Game, set and match for Real Tennis championships

REAL tennis has been described as a ridiculous sport that is addictive, played with rackets that are bent and balls that aren’t round and don’t bounce.

Reigning women’s real tennis champion British national Claire Fahey will defend her world title in Ballarat at the Ladies Real Tennis Championship in January.

Fahey took up the game when, aged 10, her family moved house in England to within two miles of Prested Hall – a real tennis club – in Essex.

It was coincidence finding the club on their door step, as well as a game changer as no-one in the family had ever played or heard of the game.

The Fahey family are sporty and competitive so when her dad, saw it advertised in the local paper he said, “We are going to try this new sport,” and they embraced real tennis wholeheartedly.

At 19 years of age Fahey, devotee of this unique game, became the youngest ever World Champion, turning professional at the same time.

“Perseverance is one of the skills that is needed for the complexity of the game,” she said.

This year’s edition of the Real Tennis Championship will be the second time Fahey’s competed in Ballarat.

She played in the Australian Championships in 2011 on the Ballarat courts as a precursor to taking out the world championship in Melbourne.

This time round she will face competition from fellow players from the UK as well as Melbourne, Hobart and local Ballarat exponents of the game in a program of single and doubles matches.

Ballarat business Haymes Paint, one of the local supporters of the week-long event, came on board because of a long family involvement with the Ballarat club where sales director Matt Haymes remembers playing when he was younger.

It was his uncle John Fauls’, a past world champion in the veteran class, whose passion as a player and advocate for the game convinced Mr Haymes to offer sponsorship.

Mr Haymes said, “The irony is that the Australian Open is on around the same time, with media coverage following mega-star players competing for multi-million-dollar prize money.”

“Real tennis doesn’t attract quite the same prize pool and attention.”

However real tennis players, like their evolved cousins, are capable of throwing hissy fits.

King Henry VIII was an ardent and addicted real tennis player.

It is said when King Henry became too fat in the 1500s to run on the court, he changed the rules to suit himself.

This was the game’s last rule change but possibly not the last temper tantrum.

Ballarat Tennis Club under the auspices of the Australian Real Tennis Association, is organising the Real Tennis Championship with a Civic Reception hosted by the City of Ballarat officially opening the six-day event on Monday, 21 January.

A presentation Dinner on Saturday, 26 January will wrap up the tourney.

The Ladies Real Tennis Championship is being held at the Ballarat Tennis Club, 388 Larter Street, Canadian from Sunday, 20 January to Saturday, 26 January.

The Championship is open to the public subject to seating availability.

For details contact Andrew Fowler on 0401 856 797 or email [email protected].