The Glanville Cup - the most coveted prize in UK school tennis drew over 350 schools, with only 16 earning spots at the Finals in Nottingham on Saturday 28th June. Ewell Castle Tennis Academy (Years 5-13) entered three teams—A, B, and C—and made history with all three qualifying for the National Finals, an achievement never before accomplished and concluded in spectacular fashion as the Ewell Castle School A team were crowned National Champions.
The A Team entered as one of the seeded teams and dominated their draw, not dropping a single rubber - 12-0, 12-0, 12-0 - enroute to the final against Reed’s. Neo Armus and Ollie Page both secured early wins, and although we dropped one singles match, Isaac Forde delivered a masterclass performance, sealing a third win. The doubles proved to be a nail-biting finale. Isaac Forde and Jesse Clarkson were fighting it out on one court and behind them, Ollie Page and Taiju Yuto, played with ice-cool precision, eventually clinching the deciding rubber. Tennis Captain Harry McDonagh played three of the four matches with immense power and style, leading by example and always putting his heart on the line, only dropping one set. The competition ended with Ewell Castle crowned National Champions.
The B Team who narrowly missed progressing in the main draw won the consolation draw and finished 9th nationally. Congratulations to Alex Borisov, Ryan Iacob, Sammy Mhizha, Theo Turton, Edouard Gerard Hay-Brown, and Koko Atanassov. The C Team, one of the youngest squads (Years 9–10), reached the top 8 nationally - a phenomenal effort. Huge congratulations to George Lobb, Freddie Pratt, Nicholas Kizys, Felix Hsieh, Yushin Ishii, and later Keiju Yuto, who joined fresh off a Tennis Europe victory in Edinburgh.
The Independent Schools Tennis (ISTA) National Tournament began at Eton the day after the Glanville Cup Final, with teams competing for the Youll Cup in the Final on Wednesday 2nd July. Isaac Forde, Jesse Clarkson, Ollie Page and Taiju Yuto were brilliantly supported through the week by Theo Turton, George Lobb and Ryan Iacob. Yet again the Final was tight, but the boys from Ewell Castle came away victorious after a Final set shootout! The other Final was the 15U Thomas Bowl where we were able to field what can now be regarded as the strongest pair in the country; Keiju Yuto and Sammy Mhizha. On the hottest day of the year, these boys were made to play five sets of tennis in one day. They sailed through to meet and beat Repton 6-0, 6-2.
Liz McManus, Head of Ewell Castle Tennis Academy commented “Four trophies in eleven days, three of them national. It doesn't really get any better than that!”