Summer Sports - Tennis
The lower courts, looking good on the hottest of days “
Grass does seem to be the most sought after surface for tennis here in summer, but courts have to be given plenty of constant attention to get a decent surface
Wilfried Tsonga, Andy Murray’s quarter-final opponent at this year’s Wimbledon. Yen- Hsun Lu, this year’s men's winner, played him on Centre Court in the 2nd round. In the words of Club Director Roy
Staniland: “We are really proud to be part of the pre-Wimbledon calendar and, now that the prize money is so much bigger, we look forward to staging world class tennis for many years to come. Our thanks to both the All England Club and the Lawn Tennis Association for their support.” The club was founded in 1881 as the Berrylands Lawn Tennis Club. It had 200 members, using eleven grass courts, the same number, incidentally, under Tony’s care now. In the Second World War, what are known as the lower courts were dug up and
used as allotments, but were relaid as part of a major reconstruction between 1946 and 1948. These are the courts that please members and international players and sponsors so much today. In 1975, the club was renamed Surbiton
Lawn Tennis and Squash Rackets Club and, soon after, The Junior International Championships were held here each summer, attracting then unknowns like Stefan Edberg, Pat Cash and Jim Courier. This is now a national tournament for junior players. In 1999, the club changed its name again
to what it is today, Surbiton Racket and Fitness Club. The extension of year-round facilities beyond tennis was the reason for its evolving ID. As well as tennis and squash, there’s a fully equipped fitness suite and, with the introduction in 2005, thanks to LTA loans and grants, of a dome cover for two of the hard courts, all-weather tennis is now available to members. One of the grass courts was sacrificed for this most recent club development, so twelve became eleven. An additional hard court was built in its place with the new dome covering it and an adjacent one for over winter use. Tony thinks it’s a shame to lose any grass courts, but understands wholeheartedly that, in this case, it was good for the club and for tennis.
The other weather combatting aid the club
uses is an inflatable cover for courts 1 and 2 for rain interruptions during tournament play. It takes extra manpower to get this in place, but Tony says there are always plenty of willing members to help, if the need arises. “Grass does seem to be the most sought
after surface for tennis here in summer, but courts have to be given plenty of constant attention to get a decent playing surface. Ours are,” said Tony. “The Surbiton Club courts are not
Wimbledon crowd pleaser Dustin Brown in action during this year's Aegon Surbiton Trophy
58 I PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016
constructed courts, like Wimbledon, with concrete base and specific drainage. They are simply maintained areas of fine turf.” “There is no means of taking excess water from the surface. It’s all natural drainage,
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