Celebrating 100 years of the IC of Great Britain - IC Centenary 2024 Daily Reports

Day Six

A breezy, slightly overcast, but warm day was the scene for the final day of the International Club of Great Britain’s Centenary Week at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. As the finalists prepared for their last matches on the hallowed grass courts, supporters arrived to a gentle buzz of excitement at the prospect of some mouthwatering ties throughout the day ahead.

Germany took the Mercelis Trophy in two matches while Spain were the eventual winners of the Windmill Cup, with the Final going absolutely to the wire and being decided on a Championship tie-break after the four singles and two doubles matches finished 8-8 on sets.

Germany defeated Australia to claim the title and playing on Championship Court 18, they won both singles for the victory, avoiding the need to play doubles.

In two quick matches Antonia Lotter easily beat Australia’s Loretta Sheales, who was a replacement due to injury, 6-0 6-0 in the first singles, followed quickly by Gitte Moller in the second who also won in straight sets 6-4 6-4.

After clinching their win, Lotter commented: “Playing on Court 18 today was a bit of a surprise. We thought we would be playing on Court 2 and then we got the message this morning that we were playing on the bigger one. I played at Wimbledon this year, so I have played on those courts before, but it was even more special to play there today.

“It has been such a nice week. For me it was the first time I have played in an International Club tournament, and I didn’t know what to expect to be honest. I also didn’t know my teammates before I came, so I thought it would be a bit different. But as soon as I met them it was brilliant - it’s been super chilled and we’ve had a great time with a nice team spirit which made the whole thing much easier. And to get the win is just brilliant!

“It’s always super special to be here at the All England Club. This is my third time on site – of course this is a different tournament but just to play on grass is super special. We don’t play on grass in Germany, so I feel vey lucky.

“Just being here on site when it’s so quiet is great because it gave us the opportunity to just have a look around. During Wimbledon it’s always so busy so it was really nice to experience it like this. I really liked the hill – during the tournament I went past it and it was so loud and crowded, which isn’t for me. But this week I have spent time there chilling, drinking coffee and I’ve really enjoyed the calm of it.”

Moller added: “It was super special to be on Court 18 today. I have my daughter with me today, so it was great to play in front of her. She’s been a big part of the team!

“We’ve been staying in a house just over the other side of the courts and we’ve made it the German house, so we’ve had a lot of fun! We had one day off so we went into the city and saw the attractions with my daughter, which was exciting too.

“We’re really looking forward to the dinner tonight and being presented with the Trophy!”

The Windmill Cup was played out between top seeds Spain and second seeds Italy on Championships Courts 16 and 17. In a really competitive and tightly fought fixture, both teams were desperate to not give anything away. In the first match it was so tight that the first two games took nearly an hour to complete. After the first two singles it was one match apiece, setting up a really exciting fixture for the Final. Lorenzo Pennisi had taken the first rubber 6-1 3-6 (10-6) for Italy against Gorka Fraille and Spaniard, Jose Vicente won the second 6-4 6-4 against Stefano Tarallo.

In the third singles Adelchi Virgili from Italy overcame José Antonio Sanchez De Luna in three sets 6-4 6-7(4) (10-3) before Spain’s Daniel Muñoz De La Nava beat Italy’s Luca Vanni 0-6 7-6 (10-7) to set up yet another doubles decider in the tournament.

Italy won the first doubles match easily with Vanni and Virgili defeating Sanchez De Luna and Muñoz De La Nava 6-2 6-2 to take the overall score to 7-6 sets to Italy. In the remaining match Pennisi and Andrea Monti were competing against Vicente and Fraille as the clouds cleared to make way for brilliant evening sunshine, casting long shadows on the court. Spain won the first set 7-5 before Italy took the second 6-2, making it 7-8 on sets to Italy. Spain won the first Championship tiebreak to draw the fixture at 8-8 and set up the winner takes all super tiebreak with a player from both the open and over 45s category in each team.

Vicente and Muñoz De La Nava were picked for Spain, who won the toss, while Pennisi and Vanni made up the Italian team. Vicente served first for Spain and held to go 1-0. Vanni’s powerful serve enabled Italy to level at 1-1 before Pennisi made it 2-1 for Italy. The next two points went Spain’s way before Italy clawed one back on serve for 3-3. A break on the seventh point gave Spain the edge and they proceeded to win the next four points. As the match got more tense, Italy broke Muñoz De La Nava’s serve to make it 4-8 to the number one seeds, but it was a touch too late and Spain won the remaining two points to clinch the overall title in emphatic style!

After some quick celebrations, Spanish captain Javier Linares cheered: “It was amazing today. All of our matches from the quarterfinal have been decided by a super tiebreak and one of them we were losing 6-2 5-0 against Australia, but we managed to overcome that and win.

“We aren’t specialists on grass courts, so it’s more difficult for us to play against Australia, Great Britain and the USA. But we know Italy are fighters on the court, so I’m really pleased and proud that we got the win!

“We have had the best week. What more can I say – we’ve played tennis at Wimbledon and we’ve won – what more can we ask for?!”

There were also two consolation finals today, with Belgium men’s team winning the Orsini 4-1 over Mexico and USA ladies’ team securing the Winnie Woolridge with a 2-1 victory over Czech Republic.

Having won the singles matches 4-1, Belgium needed to win just one set in the doubles to secure the title, which they duly did 7-5.

With one win each in the singles the ladies title was decided by the doubles with USA going 6-3 3-0 up early on. But the Czech Republic fought back to take the second set 7-5 and then lost 7-10 in the Championship tiebreak.

Following the close of a very successful competition, Adrian Blackman Tournament Director commented:

“It’s been a very enjoyable week running this tournament and has been a pleasure to be involved in the planning right from the start. It’s taken a few years to organise and now that it’s come, it’s been a huge job for all of the Committee, but I think all of us have found it really rewarding and it’s just been great to see so many people from so many different countries come together, play tennis and have wonderful social events. I think it’s been everything we pictured it would be and more.

“We’ve had a great team who have worked really well together and been so positive throughout the whole week, making sure that we delivered everything we needed to and I’m really proud to be a part of that.

“My core highlight of the week is that it has truly been a proper festival of tennis, epitomising the IC spirit with a wonderful standard of tennis and great camaraderie between the teams on and off court.”

The full list of results can be found here.

Day Five

The semi-finals were played in brilliant sunshine on day five at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club as Italy and Spain and Australia and Germany proceeded to the Final in the Windmill Cup and Mercelis Trophy respectively.

Italy started early in the Windmill Cup needing to win just one set in their resumed doubles match against Denmark, which they duly did. On the other side of the draw, Spain also started early as they needed to win their first doubles match against Australia to secure their quarterfinal win.

After a short break, Italy took to Court 1 to face France in the semi-finals. Andrea Monti took the first singles for Italy 7-6 (6) 6-3, before Christophe Gibiard drew level for France in the second match winning in three sets 7-6(4) 2-6 (10-4).

Straight set wins followed for Italy in the remaining two singles with Adelchi Virgili defeating Axel Damiens and the powerful Luca Vanni beating Thibaut Charron, taking an unassailable lead to secure their spot in the Final tomorrow.

Post fixture Adelchi commented: “Yesterday was a very tough match, against Denmark. My opponent was very smart, and he played the conditions really well. It was windy, cold and it was fast sometimes, because the court was a little bit wet, sometimes slow, so he was so good with those conditions. I was a little nervous but in the end, I played good, important points and we finished all the singles yesterday and today we had to play the doubles. We had to win one set – we did it! Me and my team mate Luca Vanni; he’s an incredible player. He played at Wimbledon six times, two times in the main draw and four times in qualifying so he’s a great player. I am so lucky to have him in my team.

“Today after the doubles I was feeling much better. It’s sunny and I’m like Superman taking the energy from the sun! I was more confident with my game and my opponent from France was a little tired. He played tough matches yesterday in the singles and doubles and I played so good today.

“Spain are the number one seeds, so I know their players because I was playing with two of them during my ATP career so we know each other. It will be a very tough match. Every match will be very competitive, so I’ll try to play my best and bring the same feelings that I had today to tomorrow; we will see! We need to put out our Italian creativity to win tomorrow.

“I played in an IC event for the first time in 2014, so exactly ten years ago. Our President Marco Gilardelli is really passionate about the IC and has been involved with the IC for fifty years, so he called me ten years ago, we met and we won with Italy in Mexico City, so we hope to do the same again this year to mark ten years later! For this occasion, our captain contacted me and asked me if I was able to come. I stopped playing professionally a few years ago after a motorbike accident and so I thought why not – it’s a beautiful occasion, I have great memories from ten years ago. It’s a beautiful environment with a lot of people from other countries that I really love. I love the mixing and intercultural nature of the IC, so I’d really love to play again in the future.

“Also, how can you say no to playing in Wimbledon. I was so close to making qualifying at The Championships twice, but I got injured so I finally get to play here. For me coming here and playing is like entering a temple.

“This week has been amazing. The organisation has been on point and I’ve seen people who I met ten years ago, so it’s been fantastic.”

In the other semi-final Spain defeated the Czech Republic in five matches. Jose Vicente beat Petr Koula 6-1 6-2 before Gorka Fraille overcame Frantisek Stejskal 6-1 7-6(4) in the second singles match. David Simuenek clawed one back for the Czech Republic winning in straight sets against Daniel Munoz De La Nava 7-6(5) 6-2. In the last singles match Spaniard José Antonio Sanchez de Luna beat Jan Michalek setting up a doubles decider where the top seeds needed to win just one set. They did just that to secure their place against the second seeds Italy in the Final.

Hosts Great Britain missed out on a Final spot after being defeated by Australia in the Mercelis Trophy on Court 3. Karen Lamb played first and took her opponent Louise Field to three sets losing narrowly in the Championships tiebreak 8-10. She’d lost the first set 3-6 but battled back with a convincing display in the second to take it 6-1. Emily Arbuthnott played in the second match against Alison Bai, losing 4-6 2-6, with the match much closer than the scoreline would suggest.

Over on the next court unseeded Germany defeated sixth seeds Spain with the fixture decided by the doubles match which Germany won in straight sets 6-0 6-2. In the two singles matches Amanda Carreras of Spain beat Germany’s Antonia Lottner 2-6 6-1 (10-4) before Gitte Moller made it level for Germany with victory over Eva Bes 2-6 6-1 (10-6).

After the fixture Gitte commented: “It’s just such a great pleasure to be here and play on the magic grass. The whole week has been fantastic.

“I haven’t seen Australia play as I’ve just been busy playing myself so I don’t know what to expect. We’ll just go out and have fun again.

“This is my first time playing at Wimbledon and it’s just so wonderful. The first days seemed really unreal to be here and play, so it’s been unbelievable, just such a lot of joy and fun to be here.”

There was also a Junior Tennis Tournament incorporated alongside today’s semi-final fixtures. Four teams of four players from Glasgow, Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative (WJTI), Edgbaston Priory and Team Adderstone in Northumberland competed in a round robin format on Wimbledon’s famous grass courts, providing a once in a lifetime opportunity for the 12 and 13-year-olds. Playing six games, the boys and girls got the chance to compete on this surface for the first time taking to the most famous grass courts in the world with Team Adderstone coming out on top as winners.

The tournament is a showcase to all the 42 International Clubs around the world to highlight the opportunity to get tennis to the grassroots and to encourage them to grow and introduce junior tennis to their events going forwards, providing a platform from which it can develop into the communities.

The Junior Programme is funded through the IC Philanthropy Foundation, which was inaugurated officially as a charity in 2015, after being founded in 2010. The Foundation currently runs 17 programmes in 15 countries across the world with the premise not to create new tennis champions but to use tennis as a vehicle to provide kids who are in danger of falling into crime or drugs an opportunity to develop certain skills. The programmes use tennis to teach the youngsters some of the sport’s core values such as respect and perseverance.

The programmes differ from country to country depending on the needs of the individuals, with every programme having its own identity. Through the IC network every programme has a member of the IC in charge who manages the fundraising, execution of the programme and safeguarding and ensures that each programme has a positive impact on the kids it serves.

The aim currently is to raise awareness of the Foundation and to make the 350 people who are part of the IC of GB’s Centenary Week aware of what the Foundation does and how they can get involved. This ranges from starting programmes, to fundraising and introducing potential donors to the charity.

The IC Philanthropy Foundation Chairman, Felipe Bunster Galeno commented: “We really want our IC Members and Friends to feel part of the Foundation and be proud of what it does and achieves every year.

“I have two main ambitions for the charity, and they are that we have at least half of all IC’s running a programme. We currently have 15 ICs with a programme, so we need to source six more. And that’s not just finding countries that are willing to and want to do it, but it’s about sourcing the money so that we can sustain these programmes for at least two to three years and operate responsibly so we don’t let the kids down.

“My second ambition is to increase the number of countries who contribute to our fundraising efforts to at least five. Most of our programmes currently are funded by the activities that we do here in Great Britain, and I’d like to grow that pool.”

To showcase the work of the International Lawn Tennis Clubs, The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum has created two displays highlighting its history which will be in position until January 2025. The collections team took the opportunity to tell the story of the IC through memorabilia with one of the trophies on display alongside some of the famous ties, menus from dinners, minute books and incredible photographs dating back to the 1920s. This is the first time that the collectables have been on display for the public to see and hear more about how it was founded and its purpose - well worth a visit!

Day Four

The morning of the quarterfinals of the International Council of Great Britain’s Centenary Week dawned with bright sunshine at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. But as the day progressed, the clouds gathered and the tennis made way for some heavy downpours from mid-afternoon.

With a light breeze and quick work from the groundstaff, play was able to resume at 5.50pm and six out of the eight semi-finalists were confirmed.

Germany was the first team to secure their semi-final berth in the Mercelis Cup with two straight set wins over Italy. In a dominant display Gitte Moller and Antonia Lottner made light work of their opponents on Court 8, managing to avoid any of the rain delays and setting up a semi-final against Spain.

The Spaniards played some great tennis to beat top seeds France 2-1. After winning one singles each, in the doubles decider they came out on top 6-1 6-0. After the fixture Rose Ma Andrés commented:

“It was very nice out there today. We did a great job considering we played against France, who were number one! It was 1-1 after the singles, so the doubles decided the match and we won, so it was great.

“I played here when I was a pro, and it’s so nice to be back. Grass is not my best surface, but we’ve made the semi-finals, so it can’t be too bad!

“It’s been a perfect week. The tournament and everything is wonderful; it’s so lovely to feel like a pro again!”

Hosts Great Britain also secured their place in the semi-finals with victory over Denmark. Karen Lamb worked really hard to overcome Karina Jacobgaard in three sets whilst Emily Arbuthnott beat Julie Noe 6-2 6-1. They will now face Australia in the semi-finals tomorrow.

Australia beat their local rivals New Zealand winning both singles to take the fixture and secure their place in the semis.

In the Windmill Cup two fixtures were affected by the rain with both Denmark v Italy and Spain v Australia resuming in the morning. Italy are currently 3-1 up and need just one set to secure their semi-final spot. Meanwhile top seeds Spain need to win their first doubles to guarantee themselves a spot in the semis.

Third seeds France secured their spot in the last four with a very tight win over Netherlands. It came down to the number of sets won, with France securing victory 7-6 and setting up a tie against Denmark or Italy.

Hosts Great Britain succumbed to the Czech Republic in a really tight fixture. Having won three matches apiece, the Czech Republicans won by just one set. They will now face either Spain or Australia.

Also on display on the Thursday of Centenary Week was the inaugural wheelchair competition in an IC tournament. The first event featured teams from Great Britain, Spain and a mixed team of Ireland and Brazil. Playing a round robin using the fast four format with a tiebreak at 4-4 and a seven-point tiebreak if the sets are tied, the players showcased a competitive level of wheelchair tennis with Spain taking the overall win. Enrique Meseguer and Lola Ribes were both dominant in their respective singles fixtures and made a great pairing in the doubles, especially considering it was the first time they had both played on grass. Enrique now turns his attention back to clay as he heads to Paris to compete in the forthcoming Paralympics.

After the win, Lola said: “It was amazing to be here in Wimbledon. It was the first time we have played on grass and the ambience and everything else is amazing. We are very happy, and we won so it’s great!

“We are very pleased to be involved with the wheelchair tennis for the first time as part of the IC family. We have also spoken to the other Spanish teams and supported each other today. It’s amazing to have this opportunity and for people to see wheelchair tennis and to have more visibility.”

Enrique added: “It’s also my first time playing Wimbledon, and I am very happy. I always watch it on television and to play here is a one-off for me. I’m so happy to have been able to play with Lola and to win it is perfect!

“I’m now going to be playing in the Paralympics in Paris, so it’s very special for me. Today I’m playing in Wimbledon and next week I’ll play in Roland Garros. It’s perfect! It’s a dream for me and I am very happy!”

The introduction of wheelchair tennis to the IC family was the idea of IC Council Chairman Peter Mcquibban. He appointed disability and wheelchair tennis experts Geoff Newton, the former IC of GB Chairman who led the 75th anniversary celebrations in 1999, and Mark Bullock, who this year was awarded the Brad Parks Award – the ITF’s highest award for lifetime contribution to wheelchair tennis, to organise the wheelchair tournament as part of the IC of GB Centenary Week celebrations. After the success of today’s event the hope is that wheelchair tennis will feature on more IC tournaments around the globe more regularly, raising awareness of the sport and providing social and competitive opportunities to keep retired players in the sport, whilst increasing visibility for those players and others and creating a platform for more players to play the game.

Interspersed amongst the tennis (and rain) today, players and their guests enjoyed a spot of croquet on the famous lawns, before boarding a Routemaster bus in the evening for an open top bus tour around London.

Day Three

With sunnier skies overhead, play on day three of the Centenary Week of the International Club of Great Britain got underway ahead of time at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

With ten matches to complete from yesterday across both the Mercelis and Windmill Cups, the tennis was as competitive as ever as we approach the business end of the tournament.

In the ladies’ Mercelis Cup, Ireland defeated South Africa 2-1 to set up a round two clash with fifth seeds Italy, which was played later on Wednesday with Italy coming out on top 2-0. A solid performance from Irish player Julie Byrne in the second singles pushed her opponent all the way before eventually losing narrowly 4-6 3-6.

After her gutsy display, Byrne commented: “It was good. The first set was over an hour and ten minutes - it was just going on serve and she was very very good. I thought it was a really good level and overall pretty happy with my performance. I was just outplayed and best of luck to them.

“It’s been a brilliant week. I think the level has been really high – I think the matches are very competitive but there’s also a lot of respect and everyone is looking out for each other as well. It’s fun competing at a high level, but also to have that social element after the matches as well is great.

“I’m excited for the party tonight and the opportunity to chat to the other teams.

“I played in my first IC tournament, I believe when I was 16, but it was back in Ireland. We played against the GB team, and this is my first senior one. It’s really nice to have a mixed team as well – there is a couple of people who I didn’t know before from our team, so it’s been good!

“It’s really cool playing on these grass courts. These opportunities don’t really come round that often, so to be able to play on them is amazing. I haven’t played much on grass before, so to play on the best grass courts in the world is a nice first tournament and a big honour!”

Following a hard-fought set of matches on the first day of round two, Denmark and USA resumed their fixture at one match apiece on Wednesday. The Danes ultimately proved too strong for third seeds USA in the doubles match, progressing through to a quarter-final clash against hosts Great Britain, who themselves secured their quarter-final berth with a 2-0 win over Bermuda. The home team won in straight sets across both singles matches with Karen Lamb putting in a dominant 6-1 6-1 display and Emily Arbuthnott capturing the win 6-3 6-1.

New Zealand overcame India 2-1 with victory in the doubles for Julia Sim and Kelly Taylor over Shivika Burman and Radikhar Kanitkar 6-1 6-2. They then faced Luxembourg later in the afternoon coming through 2-0 across both singles to set up a fixture against Australia.

Top seeds France are also through to the quarter-finals having beaten Hong Kong and Switzerland 2-0. Despite the scoreline it was a very close match with the first singles being decided in three sets and a tie break in the first. France will face sixth seeds Spain, who triumphed over South America with a 2-0 win.

In the men’s Windmill Cup, top seeds Spain advanced into the quarter-finals with a convincing 5-1 win over South America, dropping only one set en route to their next fixture against Australia.

They overcame local rivals New Zealand 5-1 in a closely fought contest over the two days.

After the fixture Joseph Sirianni from Australia said: “It was a great performance by all of us, that’s for sure. To play New Zealand, we could have played that in our back yard basically, we’ve come all this way to play New Zealand! But we had a good day – it was fun. We always have a lot of banter.

“All our team members played well, they performed – it was a good day. Up next we face top seeds Spain, which will be tough for us. I know a couple of the players, it’s going to be tough, but we’re out here for a bit of fun on Wimbledon’s famous grass courts. We’re looking forward to it.

“I used to play professionally so have played here before. It’s nice to be back and that’s why I put my hand up for this event to show my family as well, so it’s a bit of a holiday. It’s just unbelievable grounds to walk around, so for me it’s great memories and it’s just great to be back. All the teams are so appreciative of this opportunity.

“It’s a great week. I’ve got a two year old so we’re not able to experience as many events as I’d like! Everyone is enjoying themselves, especially my team Australia and I’m sure everyone will have a good time tonight, especially New Zealand!”

Hosts Great Britain secured their quarter-final berth with a compelling 6-0 victory over South Africa. They face the seventh seeds, Czech Republic in the next round.

Charles Durham who played doubles for Great Britain commented: “It was interesting out there today; slightly stressful as I haven’t played for a couple of days. Normally I play an awful lot of tennis all the time and just getting a bit of confidence took a while. Our opponents play together quite a lot – they’re good match players who read the game really well. Myself and Seb have never played together before so we were trying to work out each other’s expectations, which was very interesting. We managed to play well enough to creep over the line. There was some great stuff in there, but there was some very average stuff as well!

“Seb and I didn’t learn each other’s expectations very quickly I don’t think! We were still getting used to each other at the start of the Champs tiebreak! And we then just went a little bit bigger on everything and to be honest we kept it a little bit more simple. We’d say we were going to do ‘I’ formations and going ‘I go here – you go there; they’re going to do that, we’ll do this.’ And I would say most of those didn’t work! So, we kept it simple, traditional but bigger and better and more oomph. And it did get us over the line!

“I play in the senior nationals and played here in the singles and doubles last year, so I am looking forward to the event in two weeks’ time, which should be really good fun. I really enjoy playing here, it’s lovely – particularly if the weather is nice. It’s unusual playing on grass, but the courts are so good, it’s not far off playing on a hard court in terms of quality in bounce. The bounce is a little bit lower than you’d expect at times near the net, but it’s fantastic and amazing conditions. It’s a beautiful setting; it doesn’t get much better than this when you’re playing tennis with a bunch of other old guys.

“This week has been really nice. Everyone is very friendly – no one is playing for ITF ranking points, we’re just playing for pride. And people take that very seriously of course, and you’re representing your country, so it’s very important.

“The team spirit is fantastic and that is a lovely thing. Tennis is an individual sport; we’re used to fighting individually, so it’s really nice to have a team vibe where everyone is genuinely rooting for your team members.”

A dominant display from the Czech Republic saw them defeat Norway 6-0 to set up the clash against the hosts.

Denmark beat Slovenia 4-0 and will now face second seeds Italy, who themselves overcame Bermuda on Tuesday, earning themselves a rest day ahead of their quarter-final.

The Netherlands put in a strong performance to overcome Hong Kong and Switzerland 5-1 to set up their next round match against third seeds France.

In the final match of round 2 in the Windmill Cup, France beat Canada 4-0 to complete the quarter-final lineup for tomorrow.

The full list of results can be found here.

Day Two

Day two of the International Club of Great Britain’s Centenary Week saw play heavily interrupted due to inclement weather across the courts of SW19.

After playing through some light rain in the morning, play was suspended after just an hour, before resuming at 5.00pm.

In the Mercelis Cup, hosts Great Britain made it through to round 2 easily with a dominant win over Barbados.

Karen Lamb took to the court first and secured an emphatic 6-0 6-1 victory over Sue Rogers, managing to secure the victory before the rain set in. After the delay Emily Arbuthnott made light work of her match against Donna Gibbs, also winning in straight sets 6-0 6-1 to set up a round 2 fixture against Bermuda, who beat Japan 2-0.

Following her match Arbuthnott commented: “It was really good out there today. It was a bit difficult with the rain delay, having to wait quite a number of hours before we played, but I’m really happy that we got through the first round. There were good performances from both me and Karen and we secured a really comprehensive win, so we’re looking forward to taking that to round 2 tomorrow.

“It’s really great playing people from different countries, especially those places where I haven’t played opponents from before.

“It’s already been really good this week. I know how hard the Committee has worked to put this on. I remember it being mentioned when I first joined the IC about four years ago and it’s been a monumental effort planning it and things have been running very smoothly so far. We had the boat trip on Sunday which was really good fun and a really nice experience for everyone who has come from far away to get to see the main sites of London and get to do something really cool like that. It’s all been going well, so I’m now looking forward to the rest of the week and hopefully some good matches.

“It’s really nice being back on these courts. I’m obviously very fortunate to play here a lot now, but stepping on the grass feels magical every time and it’s really nice to be able to play some competitive matches as well. I feel a little bit at home, which is nice so that will hopefully give me a confidence boost.”

Also making it to round 2 are South America, Italy, Luxembourg, Germany, Spain and Australia.

Top seeds France faced a tough opponent in Hong Kong and Switzerland, with Marie-Dominique Larras eventually coming through in three sets to beat Michelle Paroubek in the opening match of the fixture. Marine Piriou won the first set in the second match and is 2-1 up in the second set, ready to be resumed in the morning.

Given the day was beset by rain, a number of fixtures will be completed tomorrow, including India vs New Zealand which currently stands at 1-1, so will be decided by the doubles. Ireland and South Africa are also neck and neck with each nation having won one match and they are currently 5-5 in the first set of the doubles. In the last fixture in the Mercelis Cup, Denmark and USA are also tied at one match each and the score in the doubles is currently 5-5, setting up an exciting decider from 11:00 tomorrow morning.

In the Windmill Cup, Italy defeated Bermuda 4-0 in the singles to secure the only finished match of the day. The second seeds put in a dominant performance across all four matches winning in straight sets and dropping only eight games.

The remaining fixtures all need to be completed tomorrow. Number one seeds Spain are in a commanding position having won two matches so far against South America and are one set up in the third. Australia are leading New Zealand by two matches, while hosts Great Britain are also two matches to the good against South Africa.

Czech Republic are leading Norway and the Netherlands are two matches up against Hong Kong and Switzerland. Denmark and Slovenia make up the remaining fixture to be finalised tomorrow.

The full list of results can be found here.

Day One

The International Club of Great Britain (IC of GB) kicked off its centenary celebrations in style at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club as it welcomed friends from across the world to participate in a competitive tennis tournament during the first week of August 2024.

Players from 34 countries gathered at the prestigious All England Club on Sunday 4th August to take part in the IC of GB’s Centenary Week. Following a captain’s meeting the teams were officially welcomed to London with a social trip on board the Dixie Queen boat with a Cocktail cruise along the River Thames on a beautiful summer’s evening, perfectly capturing the ethos of the International Lawn Tennis Club.

On Monday morning it was back to business as the teams arrived ready to play the first day in a combination of singles and doubles matches across both men’s and ladies’ tournaments, respectively the Windmill Cup and the Mercelis Cup.

In the Windmill Cup, there were victories for hosts Great Britain over Germany, while third seeds France defeated Belgium 4-0. There were also wins for Denmark, Bermuda, South America, New Zealand, Norway and Canada.

Seb Jackson, who opened the singles for Great Britain, said: “I found it really hard work out there today, I was thinking it would be quite a fun week. My opponent was a bit of an unknown entity for me, and he played really well; I couldn’t get a break, until we were at 4-4. From there it sounds easy, but it was actually really hard to close it out to 6-4.

“In the second set the games were long and competitive, and he just never seemed able to finish it. So, I’m really pleased to have got the win and get the team off to a good start.”

In the ladies’ draw, a dominant display in both the singles and doubles from Michelle Paroubek saw Hong Kong and Switzerland secure victory over Hungary. After the match she said:

“I was just overwhelmed by playing on grass today. I knew my game is quite good on grass, so I have been working for about a year for it, changing a few things in my game to adapt to the surface. I love using my backhand slice to approach the net and it worked really well today.  Nobody likes that – Roger did it as well, so I thought ‘why not’, and it worked!

“We face France, the top seeds in the next round tomorrow, who will be a very different opponent.

“I am just loving the experience. The evening last night was incredible, it was so nice with the weather and to dress up it was just so wonderful. I’m meeting so many people from everywhere in the world, some of whom I know from the World Championships and from other ICs, but it’s really nice to meet each other and I love that everybody loves tennis and that everybody is really grateful to be here and play a competitive match together.

“Playing at Wimbledon is incredible; we never get to play in a place like this usually, so it’s just lovely and I’m so grateful for the experience.”

In the second fixture in the Mercelis Cup today, Germany overcame the Netherlands with an incredible performance from Gitte Moller in her singles match against Olga Kalyusnahya. Denmark won the third with victory over Norway, while Australia beat Croatia.

John Feaver, President of the IC of Great Britain commented: “It was great to see the true spirit of the IC coming together and so many people around the world playing on the famous grass courts of the All England Club, which most of them won’t have done before.

“A lot of friendships have been renewed over the last few days and many more will be made over the course of the week ahead. As the week progresses, I’m looking forward to seeing the competition intensify and even more quality matches on the courts.”

The full list of results can be found here.