10th –11th January 2026 at Wellington College
In the U19 National Schools competition matches are played in groups starting with the highest handicap group playing first, and on this occasion both the winner and runner–up were being allowed to go through into the next group. Matches were played off level. Our first match saw Tabs Bridgeman v Honor Pennant both of Wellington College. Tabs raced to a 3-0 lead, but Honor managed to get back 2–3. Some lengthy rallies were played but Tabs just had that much greater control on her groundstrokes, in addition, hit some excellent length bobble serves. Tabs stayed on court to play Bonnie Tindall (Godolphin and Latymer). Both players were solid volleyers. It was a close encounter until 2–2 then Tabs surged away with continued accurate serves and good use of the side walls on difficult shots to win 8–2. Our final group match was Honor v Bonnie. This match went 1–1, 2–2, 3–3, etc right through to 7–7. In the end, Honor took the final game. Both players had improved as the game went on and the rallies became longer with Honor hitting some lovely volleys and Bonnie becoming stronger at returning Honor’s difficult serve. Honor should have gone through as runner– up of the group, however, fortunately, from Bonnie’s point of view, it was Honor’s 18th birthday, and she had other pressing engagements to go to, so we let Bonnie go through into the next group.
In this next group the first match was Erin Hartman (Bohunt Liphook) v Zoe Neville (Bohunt Wokingham). This was an excellent match with Zoe hitting some very accurate return of serves into the backhand corner and winning 6–2. Erin stayed on court to play Tabs. This was another exciting game with Tabs so quick about the court and getting every shot back and Erin, when given the opportunity, hitting the ball crisply into the corners, and eventually Erin winning 6–4. Bonnie then took on Tabs who was improving with every match. Despite Bonnie getting to 40-all in 4 games, Tabs won the match 6–0. Next up was Bonnie v Zoe. Bonnie put up a great fight producing much improved returns of Zoe’s tricky serves but losing 6–3. Zoe then stayed on court to play the rapidly improving Tabs. Tabs rallied well but Zoe’s variety of serves and sharp shots into the corner resulted in a well-deserved 6–3 win for Zoe. Our last group match saw Erin v Bonnie, whilst Bonnie was managing to stay in the rallies as soon as she played a loose shot Erin tucked the ball away into a corner. Zoe won the group and Erin was runner- up with both going up into the next group.
The first match in group 3 saw Isabella Wylie (Charterhouse) v Clemmie Batstone (Wellington). Isabella was extremely accurate off both wings hitting balls into the corner to win 6–1 and then again against Zoe Neville, 6–3. The third game saw Erin v Zoe. It was level match to start with until 2–2 then Erin had a spurt to go 4–2 up only for Zoe to serve to a great length and creep back to 4–4. Then it was Erin’s turn to serve well and take a 5–4 lead which she held onto taking the final game. Next on court was Erin v Clemmie and this was again a very close tussle. Erin took a 3–2 lead but for Clemmie to play very consistently as well as hitting several shots into the dedans and take a 5–3 lead. Erin clawed back the next two games, and it was 5–5, then deuce. An error by Erin gave Clemmie her 3rd match point when she conclusively hit the ball into the dedans to win the match. Zoe and Clemmie were next, and this was yet again another amazing contest not knowing who was going to win until the last ball had been struck with Clemmie beating a chase of a yard with a lob into the dedans. Our final group match was Isabella v Erin, again a lovely match with Erin being the more consistent player, winning 6–3. This result meant that we had three pairs with 2 wins and on counting who had won the most games, Erin and Isabella went through as group winner and runner – up respectively.
The final Singles group commenced on Sunday morning, this would determine who the two finalists would be. First on court were Georgia Toosey (Wellington) v Martha Raitt, potentially the strongest girls in the group on handicap. Georgia made a quick start with strong serving and putting her double-handed backhand to good use, making winners at the base of the tambour. Martha didn’t get many opportunities to serve, and it was soon all over with Georgia winning 6-0. Next was Martha v Erin, this game was closer. First game went to 40-all with Erin just taking it beating a chase of worse than 3 yards. Martha was taking her time to settle into the match but took the next 2 games before Erin got back to 2-2. Martha then upped her game with some impressive serving and playing to a good length and took a 5-2 lead. She won the match 6-3. Erin’s next opponent was Isabella Wylie, whom she had played and beaten the previous day. Isabella started the stronger of the two, taking a 2-0 lead. Erin won the next game with some excellent serving (2 nicks). This didn’t deter Isabella who took the next 2 games making good use of her strong forehand. Following excellent play by both players, it was Isabella who eventually won the match 6-3. Isabella stayed on court to play Georgia, the first game going to 40-all on Georgia’s serve. Isabella had to beat a chase of last gallery which she did comfortably with a hard and low return into the forehand corner. However, Georgia was not fazed by this and soon ran away with the match winning 6-1. Georgia remained on court to play Erin. Erin started well with some good serving taking a 40-0 lead. She had to beat a chase of 2 yards which she failed to do and then Georgia hit a forehand into the grille. Despite this, Erin took the first game. Both girls demonstrated some excellent railroad serving followed by strong returns across court. However, it was Georgia that got the next game at 40-all and she then went on to win the match 6-2 losing just one further game. The last game of the group featured Martha v Isabella – this was a closer game than the score suggests with both girls hitting the grille and producing some strong shots. It was Martha who came out on top winning 6-1. So, we had our finalists – Georgie v Martha.
The final was an 8-game set. Georgia got off to a good start winning the first game, but Martha struck back in the second game producing some excellent volleys and at deuce hitting a fabulous cut return of serve into Georgia’s forehand corner laying a good chase which Georgia couldn’t beat. 1-1 turned into 2-1 to Martha but Georgia wasn’t going to let Martha pull ahead. She fought back to 2-2 and then won the important 40-all point to go 3-2 up. The next game produced some strong play by Martha who pushed Georgia around the court cutting forehands into the corners. She was 40-30 up and had to beat a chase of 4 yards but Georgia managed to defend this brilliantly digging out what could have been an excellent winner by Martha into the backhand corner. Georgia won the all important 40-all point to go 4-2 up. Georgia was gaining confidence and took a 6-2 lead and then 7-3. However, Martha wasn’t giving up, she fought back producing some fabulous retrieving particularly out of the backhand corner. Georgia, meanwhile, was beginning to feel the pressure as Martha got back to 7-6. However, it was Georgia who managed to hold on and produce an ace serve to win the match 8-6.
Doubles Competition
As a result of last-minute withdrawals from this competition, the Doubles draw consisted of just one group with 3 pairs, all playing an 8-game set. Nonetheless, the pairs playing were of a good standard, so we expected great things. The first match featured Georgia Toosey and Clemmie Batstone v Martha Raitt and Isabella Wylie. Georgia and Clemmie got off to a fast start, taking a 3-0 lead through strong groundstrokes by both players. Despite the opposition clawing their way back to 3-3, Georgia and Clemmie re-gained control and won the match 8-3.
Next match saw Georgia and Clemmie take on Erin Hartman and Zoe Neville. It was soon apparent that Erin and Zoe were struggling against their opponents although they did put up a brave fight with both girls demonstrating their excellent groundstrokes and serving skills. Zoe had only recently started to serve a railroad which she did with surprising strength considering her height! Georgia and Clemmie won the match 8-1.
Erin and Zoe stayed on court to play Martha and Isabella. This was a close match up until 2-2, then Martha and Isabella took control and ran out the winners 8-3.
The final was between Georgia and Clemmie v Martha and Isabella. Georgia and Clemmie raced to a 5-0 lead thanks to their strong serving and accuracy in hitting the grille. Their opponents fought back winning the next game, but it was soon apparent that Georgia and Clemmie were just too strong and won the match 8-3.
Our thanks to The Dedanists’ Foundation for their sponsorship, to Wellington College for hosting the competition, to Adam Player and Simon Roundell for marking the matches and to Alex Garside and Jill Newby for overseeing the competition.
