Brian's Tennis Newsletter - 5th January

Brian's Tennis Newsletter

Hi Everyone

A happy new year to all of you and hope you had a good Christmas. This time of year can bring up many different emotions depending on what's happening or has happened in our lives. We certainly hope and pray for positivity and strength to get through the ups and downs of the year ahead....

Kyrgios beats Sabalenka in the battle of the sexes.. What a money making farce! Smaller court on Sabalenka's side and 1 serve only. They should've given Kyrgios a 23" racket too! The interesting question is... what number ranking male player would lose to Sabalenka? Do we create a battle of the sexes competition at Dorking??

Venus Williams given final wildcard to Australian Open... 45 years old!

Katie Boulter has teamed up with Sharapova's former coach, Michael Joyce.. She dropped out of the top 100.. Fair play as maybe focussing on upcoming Wedding to Alex De Minaur.

Club News

Courts covered in snow.. May take a few days to thaw... On this occasion... NO SWEEPING!

Don't forget to get your GRACE matches played. A lot of work goes into organising the tournament so it would be a shame to miss out on the competitive experiences!

SANDY THORNTON

You will have read of the passing of Sandy Thornton on Christmas Day.. What an amazing lady and member of our club. She will be missed, of course by her brilliant husband Paul, but also lots of us at the club that had the pleasure of knowing Sandy. She lived for tennis and knew everything about what players were playing where in the world and how they were getting on. Often experiencing live tennis at Wimbledon, Monte Carlo, Eastbourne, Capel, Dorking and many other great tournaments around the world. She always took a big interest in our juniors.
A big thank you to Mary Williams for her tribute to Sandy in the club announcement. Sandy would be bashfully smiling at the kind words. My personal memories of Sandy will be the kindness and time she gave to all players she played with. So encouraging to everyone and her constructive comments to her husband Paul on the other side of the net! She was always so friendly and supportive to myself and our coaching team. Her reluctance to play at the net, but how could we complain when her baseline game and lobbing was so good... Our heart goes out to Paul, who has lost the best partner he could wish for in life and on a tennis court. I have had lots of messages from members, which I will pass on to Paul. SANDY....We will continue to celebrate your life, keep smiling without dwelling on our unforced errors and we will continue to lob in your memory!
YOU WILL BE MISSED SO MUCH. RIP SANDY

“Message from Paul Thornton
There will be an informal gathering in the clubhouse after tennis on 27th January to celebrate the life of Sandy.
Paul is providing drinks and cakes, there will be strictly limited eulogies, and it is to be a happy occasion.
Please come and give Sandy a good send off.”

New year, same sport, but we hope to bring some fresh new sessions to the coaching programme in addition to our 2025 programme. Coaching clinics, cardio tennis, doubles clinics, more tournaments.. Keep your eye out for information coming out very soon...

Don't forget our club social sessions Saturdays 2-4pm and Wednesdays 630-930pm. All coach led and very friendly! A great way to start the new year.

Coaching Tip of the Week

Footwork Footwork Footwork... Work on your movement around the court...

Are you moving correctly for the wider balls?
Are you moving correctly from the net for a smash?
Are you moving correctly after your serve?
Are you moving correctly for your volleys?

You can always ask a coach at the club... Always happy to offer advice!

Here's to a good year and a year full of great tennis memories... Sending New Year hugs to anyone that needs one!

Brian

Brian Love

Head Coach
Dorking Lawn Tennis & Squash Club
07712 557076