Clay Court Training for Hayden at La Manga

Totally Tennis performance player Hayden Cummings told a break from the chilly weather in the UK earlier this month for some clay court training at the winter training camp at La Manga Club in Spain.

Cummings dad Ben said,” It was amazing for Hayden to spend time in the most fantastic learning environment and be on court spending time with Jo Durie.”

La Manga Club Tennis Centre in Murcia is one of the most important and prestigious outdoor tennis centres in Europe. It’s home to prestigious tournaments such as the Davis Cup, the Fed Cup and ATP/ITFevents, boasts a total of 28 tennis courts: 20 clay courts, including a show court and a main centre court.

Photos used with courtesy of Ben Cummings. La Manga information sourced from lamangaclub.com/en/sports/tennis

Halloween victory for Dawson in Cheshire

Totally Tennis performance player Aaron Dawson won the 16 & under Boys singles title at the Birchwood Junior & Senior Open held at Birchwood Leisure & Tennis Complex in Cheshire on halloween.

After a bye in the first round, second seed Dawson beat Harry Lumb in the quarters 6-2, 6-0 and fourth seed James Ashworth in a three set semi-final match 7-6(4), 2-6, 1-0(7). In the final he defeated third seed Edward Appleyard (who defeated top seed Wemer Zimmermann in the semis) 6-4, 7-5 to win the title.

Congratulations Aaron 😉

First LTA British Tour Win for Hignett in Exeter

Totally Tennis performance player and coach Liam Hignett won the LTA British Tour Exeter Open Mens Singles title at the Exeter Tennis Centre in Devon.

After a bye in the opening round, Hignett beat Maximillian Relic 6-1, 6-2 in teh second round followed by Luke Quaynor in the quarters 6-2, 6-2. In the semis he defeated county  club mate Ryan Golesworthy in three sets 6-4, 1-6, 6-1. In the final he beat Julian Cash (who retired in the third set) 4-6, 6-3, 2-1.

Hignett said, “This was my first national level singles win, it’s a massive milestone for me after some tough battles this week. Thanks to all of those around me who have helped me to achieve this.”

Congratulations Liam!

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) British Tour 2019* provides a circuit of tournaments designed to give up and coming players the opportunity to gain experience in their quest to become professional tennis players, to provide competition for professional players in between competing in professional events at home and abroad, as well as providing a national level open competition circuit.

Read more about Hignett’s previous British Tour events HERE

*British Tour information used with courtesy of www.lta.org.uk/britishtour

Win For Feast in Oxford

Performance player and coaching assistant Harry Feast won the 18 & under Boys singles title at last weekend’s East Winter County Tour Oxford Sports tournament held at the Oxford Sports Lawn Tennis Club, Oxfordshire.

After losing his first match against Scott Aspley in three sets 4-2, 2-4, 10-8 Feast then his next three matches beating Rafferty Read 4-3(4), 4-0, Tanguy Wache 4-2, 4-1 and Yegor Boyev 4-1, 4-0 to win the title.

Congratulations Harry!

Share of the prize money for Hignett in Sutton

Totally Tennis performance player and coach Liam Hignett competed in the LTA British Tour Sutton in the Open Mens Singles and Doubles events at Sutton Tennis & Squash Club last week.

In the opening round of the singles Hignett beat ninth seed Tom Hands 2-6, 7-5, 10-5 and then defeated Oscar Glenister in their second round match 7-5, 6-2. He was then beaten in the quarters by second seed and eventual runner-up Alexis Canter 6-4, 6-1.

It was a similar story in the the doubles where Hignett teamed up with fellow Hampshire teammate Austin Gwilliam to beat Glenister and his partner Oliver Matthews 7-5, 6-0 in the first round before losing in the quarters to fourth seeds Sean Hodkin and Millen Hurrion 6-2, 4-6, 10-2 .

Hignett said, “The Sutton tournament is a premier tier British Tour event and the biggest of the year so offers the best prize money. I was very happy to get to the quarters in both singles and doubles.”

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) British Tour 2019* provides a circuit of tournaments designed to give up and coming players the opportunity to gain experience in their quest to become professional tennis players, to provide competition for professional players in between competing in professional events at home and abroad, as well as providing a national level open competition circuit.

This week Hignett will be competing in the British Tour in Cumberland followed by the Roehampton event early next month. Read more about Hignett’s previous British Tour events HERE

*British Tour information used with courtesy of www.lta.org.uk/britishtour

 

Hignett Competes in LTA British Tour Events

Since the beginning of the year Performance player and coach Liam Hignett has been competing in LTA British Tour tournaments held across the country. Over the last month he has played in the Open Mens Singles events in Bournemouth, Woking, Connaught and North Oxford.

In the Bournemouth event he won his first two matches beating George Russell in the first round 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-3 followed by Finely Cook in round two 6-4, 6-1. He then lost in the quarters against eventual winner Toby Samuel 6-3, 6-4. It was a similar story at the Woking event with Hignett getting knocked out at the quarter-final stage, after winning his first two matches, by James Mackinlay in a three set battle  7-6(5), 6-7(6), [1-0](9).

After a bye in the first round of the Connaught event, Hignett lost in the second round to Alexander Jochim 7-5, 3-6, [11-9].  In the North Oxford tournament he made an early exit in the first round after losing to Yujiro Onuma 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) British Tour 2019* provides a circuit of tournaments designed to give up and coming players the opportunity to gain experience in their quest to become professional tennis players, to provide competition for professional players in between competing in professional events at home and abroad, as well as providing a national level open competition circuit.

Read more about Liam’s previous British Tour events HERE

*British Tour information used with courtesy of www.lta.org.uk/britishtour

 

Intense training regime for Dean Cooper Kirby at Gomez Tennis Academy

Former Totally Tennis performance player and Sherfield School tennis scholar Dean Cooper Kirby is now living and training full-time at the Gomez Tennis Academy based in Naples, Florida. After winning the Spring Tropical Junior event and spending a month training at the Florida academy back in April, Cooper Kirby made the permanent move to the academy in the summer. His parents Brian and Karen visited him at his new home in the sunshine state over the recent October half term to check on his wellbeing and progress.

As well as training for thirty-eight hours a week, Cooper Kirby is studying at the school linked to the academy based in nearby Fort Myers. While resident at the academy Cooper Kirby will be following an intense daily training programme to improve every area of his game including technique, footwork, movement and strategy on an individual and small group basis. The training includes  match play and drills as well as mental training and fitness.

Brian said, “It was great to see Dean and to watch him train but also to understand how hard they are pushed in high temperatures – it was 36 degrees on court when we were there.”

The programme ensures that players are looked after in every way to improve their game, everything they eat and drink throughout the day is recorded and that data is used to analysis performance on court versus food intake to track energy levels.  He needs a massive 8,500 daily calorie intake to cope with a days training, he is weighted in the morning and lunchtime to record how much water he has lost due to the morning training session, so far the most he has lost in a morning session is four pounds.

Cooper Kirby has two tournaments before Christmas, the Eddie Herr International Junior Championships in Florida starting in mid-November and the Junior Orange Bowl International also in Florida in December. He will then travel back to the UK for just a week for Christmas before heading back to Naples to resume training. His performance will be reviewed after his tournaments and training up to to Christmas and a new tournament schedule will be devised to include ITFs in South and North America.

The Gomez Tennis Academy was founded in 2010 by tennis coach Rene Gomez, his wife Leslie Gomez and her son Chase Muma. Gomez Tennis Academy is a boutique tennis training academy situated in Naples, Florida. Led by Rene’s knowledge and experience, the Gomez team practices a training philosophy based on commitment, consistency and individualized instruction.*

Read more about the academy on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

*All information about the Gomez Tennis Academy and court photo were sourced from www.gomeztennisacademy.com

Read more about Copper Kirby’s time in Florida in previous posts totallytennis.wordpress.com/2018/04/28/cooper-kirby-returns-from-florida-to-contest-european-tournaments and totallytennis.wordpress.com/2018/09/01/cooper-kirby-heads-for-full-time-academy-training-in-florida/