The 2016 European Senior Club Championships were held at La Manga Club in Spain last week, where players competed across six different age categories at the same venue for a fifth successive year.
The event took place at the award-winning resort from 19-24 September and saw almost 200 players in action, representing a total of 38 teams. The events were played in a round-robin format, with new champions crowned in each of the categories.
A Women’s 35 event was played for the first time and proved to be popular, with eight teams battling for the inaugural honours. British club Taunton eventually emerged victorious, having topped their group and beaten Group B winners TC de Hout of Netherlands in the final match. The match was all over after the singles rubbers, but both matches proved to be epic battles. Kate Brown gave the Brits a lead after recovering from a set down to outlast Caroline De Vries 6-7(4) 7-6(2) 6-3. Claire Raddan then sealed the victory after an equally tight 6-2 6-7(4) 7-5 win over Marjolein De Langen-Oudegeest.
The Men’s 35 event saw victory for a home club, as Cercle Sabadellés 1856 (ESP) went unbeaten to edge BLTC Bastion Baselaar for the title. TV 1846 Alzey of Germany also went unbeaten in claiming victory in the Men’s 45 event, a first European title for the club. The team edged out last year’s champions, Vichy of France, to secure the top spot.
The Women’s 50 event also saw the reigning champions fall at the final hurdle, as St. George’s Hill of Great Britain were beaten in the final by CC Villa de Madrid of Spain. Ana Almansa and Beatriz Pellón scored singles wins over Christine French and Karen Cass respectively to assure a 2-0 win.
The Men’s 50 competition saw Italy’s ASD II Quadrifoglio beat Germany’s TC Blau Weiss Fürstenzell into second place, winning their match 3/2, and decisively beating Leicestershire LTC and LTV Leusderpark on route to victory.
There were more silver medals for TC Blau Weiss Fürstenzell in the Men’s 50 event, as they were beaten in the final by ASD Nuovo Circolo Tennis Augusta. The Italians reversed a loss in the round-robin stages by winning all three of their singles match to clinch the title. Paolo Moscelli and Leonardo Panarello scored straight sets wins over Horst Engel and Fritz Tschernuth respectively, while Gaetano Longo recovered from the brink of defeat to squeeze past Hubert Freudenstein 1-6 7-6(4) 6-1.
Full draws and results from the competition can be found below.
Draws and Results
Men's 35 | Men's 45 | Men's 50 | Men's 55
Women's 35 | Women's 50
Day 1 Results | Day 2 Results | Day 3 Results | Day 4 Results | Day 5 Results | Day 6 Results
Photo Gallery
Winners
Men’s 35 Cercle Sabadellés 1856 (ESP) d. BLTC Bastion Baselaar (RR)
Men’s 45 TV 1846 Alzey d. Sporting Vichy Bellerive (RR)
Men’s 50 ASD II Quadrifoglio (ITA) d. TC Blau Weiss Fürstenzell (GER) (RR)
Men’s 55 ASD NCT Augusta (ITA) d. TC Blau Weiss Fürstenzell (GER) (RR)
Women’s 35 Taunton (GBR) d. TC de Hout (RR)
Women’s 50 CC Villa de Madrid (ESP) d. St George’s Hill (GBR) (RR)