Albany Lawn Tennis Club
We are a friendly tennis club with over 300 members aged from 4 to 85. Albany is a unique tennis club on the Isle of Man proudly boasting privately-owned floodlit courts and facilities, as well as an indoor court ensuring play is possible in all weathers and seasons. We offer opportunities for social play, a great coaching team, men’s, ladies’ and mixed League tennis, and a tournament programme for all. New members are always warmly welcomed. Come along and visit us any time, meet our friendly club members and see our excellent facilities. We operate a ‘try before you buy’ policy so you may visit three times with a member before having to commit to join the club. Click buttons below for LEAGUE INFORMATION and UPCOMING EVENTS
Messages from our Social Facebook Group
Road to Wimbledon update:
Finals Day
Charlotte Clarke - Road to Wimbledon Champion 2018.
Today Charlotte Clarke played against Jemma Cave from Cheshire for the title of Road to Wimbledon girls 14 & under National Championships.
She started well breaking in the first game and played solidly for the next few games.
Both girls were clearly and understandably nervous which made the game a bit erratic at times -especially when serving.
The set became a closely fought match but Charlotte held her nerve and broke serve to win the first set 6-4.
In the 2nd set she quickly took a 2-0 lead and seemed to be gaining momentum but a bad service game allowed her opponent back into the game and suddenly Charlotte was 3-2 down and looking fragile. Then she appeared to compose herself and her focus and despite close games she took the next 4 games to take the set 6-3 as well as the match and title of RTW champion.
The presentations were made at the conclusion of all the finals. Paul Hutchins made the speech in his final year as organiser in front of Tim Henman and Wimbledon champion Angela Mortimer.
Charlotte had a tv interview and made an excellent speech summing up what it meant for tennis on the Isle of Man that both Roch and herself had done so well and the difficulties they faced trying to flourish travelling across to play competitions. She then became emotional when asked what winning the event meant to her personally!
For me watching as both Roch and Charlotte’s coach it was a roller coaster week of ups and downs but mostly ups! I am very proud of both their efforts
It was also great to see two more of my players - Jayden Go and Sarah Long join us on finals day for their well earned coaching day which they enjoyed.
It may be their turn next year?
Brilliant. Well done Ian
Heartiest congratulations to Charlotte. Not forgetting Roch's achievements either. Brilliant!
Well done Charlotte!!👍👍
Fantastic news! Congratulations to Charlotte and her Coach!!
Well done Charlotte and Ian and to all involved!
Well done Charlotte great achievement!!
Wow thats awesome. Many congratulations Charlotte & Ian. All ur hard work has paid off 😍😎x well done to mum & dad too...u guys must be super proud x
Charlotte Clarke. Road to Wimbledon CHAMPION 2018.
Congratulations Charlotte. Your hard work and dedication deserves this incredible success.
Congratulations Charlotte. A wonderful achievement.
Fantastic news an amazing achievement Proud parents and coach.
Congratulations Charlotte a proud moment for Albany and the Isle of Man. Well done!
Well done Charlotte amazing you have inspired me to work even harder with my tennis love Ava xx
Road to Wimbledon update:
Semi-Finals day.
Roch Mirski and Charlotte Clarke competed for a place in the Finals today at Wimbledon.
Roch was first on court playing Joseph Logan from the West of Scotland.
He started well breaking his opponents serve in the first game. However his opponent recovered and proved to be too powerful for Roch taking the first set 6-3. Roch rallied and battled hard as we have come to expect from him but couldn’t stem the tide losing the second set 6-2.
He was extremely disappointed but should be proud of his performance all week!
Charlotte was next on court playing Maialen Idiakez from Leicestershire and despite being nervous got off to a fantastic start. Despite not serving to her best ability only missed one shot in the first set and took it 6-1.
Having taken the first set her confidence grew and she dominated her opponent to win the 2nd set 6-0.
The final is scheduled for 11am tomorrow.
Good luck Charlotte!
Road to Wimbledon 2018 update:
At the start of the week Albany juniors Roch Mirski and Charlotte Clarke joined 43 boys and 43 girl Road to Wimbledon County Champions from across the UK to compete in the Road to Wimbledon National Championships.
All players were placed in boxes of 4 competitors to play each other in a round robin format.
Having played 3 singles matches both Charlotte and Roch qualified as winners of their boxes (Charlotte winning all 3 matches in straight sets and Roch winning 2 matches).
Having qualified they were both in the last 32 of the draw. They both received byes which put them into the last 16.
Roch (seeded 2) played and beat Harry Tweed (Durham and Cleveland) 7-5/6-2 whilst Charlotte played and beat Isabel de Clerc (also from Durham and Cleveland) 6-0/6-2
In the next round (quarter finals) played today Charlotte was against the 2nd seeded player Annemiek Sterk (north Scotland) and won 6-4/6/3
Roch played Bosco La I Ching Chung (Lancashire) and won 7-5/6-1
Both Roch and Charlotte have reached the semi-finals of this prestigious event
They have performed exceptionally well and exceeded expectation as no Isle of Man junior has managed to get further than the box matches in previous years. To have 2 players in the semi finals is a fantastic achievement not only for our two players but also for Manx Tennis.
Good luck tomorrow Roch and Charlotte in your semi final quest!
Absolutely brilliant
Wow... what an achievement... such a fantastic event
That’s fantastic well done Roch & Charlotte
Wow! Brilliant. Good luck for the semis.
Fantastic achievements
Wow great achievement for both
Brilliant!!! Well done and good luck!! 🎾🎾
Brilliant! Well done Charlotte and Roch. David and Sarah are looking forward to watching you play in the finals on Saturday :)
Well done guys that is fantastic. 😀😎😍
Fantastic ! Good luck Charlotte and Roch!
Amazing achievement, good luck Charlotte & Roch 🍀🍀
Brilliant!!
Fantastic! Good luck in the semi-finals
Absolutely amazing - well done both of you and best of luck with your next matches 😀 Jackie
Absolutely superb performance - keep going and get to the finals 👍🏼🎾🎾
That’s amazing well done to you both. The very best of luck in the semis.
Well done both of you good luck x
The Lieutenant Governor Sir Richard Gozney & former Lieutenant Governor Sir Laurence New & his ...
ALBANY TENNIS CLUB
Junior Tennis
Summer Camps
Tuesday 28th August -
Red Ball – 9.30am-11.30 - £5
Orange Ball & Green Ball – 1-3pm - £5
Wednesday 29th August
Yellow ball 1 – 4pm - £8
Thursday 30th August
Red Ball – 9.30am-11.30 - £5
Orange Ball & Green Ball – 1-3pm - £5
Monday 3rd September
Red Ball – 9.30am-11.30 - £5
Orange Ball & Green Ball – 1-3pm - £5
Tuesday 4th September
Yellow ball 1 – 4pm - £8
Mini tennis red ball – Children 8 and under
Mini tennis orange ball - Children 9yrs
Mini tennis green ball - Children 10yrs
Yellow Ball – Children 11-18yrs
Please contact Ian Watson to book onto the course or for further details:
ianwatsonpts@manx.net
GOOD LUCK to our Albany Juniors who are representing the IOM at The Road to Wimbledon National event held at the All England Club starting tomorrow (Sunday).
Charlotte Clarke and Roch Mirski as county winners are competing in the National Championships whilst Sarah Long and Jayden Go as runners up will be attending the coaching days! Have fun guys!
COURT RE-PAINTING
Work on all 3 outdoor courts is expected to start on Wednesday 15 August. The courts will be back in use 10 days later. This is the curing time required (always subject to weather conditions).
If there are nets on any of the courts, then you are welcome to continue using them, otherwise the indoor court can be used as usual.
Thanks for your patience and understanding :)
Congratulations to all the players who entered this year's Road to Wimbledon event. On the 15th July, 8 boys and 8 girls competed in the Isle of Man County section of this competition. The winners, Rich Mirski and Charlotte Clarke, qualified to play at Wimbledon against the other county champions. The runners up, Jayden Go and Sarah Long, also got to go to Wimbledon for some special coaching sessions.
During the week of 13th August, the County champions played in round robin and knock-out matches at Wimbledon. An Isle of Man player has never progressed from the group stage before, but this year both Roch and Charlotte did and both got all the way to the semi-finals!! Charlotte even went on to win the girls' tournament altogether. This is an extraordinary achievement by both players, whose hard work and dedication should be commended, together with that of their parents and of their coach, Ian Watson. Congratulations to all of you!
Photos from Road to Wimbledon 2018
Charlotte's Tournament winning point!
Outdoor Courts
The planned repainting of the outdoor courts, that was due to commence on 13th August, has been postponed. Given the need for good weather coupled with the availability of the contractors, this is now likely to take place in early summer/late spring in 2019. In the meantime, we thank you for your help in keeping the courts clear of leaves and pine needles as much as possible. It is the degradation of these things that is primarily responsible for the levels of algae we experience on the courts. Following cleaning this year, all courts are currently in good shape; the planned painting is a cosmetic improvement more than a necessity at the moment.
PRESIDENT'S DAY
Look out for this excellent, fun one day competition for juniors and seniors - coming this September!
A Glimpse at Our History
Here are the videos shown on the night of the '50 Years at Ballaughton' Celebration Dinner held in September 2016, which shows the timeline of Albany's development over the past 50 years.
All these sessions are a great way to play some tennis and meet friends, and are open to senior members and nominated juniors. Join in our fun and friendly social sessions held each week on:
OPEN TO ALL
- Sundays 10:00am to 12:00pm
- Tuesdays 7:00pm to 9:30pm
- Wednesdays 10:30am to 12:30pm
The club's Annual General Meeting was held at the club on Wednesday 29 November at 6.30pm.
The meeting adopted the 2016/7 statutory accounts, and agreed to leave the current membership fees unchanged for 2018/9. The new committee was voted in, and is the same as last year with the exception of Kirsten Hall, who decided to step down from her role after several years of excellent service. We thank Kirsten for all her hard work for the club. The positions of Social Organiser and Tournament Secretary remain unfilled - if you might be interested in either role, or just in helping out on the Committee, please let Stuart Colligon (info@albanyltc.co.uk) or Pat Sharp (albanytennispr@manx.net) know as soon as possible.
