The Giraffe Club Cup took place on Saturday 23rd November, a tournament that celebrates the amazing support that Cambridge’s Giraffe Club provides. This support enables the students to experience the wonderful game of Real Tennis more fully than anywhere else – with multiple hours of training sessions with the fantastic Pros every week, and the opportunity to take part in the many organised intra- and inter- matches. Thirteen students and recent alumni signed up to play, including five new students, eager to put their skills to the test against the experienced members of CURTC.

On one side of Division 2, Jonathan Spence and Almudena Caro won both their games narrowly with Gillian Moore and Theodora Enslin (a double student pair!) hot on their heels. Robert Tasker and Nigel Belbin had the unenviable task of giving 20 handicap points, but fought valiantly during their matches. On the other side, Serena Mundy and Marcus Streets utilised their handicap advantage to its fullest extent, sweeping past both their opponents. In the final game of the group, a battle for qualification to the semi-finals, Martha Jameson and John Bailey came through a close encounter with Lucy Caines and Ian Glasscock 6-5.
In dispatching their respective semi-final opponents, the group winners continued their winning form and met in the final, with Pol Roger champagne at stake! In the end, Serena’s consistency and Marcus’s experience took them to a confident 6-3 victory, meaning the Division has been won by a new student for as long as I can remember!

The format of Division 1 was for the group winners to meet in the final; an exciting design that left little room for error. In the first group, Oliver Anderson-Shah and Miles Hember produced an irresistible combination of controlled placement and mainwall boasts to win all three of their matches. The Committee pair of Vix Harvey and Charlie d’Oyly were always giving at least 10 handicap points but to their credit they finished strongly, overcoming Joshua Elliott and David Pimblett 6-5. Joshua and David produced very tidy tennis, with Joshua’s Padel pedigree shining through with excellent use of the walls and deft shots into the corners. With David’s excellent serving they earned a deserved victory 6-2 over Isaac Wighton and Jonathan Wallach. Isaac and Jonathan (significantly raising the sartorial standards of the day) started the day strongly, comfortably beating Vix and Charlie 6-3, drawing out errors while giving away very little and always playing attractive tennis.
There was also lots of excellent tennis in the second group. Leo Sanitt and Danny Leboff’s consistency propelled them to first place, overcoming their closest challengers Ben Craig and Giles Pemberton in the final group game; an effective semi-final. Ben and Giles played well, especially off the back wall, and racked up two impressive victories, one when receiving and one when giving handicap points. Ellie White and Jonathan Brown secured third place with a dominant 6-1 victory over Jin Lee and Andy Smith – thanks to a combination of solid serving and Ellie’s often unplayable length. Jin and Andy, the 2022 Champions, had a tough task giving away more than 11 handicap points per match on average, but produced numerous close games despite this – testament to their resilience.

In the final match, Oliver and Miles raced into a 7-3 lead, courtesy of some excellent volleying and many shots aimed at the tambour. However, Leo and Danny were not finished and saved a handful of match points, before storming through the next five games to earn their Champagne as worthy winners and to become the 2024 Giraffe Club Champions!

An exhibition match between Mark Hobbs and Ed Hyde capped off an excellent day of tennis, and there was much to learn from their consistency and ability to hit the ball where they had intended! In the end, Mark’s extensive preparation for the British Open shone through, and he won 8-1.

We are very grateful to Andy Smith for organising such a smooth event, and for all his work in running the Giraffe Club, without which CURTC would look very different. The day could not have run without the Pros’ help – thank you to Kees, Peter, and Mark for a mammoth day of marking! We would also like to thank Pol Roger for their supply of Champagne (always to be drunk responsibly), but the final word of thanks must go to the Giraffe Club itself and its generous benefactors. At its heart, CURTC aims to broaden the experience of real tennis and encourage more people to play, and the support of the Giraffe Club is essential to achieve this – thank you!

Oliver Anderson-Shah, Men’s Varsity Captain, 2024/5