On Friday 2nd July ten pairs of players convened at Surbiton Tennis Club for an afternoon of competition to decide who would take home the magnificent Fehr Cup. The competition, now in its 83rd year is an annual competition of doubles tennis with the only stipulation being both players need to be employed by Baltic member company. Sadly, we were without the late Richard Fehr who presence was missed.
 

After a damp week it was lovely to see the sun shining, the courts looking green and the players mostly resplendent in white and not an England Football shirt in sight! Club members commented on how good we looked. There were 2 pools of 5 pairs and each team played a minimum of 28 games before the playoff games for the prizes. Most players appeared to be regular tennis players but there was some whose last outing on grass was the previous cup held in 2019. At the end of the pool stage, we were treated to a magnificent tea although the temptation of the bar was too great for many. The Cup final was a best of 3 set thriller between Braemar (Owain Jacque-Morton and Daisuke Yamagashi) and A.M. Nomikos (Ralph Melhuish and Ben Regan) ably umpired by Costas Maramenides. This exciting match resulted in a 6-4,6-2 win for the left- and right-handed combination from Nomikos with Ben’s booming serve influencing the outcome. Howe Robinson 1 (Greg Magnin and Nick Young) overcame an ailing Affinity (Ben Pusey and Charlie Bulow) in a single set to take 3rd place, although a tie-break was played for the benefit of the photographer. Before prize giving, we held a minute’s silence to remember Richard and later raised a glass in his memory.
 

Within the Covid – distancing rules there was much mingling with the organisers, Perry Perera and Catharine Bacon, Match arranger Costas Maramenides, supporters, and the players. This was a timely reminder of the side of the business we have been missing. The weather held out and a wonderful day was had by all. This year was special with a new format on a Friday afternoon but more importantly because we had several new teams. We look forward to welcoming more pairs, companies and supporters next year.

Thanks, as usual to The Surbiton Club for the arrangements and to the Fehr family for their continued support despite the devasting news of Richard’s passing in June.
 

See the photos from the day here.