‘Vive la Tennis’ on French Open Day!

It was a very French, French Open Day at Collaroy

With Coco Gauff already hugging her Roland Garros trophy and Carlos Alcaraz and Janik Sinner preparing for one of the greatest French Open Finals ever, Collaroy Tennis Club members gathered on Saturday, June 7 to again celebrate one of the great Grand Slams.

Kenny & Damo decorating the Club

Some 50 members streamed through the CTC gates to play on the time-honoured, once-clay courts, with only a couple of last-minute withdrawals due to illness and travel preventing a Full House. Wearing an array of Bleu, Blanc et Rouge, players swept into a club transformed into a little bit of Paris. French Flags adorned the entrance and the gate of each court, while a replica Roland Garros logo and even a mini-Eifel Tower gave the club true ‘ambiance’.

Players were assigned to groups across all 6 courts, swapping partners after each match and in most cases, playing 5 matches across the afternoon.

Glenn - injured and unable to play - acted as Official Tournament Referee and with Kate on holiday in Japan, Lavinia co-ordinated (coerced?) a wonderful group of volunteers including Anna G., Kimberly, Simone, Carmen and Lynne, who supplied an exquisite assortment of food. There was a delicious Cob with Spinach Dip, delectable Brie wraps, a fine sélection de fromages, scrumptious gâteaux and Simone’s famous lemon slice. Kenny contributed special French pizzas (who knew) and of course, ‘Anna The Agitator’ and ‘Michela the Mixer’ concocted their usual delectable, iced beverages to accompany the French-inspired treats.

The tennis was willing on all courts with winners measured by the cumulative individual total of games won over the course of all matches played. The roll call of newly minted CTC Grand Slam Champions contained some fresh faces and it was wonderful to see our ladies dominating 4 of the 6 courts! The winners were:

Court 1 – Gareth G. (Runner-Up, ‘The Stentman’ – Warren)

Court 2 – Deidre (Runner-Up, Damian)

Court 3 – Peter M. (Joint Runners-Up, Lynne and Maria R.)

Court 4 – Cat (Runner-Up, Chris E.)

Court 5 – Anita (Joint Runners-Up, Kenny and Josh)

Court 6 – Jennifer S. (Runner-Up, Anthony D.)

More photos in the Gallery below... a HUGE thanks to our ever-present Official Photographer, Wil.

As always, prizes were awarded to each Court Winner and also to the ‘best dressed’ Dames et Monsieur. On this occasion, (in the absence of Valerie), Judges couldn’t split the finalists in the latter award, winners’ prizes in the Ladies Category shared by Samantha (in Tri-Colours, topped with Beret), Simone (brandishing full fishnet stockings, a la Moulin Rouge) and Anna G. (who played in full fake fur and black body active flared pants throughout the day). In the Men’s section, Peter M. was the runaway runway winner, sporting an authentic Fédération Française de Rugby top as worn by ‘Les Bleus’. As always, Richard tried hard... but not too hard, and John H. looked tres debonnaire.

It was great to see Clarrie B. back in action at a Grand Slam event after sending a scare through the arena during AO Day, when he suffered a nasty fall on Court 1. Welcome back Clarrie! And of course, wonderful to see Waz back too, after time spent terrorising the nurses at Bankstown Hospital.

A presentation ceremony was held to close out the day, with the renowned ‘Collaroy Camaraderie’ (that’s French of course) in full flow. With the European clay court swing now complete and the grass court season underway, we have only weeks to prepare for our All-White Wimbledon Day on Saturday 12 July. Badge will again be on-hold that day, allowing an earlier start to our celebrations.

Hopefully we’ll be able to keep the brollies at bay as we enjoy more fun tennis amid the strawberries and cream. ‘Til then, pip pip, ta-ra and cheerio!