Euro stars decorate Rye tournament

There is once again a strong international presence among more than 270 entries for the Rye LTC Open Tournament.

This year there is a particularly strong representation from Europe in the four-day event which gets underway tomorrow (Friday) at the Military Road club.

The line-up includes five Italians (headed by Al Miotto and Alfredo Caturano), four Germans (headed by Klaus-Holger Kille) and one or two players from Austria, France, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Belgium, The Netherlands, India, Zimbabwe, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Slovenia and Armenia.

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Also in the field are players drawn from the leading clubs in the UK, including the All England LTC (Wimbledon), Queen’s, Roehampton, The Lansdowne and The Hurlingham, as well as most clubs in Kent, Surrey and East Sussex.

Well-known players set to appear include Robin Drysdale (British international, former Davis Cup player and Rye men’s singles champion from 1996-2000), Alex Soeters (Dutch international and Rye men’s singles semi-finalist in 2008), Tony, Jane and Richard Henman (father, mother and brother of former British no.1 and Davis Cup star Tim Henman), Mark Hadley (New Zealand international and Rye men’s singles champion in 2004 and 2005, and runner-up in 2008), Peter Dowdeswell (Zimbabwe, son of former Davis Cup player Colin Dowdeswell) and Chris Gorringe (former chief executive of the All England LTC, Wimbledon).

A strong ladies’ entry is headlined by Arabella Martin (Surrey county and Rye ladies’ singles champion in 2002, 2005 and 2008), Zoe Taylor (Queen’s no.1 and daughter of former British international and Davis Cup captain Roger Taylor), Karen Hazzard (World Tennis Federation, Queen’s first team player), Anthea Stewart (reigning world senior ladies’ singles champion and defending Rye ladies’ singles champion), Antonia Smallbone (Hurlingham club first pair, first appearance at the Rye Open Tournament), Philippa Coates (Surrey county player, first appearance at the Rye Open Tournament), Annabel Watson (Queen’s first team, Rye ladies’ doubles champion in 2010) and Catherine Hall (Queen’s first team, Middlesex county player).

The finals of the men’s and ladies’ singles will take place on Monday from 2pm and will be followed by the finals of the other events.

The full article will appear in tomorrow’s Rye Observer.

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