Recapping the 2026 World Masters

by Steve Hufford

Twenty senior US players traveled to Australia in late March to compete in the 2026 World Masters team and individual championships.  Our teams competed very well in spite of most being short-sided, which carries a distinct disadvantage according to the World Masters rules, which stipulate that the highest handicap player has to play multiple times.  Our four teams played at three different Australian courts – Hobart (50s), Ballarat (60s), and Sydney (70s & 80s).  The individual competitions afterwards were all held in Melbourne.

Our Cockram team (players aged 50-59), captained by Jeremy Wintersteen, came in first place due to three exceptionally hard-fought 3-2 victories over Australia, France, and the UK.  This was an unprecedented, successful title defense for the Cockram Trophy, which the US also won in England in 2024.  Full details are available in a separate article in this issue.

Cockram Team:

Charles de Casteja, Guy Devereux, Geoff Ellis, Brook Hazelton, Shawn Herlihy, Vaughan Massie, Dave Tedeschi and Jeremy Wintersteen (Capt.)

Captain Bill Barker’s Bostwick team (players aged 60-69), managed a third place finish, with a 3-2 win over a “Rest of the World” team, and 1-4 and 0-5 losses to the UK and Australia, respectively.  Given that our team only had four of the requisite eight players, this was a notable accomplishment.  Special thanks go to dual citizens and teammates Peter Hill and Doug Sheperdigian:  Peter played through significant hip pain, and Doug played for the US side in spite of his role as chairman of The Royal Tennis Club at Hampton Court!

Bostwick Team:

Bill Barker (Capt.), Peter Hill, Steve Hufford and Doug Sheperdigian

Alec Monaghan ably captained our Danby team (players aged 70-79), but the team, lacking a sixth player, came in fourth place.  The Gould/Monaghan doubles pairing notched individual wins against the Australian and “Rest of the World” teams, but we lost 1-2 overall to both, and were outclassed solidly by the UK side.  Special thanks go to World Masters newcomers Paul Bolster and Kip Gould, returning veterans Rowan Carroll and Peter Vogt, and to Alec Monaghan who played twice in each match.  Full details are available in a separate article in this issue. 

Danby Team:

Paul Bolster, Rowan Carroll, Kip Gould, Alec Monaghan (Capt.) and Peter Vogt

Haven Pell, captaining our Munoz team (players aged 80+), also had to play twice against each opposing country.  With teammates Dick Tanfield and Jonathan Pardee, our Munoz squad had dominant wins over Australia and the “Rest of the World” teams, and almost prevailed to win the entire Munoz competition.  They came in a very close second to the UK due solely to games differential.  The Munoz battles this year featured game balls at 40-all, leading to many tense situations and pressure play among experienced competitors.

Munoz Team:

Jonathan Pardee, Haven Pell (Capt.) and Dick Tanfield

The Cockram, Bostwick, Danby, and Munoz team tournaments are competitive and great fun.  Teams are selected by captains and each tournament has its own unique mix of singles and doubles matches.  Teams are supported by the USCTA, which covers group entry fees and part of the uniforms.  It’s an honor to play for your country and it’s great to see the four countries come together every two years to contest the four international trophies.  If you haven’t played in a team event, work on your game, let the USCTA know of your interest, and be ready for the next cycle in 2028, to be hosted in the US.  [NB:  your age category will be determined by your age as of Dec. 31, 2028]

Some Highlights from the Individual Championships

After the team events, some players traveled home and others continued on to Melbourne for the Individual Championships at the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club, engaging in the very highest level of international amateur competition.  Overall, fourteen tournaments were contested in both singles and doubles in the seven Individual Championships age categories – 50s, 55s, 60s, 65s, 70s, 75s, and 80+.  Guy Devereux made the finals in the 55s singles, Dick Tanfield made the finals in the 80s singles, and Dick Tanfield and Jonathan Pardee made the finals in the 80s doubles.  Jeremy Wintersteen and Guy Devereux emerged as straight-set champions in the 55s doubles, and Bill Barker won a three set battle to become the 60s singles World Masters champion.  Congratulations to these World Champions and Finalists from the US, and to all those who traveled and competed.  A link to results, draws, and streaming can be found at 

https://www.realtennisaustralia.com.au/world-masters-2026.

The Australian Real Tennis Association (ARTA) did a fantastic job hosting the 2026 World Masters as did the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club and the three host clubs for the team events.  A great end-of-tournament dinner took place at the Australian Club in Melbourne, where the host torch was passed to the United States for 2028.  Stay tuned for more details and get ready for two years from now in the USA!

DANBY DIGEST – SYDNEY 2026  

All six members of the 2026 US Danby Team were excited to have been selected to represent the US in the Real Tennis World Masters Championships in Sydney.  Unfortunately, due to the current geopolitical situation, Westwood’s Vern Cassin, Sr., who lives in Saudi Arabia, was not able to travel due to air space restrictions.  Alec Monaghan, Paul Bolster, his wife Althea, Peter Vogt and his wife Linda all arrived safely from Philadelphia.  Rowan Carroll from Chicago Racquet by way of Charleston arrived safely and ready to play, and Kip Gould, a NY R&T member, and his wife Joan (who had spent the prior 2 weeks sailing in New Zealand), arrived safely in Sydney as well.  There was excitement in the air and pride as we donned our team USA vests!

The new court in Sydney celebrated its one year anniversary on the first day of play.  The former Sydney court had closed in 2005 and it took 20 years to find a new site and construct the court at the Recreation Club in Cheltenham, about a 35-minute train ride from downtown Sydney.  It’s a wonderful court and plays very well. 

With one team member down, Alec Monaghan, with the highest handicap on paper, had to play twice for each match.

We felt our best opportunity to win would be against the Rest of World Team so we tried to come up with our strongest team pairings for positions #1 through #3.  The Rest of the World Team this year was composed of only one Frenchman supplemented by one Brit and four players from Melbourne so we knew we had our work cut out for us.

Both teams submitted their lineups and then the Pros confirmed the rankings and the match-ups. Peter Vogt and Paul Bolster would play #1 and Kip Gould and Alec Monaghan at #2 and Rowan Carroll and Alec Monaghan at #3.

Peter and Paul had a close match but lost in 2 sets.  Kip and Alec won their match in 2 sets.  Rowan and Alec, after winning the first set, dropped the second set and were up 3-1 in the 3^rd set but ending up losing the match.  The ROW team had Pru McCahey, former Melbourne Amateur champion, who put up a good fight!

Kip Gould and Alec Monaghan won at #2 against Australia, but unfortunately our Danby Team lost the other 2 matches against Australia and all 3 matches against Great Britian, who once again proved to be very strong.

In the end however, the Australian Danby Team ended up beating the UK for the trophy.  Well done Australia!

While everyone was staying in their respective Airbnbs or hotels, we did come together as a team and had a wonderful dinner at a Chinese restaurant in downtown Sydney and had a blast!

  INDIVIDUAL EVENTS – MELBOURNE

Only Paul Bolster, Kip Gould and Alec Monaghan decided to play in the Individual Events in Sydney.  Rowan also traveled to Melbourne but came only to support, not play.

Paul drew Wayne Spring from Ballarat in the first round and put up a good fight but lost in 2 sets.  Kip had to play Richard Hince, a Melbourne veteran and also played well but lost in 2 sets.  Alec drew Ronald Paterson of the UK, lost the first set, battled back to win the second set but lost in the 3^rd.

In the 70’s Doubles, Paul and Dick Tanfield had to play Mike McAuley and Greg Cornish and put up a valiant fight but lost.  Kip and Alec played Haven Pell and Dick Friend and were successful in that match and were faced with Richard Hince and Jonathan Hamer in the quarterfinals and went down in 2 sets.

Overall, we truly enjoyed both Sydney and Melbourne, with joint excursions to Botanic Gardens, Yarra Valley wine tours, art museums or lunch at the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club, a very special place indeed!  The Australians were great hosts and the final dinner at the Australian Club in Melbourne was very memorable.  Thanks again to the USCTA (and ARTA) for making it all possible.