NPL Tennis Club Teddington

In Memoriam: Heather Wilkinson

Heather was an active member of the tennis section for over 50 years. She was a very good player, being an important member of the ladies team and winning several NPL finals, in both singles and doubles events. She was a popular partner, with solid groundstrokes and great stamina, and she was fun to play with. She was also part of the ‘after tennis’ social scene and could be found with a group of like-minded people in the pavilion most summer Friday evenings.

When she stopped playing, she stayed in contact with the section, putting in a lot of work on the tennis garden, which was created around the tennis hut in the early 1990′s. About this time she was made a Lifetime Member of the Sports Club. I think those who knew her would agree that she helped to make the tennis section the friendly and successful club that it was in the years she belonged. (And which of course it still is!)

Her son has donated  a new bench to the Club in her memory.

-Viv Raine

The Spring Tournament can often seem more like a Winter Tournament, but this year’s, played on Easter Sunday 24th April, gave a passing impression of summer. A good field of 23 players ensured some very competitive tennis and the preliminary rounds produced two semi-finals in which Viv Raine and Glen Kirton played Wendy Smith and Kevin McCarthy, while Vicky Lim and Danny Smith met Jane Ross and Lew Lloyd. Following a picnic tea in the sun, kindly provided by Berty Clayton, the final produced a tight match in which Vicky and Danny prevailed.