by Mark Philpott
For the second time in two years, a young American traveled to the famous Queens Club in London and captured the British Under 12 Real Tennis title. Kurt defeated last year’s runner-up in the final, Albie Tomlinson. Kurt had a fun-filled trip to London. In addition to playing in the U16 tournament on Saturday and then adding his name on Sunday to the list of the previous U12 winners. Kurt and his dad, Rich, also managed to fit in some sightseeing and a premier league soccer match. A pretty good five days!!
I really enjoy attending national junior tournaments. These gatherings are the breeding grounds for our future elite players and future club professionals. Junior tournaments are a huge influence on the future of our game. This was our second year at the British Juniors, and I was pleased to see another increase in the number of entries. Forty-two juniors in total, and the under-16 event had the most entries. However, like the US, England does not have any advanced fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds. Consequently, the top seeds for the U16 were also the top seeds for the U14. England certainly has two U14 juniors who are way ahead of the chasing pack. At age twelve, Max Warner has already won multiple US National titles. He won his first in 2019 and then returned in 2022 to sweep the U15, U17 and U19 titles. He has been recently joined by thirteen-year-old Laszlo Garson. Officially, Max and Laszlo’s handicaps are around 37. In my opinion, they play better than their current handicap, and when one of the spectators, who is a 27-handicap, mentioned he would hate to play them off handicap, there was an amusing response from the marker who suggested that both boys would probably beat him, playing level.
Even though the closest competitors in the U16 were at least fifteen handicap points behind England’s top twelve- and thirteen-year-olds.There was a little drama before the expected final was determined. A nervy Laszlo had to overcome the clock and a dogged and rapidly improving Caspian Rugg in the final match of the group stage. The match was three games all as the buzzer called time, and a one-point decider was needed for a spot in the final. Laszlo was fortunate to be down the happy end for this deciding point and was able to smash Caspian’s return of serve into the grill to set up the expected final. Fittingly, the under-sixteen final was the last final of the day, and it was the most competitive and exciting match of finals afternoon. Having played the under-fourteen final earlier, Laszlo blew Max away and won 6-0, 6-1. A determined Max Warner returned to the court with renewed resolve to his game and reversed the balance of power. Max took the first set 6-2. At this stage, his opponent could have easily folded, but this does not appear to be in Laszlo’s nature. Once again, Laszlo raised his game and took the second set 6-3. The crowd, except the nervous parents, were thrilled to watch a full third set decider, a barnstormer. Neither player could get significantly ahead, and like many other great matches, it all came down to the eleventh game. Max got to forty love and seemed set to win the title. However, the resilient Laszlo had a different idea, and he managed to claw his way back to juice. The drama continued as both boys gained and then lost multiple match points. The winner was finally decided when Laszlo arrowed consecutive forces into the dedans to clinch the title and a well-deserved standing ovation from parents and spectators.
The under-18 final was between long-term friends and rivals Bertie Vallat and Henry Henman. The first set was tightly contested, but true to most of the past encounters between these two, Bertie came out on top and won 6-4. The momentum stayed with Bertie, and he raced to a decisive 6-0 in the second set and was crowned the top British junior of 2023. Bertie has now aged out of the British Juniors and the World Juniors, leaving Henry Henman as the favorite for next year’s British U18 and, more importantly, the World Juniors in 2024.
The results from the 2023 tournament demonstrate the success of the English junior program. However, I don’t think the US is that far behind. Greater numbers certainly, but there are now just three exceptional under the age of 18. I would be very surprised if Henry Henman did not dominate the juniors for the next two years, and then either Max Warner or Laszlo Garson should continue to dominate the junior game for the Brits. However, a lot can happen in a year, especially with juniors, and when we return next year, I am anticipating seeing more new faces and significant progress with the returning juniors. I don’t expect to see the elite three being challenged in 2024 but I am confident there will be a few juniors who will improve significantly and will be on course to challenge in the next three years or so.
Watch this space.
