Sidmouth Tennis club hosted a highly successful American Doubles’ tournament organised by the ever enthusiastic, Bob Hefill, aided and abetted by head coach, Sue Wiltshire and welfare officer, Debbie Snelgrove, writes Vici Topping.

The sun shone brightly throughout the two days and 44 members were able to let their skills shine too as they competed in four different groups for the coveted bottles of wine and boxes of chocolate.

The reorganisation of the tournament over two days and the division of competitors into groups of 12, ensured social distancing and enabled players to adhere to the ‘Rule of Six’ when off court.

The format for the competition was that mixed pairings, drawn from a hat, played four games against their opposition then split and played their partner for a further four games before returning to their original partner to take on the next opposition. Sound complicated? Indeed! However, even the mathematically challenged of us managed and, at the end of the day, the lady and gentleman with the most games won over four rounds, took the honours!

Many congratulations, to Peter Fung and Chrissie Hounslow; Katherine Houghton-Brown and Martin Dawes; Vicky Taylor and Richard Gibbs; and finally, Marlene Maynard and Jed Ionov Flint for taking the top spots!

All in all, it was a great weekend of tennis, sunshine and fresh air not to mention providing a healthy dose of normality during these tricky times.