U.S. Mixed Doubles & Anne Boleyn

The 2022 US Mixed Doubles and Anne Boleyn tournaments were held jointly on June 17-19^th at the Tuxedo Club.  The mixed doubles had a draw of 11 teams and Anne Boleyn saw 6 participants.  The tournaments included players from across the country representing Tuxedo, Aiken, New York, Boston, Newport, Philadelphia and DC.  Two international players joined from Seacourt and Prested.

Play started Friday at 1pm with mixed doubles and Anne Boleyn singles (handicap/round robin) matches each day.  Pat and Alex Winthrop (Newport) were the top of the draw with Xanthe Ranger (Tux) and Will Hopton (DC) on the other side.  The rest of the field saw teams Kitty Cook/Henry Wilson (Philly/NY), Amy Gold/Chris Heffernan (Tux), Megan Hayes/Charles DeCasteja (Tux), Prady Sakpal/ Tim Keefe (Boston/Newport), Kate and Dan Villiers (Aiken), Evie Smart/Nick Jones (Seacourt), Calliope and Theo Yannuzzi (Tuxedo), Kathy Minevitz/Sewell Hodges (Boston), and Dave and Hazel Christensen (Tuxedo).

The Anne Boleyn participants were Hazel Christensen, Prady Sakpal, Kitty Cook, Calliope Yannuzzi, Kate Villiers and Kathy Minevitz.

Doubles play saw many spirited matches but the top two teams of Winthrop/Winthrop and Ranger/Hopton prevailed into the final.  The newer pairing of Alex and Pat Winthrop fought valiantly against the more seasoned team of Ranger/Hopton but the veteran team came out on top 6-5, 6-4.  In the back draw the young pair of Calliope and Theo Yannuzzi cruised through to the final and defeated Amy Gold and Chris Heffernan 8-4.

Anne Boleyn saw a range of players from teenagers to seasoned tournament players.  14-year-old Calliope Yannuzzi was the steady player moving through the round-robin to meet Prady Sakpal in the final.  Yannuzzi’s skills were on full display as she hit Grille and Dedans shots with regularity and wielded her devastating cut volley return of serve to great effect. Final score was 6-2, 6-2 to Calliope Yannuzzi.  Congratulations!