Merton College dinner – 5th September
Club chair, Neil Mortensen, has set up an Oxford Real Tennis Dinner at Merton College on Saturday September 5th. There will be a drinks reception at 6.30pm supported by Pol Roger, and dinner at 7.30pm.
Dress code will be black tie and we warmly welcome partners to join us. Cost is £100 per person.
This will be open to all with a Club connection – alumni, Club members and Railroad Club members. To book dinner for you and your partner please go to this Jotform link: https://pci.jotform.com/form/260882978249375
There will also be a limited number of discounted places for current students, and if you would like to find out more please speak to Andrew Davis.
The Dinner is part of a Real Tennis Weekend – details to come.
Queen’s Club Autumn 2026
We had a great event at Queen’s last year (see below) and hope to get the courts there again in the Autumn for another day of Railroad Club doubles. Details soon!
Queen’s Event: 26 October 2025 Alastair McKeown writes …
The Railroad Club met up on an autumn Saturday at The Queen’s Club for a hugely enjoyable day of tennis and catching up with old friends. Having two courts meant that there was a lot of tennis played and everyone had a few matches each. Handicaps ranged from 12 to 80, with stars like Charlie Defries on 12, and ages that weren’t far off that range either, with current students, and even former Blues from the 1970s like Fred Satow.
On court, there were some superb volleys from Izzy Marshall, some sublime off-thetambour forehands from leftie Rob Walker, and it was heartening to see that Ollie Hawkins’ self-invented method of hitting it high onto the back walls for a combo of chase the line followed by hazard chase the line is still going strong. Thanks to some clever pairings, everyone was able to play off level, and half an hour matches meant a full set could be played.
A big thank you to Andrew for organising such a wonderful day, and to The Queen’s Club for generously allowing this event to take place there. Everyone left with big smiles on their faces, even if lack of regular play meant some of us were also aware of creaking joints as we hobbled happily home. Roll on the next Railroad event!
Men’s Varsity report
Leon Kashdan-Brown, Blues Captain, on a triumphant Oxford team…
“The all-anticipated Varsity weekend was packed full of exciting matches, class shots, and epic comebacks. Both the men and the women played fantastically, causing some upsets along the way.
The men’s team pulled off an impressive 5-1 win, claiming all of the singles matches, despite positions 2-4 all being outmatched on handicap.
Friday started with a stellar performance from our third string, George Gardiner. He started, and remained, laser focussed, picking apart any weaknesses of his lefty opponent Leo Sanitt and soaring through the first set 6-1. His opponent gave it his all in the second set but still couldn’t claim more than three games, starting the men’s match with a straight sets victory that gave us the confidence we needed.
Unfortunately, this momentum did not follow through to the next match, where Gardiner, paired with team captain Leon Kashdan-Brown, faced off against two new opponents. A flurry of quick volleys and seamless teamwork from the Cambridge duo, Benjamin Craig and James Wilson, caught our pair out and the first set quickly escaped them. Whilst it only got closer from there, Oxford couldn’t quite turn the tide, losing the match in straight sets.
The final men’s game on Friday was the men’s first string doubles. First string, Bertie Vallat, and fourth, Christopher Sneddon, paired up for the very first time to face off against Sanitt and Jin Seok Lee, Cambridge’s first string. Vallat displayed an absolute masterclass, showcasing shots that reminded us why he is the top-ranked under-25 player in the UK. But Sneddon reminded us that he earned that position, dealing well with being targeted and putting the ball away with style.
The next day saw a shift in atmosphere as the audience slowly grew, team supporters got louder, and the matches pushed the schedule to its limits. It appeared that the teams had agreed to put on a show with endless 3-set matches and results too close to call. Sneddon started us off, 5 handicap points worse-off than his opponent, Wilson and caused quite the stir taking the first set 6-4. The balance seemed to shift as his opponent took the next 6-2, but Sneddon kept cool as ever, carving the ball out of the corners of the court, and straight into the targets. Expert precision carried him through the last set, claiming it 6-1.
Next up was Kashdan-Brown against Craig, captain vs captain. Games flitted back and forth between the two and it was anyone’s guess what would happen next. A 6-4 win followed by a 3-6 loss for Oxford, and neither player looked the weaker heading into the last set. Both were determined not to let a single ball go, running down winners and battling on through lengthy rallies. But it was Oxford who claimed the victory in the third set, securing the win for the team and putting them 4-1 up.
Last, but very much not least, Vallat tested Lee’s resilience, pushing him to play far beyond the level he’s used to. But whilst Vallat ran away with the match, his opponent managed to claim two games from him, and from the sound you could hear from the dedans when he did, anyone would think the match had gone the other way. A straight sets victory closed out the weekend for the men’s team, putting their name on the trophy for the ninth year running. We had our work cut out for us over the last year, as an entirely new first team, but everyone worked hard and was up for the challenge. We felt confident in our no-so-secret weapon, Mr Vallat, but showed that the rest of the team was up for the fight regardless.
Thank you to the Railroad Club in particular for making this weekend so memorable. Being able to all have dinner together on Friday night was a great boost to morale, and got everyone in the spirit of the event. Not only that, but the Varsity dinner was a first for all of the men’s team, and was surely an unforgettable experience. This was made all the more pleasant with the contributions of the Railroad Club, and their enthusiasm in helping the students at OUTC.
Women’s Varsity Match
Hannah Wilson-Kemsley, Captain, reports on a narrow defeat …
Oxford’s women’s team of Mary Strevens, Cordelia Lamming, Hannah Wilson Kemsley and Daniela Braw-Smith travelled to the Varsity match at Lord’s ready for two days of competition against Cambridge.
Mary opened the lineup with a challenging match against Cambridge’s number one, Ellie White. Mary made a promising start and competed strongly from the outset, but White proved difficult to contain and ultimately took the match. Oxford responded immediately in the next singles match, where Hannah Wilson Kemsley produced a composed performance to defeat Martha Jameson in straight sets. Her win levelled the score at 1–1. Hannah returned to court shortly after alongside Cordelia Lamming for the doubles. The pair fought hard and kept the sets competitive, but Cambridge edged the key moments to take the match in straight sets. Oxford ended the first day narrowly behind at 1–2, with everything still to play for.
Day two began with an extraordinary match from Daniela Braw-Smith against Theodora Enslin. In a dramatic contest, Daniela saved match points in the deciding set and pushed the match into a tense third-set battle. Despite her resilience and some exceptional tennis in what was an outstanding first Varsity appearance, she eventually lost 6–5 in the final set. Cordelia then stepped up with one of the performances of the weekend. Showing great determination and composure, she defeated Venetia D’Arcy in three sets, producing some of her best tennis and keeping Oxford in contention.
Trailing 2–3 heading into the final doubles match, the tie came down to Daniela and Mary, who were partnering together for the first time. Facing a strong Cambridge pairing that included Ellie White, they battled hard but ultimately found the challenge too difficult, with Cambridge securing the final match. The tie finished 4–2 in Cambridge’s favour, but the weekend was filled with competitive matches, impressive performances and fantastic team spirit from the Oxford side.
A huge thank you goes to coaches Nick, Craig and Andrew for their support, as well as to Brian and the MCC for organising the event and to the entire MCC team for hosting such a wonderful two days of tennis.
The Railroad Club at Lord’s: 30 May 2026
We were unable to secure the court at Lords for an event last year but this year Mary Strevens asked on our behalf. Tom Carew-Hunt and Chris Bray were very helpful and agreed to let us have the court for a day.
It was a real treat for the 16 RRC members who came along to play – unfortunately in the end Mary was unable to attend herself.
The tried and tested format of casual doubles again proved popular with everyone getting to play at least 3 sets. The White Wolf of Woodstock (or Boufs as he was known to older members!) even played a set (unsuccessfully!) versus the improving Will Fortune and incoming Blues captain, Alex Williams.
All participants said they thoroughly enjoyed the day with half a dozen or so retiring afterwards to the noisy Lords Tavern, where Arsenal’s unsuccessful attempt to win the Champions League was being televised!