2023 Pell Cup

August at the National Tennis Club was dominated by the 2023 Pell Cup. This is the club’s flagship doubles event. Seventy-two players descended upon the National Tennis Club, with every club in the U.S. represented and players from the U.K.

The energy in the club was amazing right from the start, with a full club room of spectators even on Wednesday evening. Thank you to Kathy Minevitz and Sewall Hodges for their sponsored cocktail party on Thursday night, and thank you to the members who made the Friday evening event a big success. The tournament participants and guests enjoyed a wonderful Saturday night dinner at Cabana on Broadway.

The ‘fast four’ format saw some incredibly close matches after big swings in momentum. Due to the immense size of the draw, the matches were best of three four-game sets (e.g., 4/2, 2/4, 4/3). The benefit of this over a ‘pro-set’ is that a team can reset after losing the first set, change servers/receivers, and get themselves back into the game. This is the first time that the Pell Cup has used this format, and it proved to be very popular amongst the players.

The National Tennis Club Annual Sponsorship Program supported the pro division. This support helped attract some top professionals, including the world number one / world champion Camden Riviere and other top-ranked professionals. This NTC ASP program also offered contributors early access to the Pell Cup entry form. The wider release of the entry form saw the event fill in a little under two hours, showing how popular this tournament has become. Thank you to everyone who donated to the cause. You can find the names of these individuals posted prominently around the National Tennis Club.

Thank you to everyone who participated from near and far. We hope to see you at the same time next year!