly honest, but the lure of catching up with good friends and considerable hunger pangs spurred me into my black dress and heels for drinks and dinner.

We met in the bar for our customary aperitifs and then migrated back to our meeting room in anticipation of a delicious meal. However, once again we sadly felt a little neglected due to there being a wedding party in full swing at the hotel, resulting in many of us enduring a lengthy wait for our food, by which time the corners of the tablecloth were starting to appear most appetising!

That said, the food was delicious when it finally arrived and our members enjoyed a thoroughly enjoyable little soirée together, catching up on recent events and of course Coronavirus, the hot topic of the day.

The next morning we of course met for breakfast and languished over multiple coffees to continue our chats about the previous evening and journeys home etc. 

I think it’s fair to say that after the party atmosphere of the previous year, this year’s AGM felt a little flat, what with all the concerns about Coronavirus swamping the collective conscience and the lack of the usual good service at the hotel. However the sheer heartiness of our members and determination to have a lovely time all together regardless, in spite of the challenges we face, purely served to reinforce to me how proud I am to be a member of such a fantastic association and how fond I am of people I have come to get to know as friends. We can all hope that next year will find us unencumbered by either the threat of hideous viruses or by the infiltration of the Basingstoke ants brigade. I for one will look forward to it immensely.

Janice North

By Rod McIntosh. 

Our cunning plan, not for the first time, was hatched after several glasses of the red stuff with our great friend, Jane, when she was visiting Anita and myself over in Javea. Like ourselves, Jane will have done her own mini Grand Slam, when we arrive in Melbourne next Monday. Currently, we are holed up in Adelaide, having had another great day’s tennis at the international tournament here, where we were fortunate enough to see the likes of Danny Evans, and the home favourite, Ash Barty, and a young Canadian, who I tip to go very far in this great game of ours, Felix Auger Aliassime.

We aimed to spend a week in Sydney, followed by 4 days in Adelaide, and then on to Melbourne for the Open. We experienced one of those magical serendipity moments, as, when we were planning our itinerary, Anita suggested that we spend one day only at the ATP Cup. By complete chance, the day we booked tickets for months ago, happened to feature our GB boys take on the mighty Aussies right in their own backyard in the quarter finals. We were so excited, as we caught a taxi to the complex from our apartment in Darling Harbour. The stadium was a 45 minute journey to the Olympic Park, on the outskirts of the city. A few days later, we were out there again to see Sir Elton John in concert in the Qudos Stadium, where he performed like the consummate professional we all know him to be.

The first match on court was to provide a very tough challenge for Cameron Norrie, in the form of his Aussie counterpart, the irascible, mercurial, and richly talented Nick Kyrgios. Somewhat predictably, the task proved beyond the plucky Brit, and the occasionally, controversial Aussie won comfortably in two sets, meaning that Britain’s numero uno, the highly competitive Danny Evans, would have to beat Alex de Minaur, if we were to stand any chance of progressing to the semi-final. Danny proceeded to produce a typically combative and doughty performance to beat his opponent in a highly entertaining 3 set match, which he clinched in a tense third set tie break, finishing in a flourish, with panache and some style!

So, as we have often experienced over the past few years in traveling around, cheering on the lads in the Davis Cup, in places like Glasgow, Serbia, Rouen, Ottawa, and Naples, everything would be decided by the result in the doubles. Not surprisingly, Leyton Hewitt decided to stick with the Kyrgios/ Minaur combination, while Tim Henman plumped for the dependable Jamie Murray and Joe Salisbury, who we were seeing for the first time. There then followed a fantastic doubles encounter, played with so much passion, endeavour, intensity, enthusiasm, with no mean skill, amidst a fantastic atmosphere, with the Aussies roared on by a partisan home crowd. The British pair, however, stuck doggedly to their task, winning the first set reasonably comfortably. Predictably, the Aussie duo came storming back, winning the second set, with some aggressive and very entertaining tennis.

The Championship tie-break to decide the tie was one of the most closely-contested, exciting, and totally compelling, we have ever witnessed in many years of watching tennis. The impetus kept switching from side to side, with no pair ever getting more than two points ahead of their opponents, and before we knew it, GB had held no fewer that 4 match points to gain a place in the semis. Both Jamie and Joe stuck doggedly to their task superbly, despite not converting three match points. Crucially, and agonisingly, the ball sat up nicely for Jamie to put away a simple volley, which is, arguably, the strongest part of his game. In the event, he inexplicably hit the ball beyond the baseline. This remarkable escape seem to fire up the Aussies, and they produced some of their best tennis over the remaining points to squeeze through by the tightest of margins -18-16 -so close, yet so far for the Brits.

The match was played in a great spirit, and, although the home support was extremely vocal, which was to be expected, they often appreciated and applauded the great winning shots flying off the racquets of the two British lads, and they all received a standing ovation at the end of an epic, gladiatorial contest, with everything being left out there on the court by the marvelous participants. We were thrilled to have been present at such a fantastic contest and also to witness the first year of this new completion in one of our favourite sporting countries. It also happened to be the inaugural year of the Adelaide International Tennis Tournament, so we felt doubly blessed! We were very fortunate to avoid all the horrendous bush fires which have ravaged the country, but our hearts go out to everyone affected.

On August 2nd the ITF made some changes to the way Wheelchair players are classified. Classification is a detailed process by which a player’s physical disability is assessed, and the players are required to show medical evidence of their condition.

The “bottom line” of this is that some players have been “de-classified” and therefore can no longer compete in certain events including the Paralympics.

De-classification is like a disqualification, which suggests it is with immediate effect.

However, although the IPC (International Paralympic Committee) has sanctioned the changes, the ITF has decided that the changes will not take effect until 2022, so AFTER Tokyo.

This means that players who are no longer eligible to compete are still allowed to play in Tokyo.

Needless to say, there is much anger and disbelief among the “legitimate” players who are now in their build-up to Tokyo 2020.

You can read full details about the changes on the ITF website by clicking here.