The season’s second fixture in the NIC Yorkshire VI Tennis League took place at the excellent York St John University sports campus, where players received a warm welcome and enjoyed a fantastic day of competitive tennis.
Representatives from our sponsors sent their best wishes to all players, volunteers and umpires. Their ongoing support continues to play a vital role in providing opportunities to compete for visually impaired tennis players across Yorkshire and helping the league continue to grow.
A huge thank you goes to the volunteers who worked tirelessly throughout the day, helping everything run smoothly from start to finish. They were joined by our two LTA umpires, whose calm and commanding presence ensured matches were played in the right spirit and to a high standard. Despite warm and humid conditions inside the venue, both volunteers and officials remained on hand throughout the day, doing a fantastic job of keeping the matches flowing and the event running to schedule.
With the Open category unfortunately unable to take place due to last-minute player withdrawals, attention turned to the B1 and B2+ events, where there was plenty of exciting tennis on show.
The B1 competition produced some closely fought matches throughout the day. Emily Cooney and Klaudia Orzel, representing East Yorkshire on this occasion, emerged as winners after a series of strong performances. The battle for the regional top spot went right down to the wire, with everything to play for in the final B1 match.
Emily and Klaudia were eventually edged out by South Yorkshire’s Gavin Griffiths and Sandra Brasher in a thrilling 7-6(4) contest. Despite the defeat, the East Yorkshire pair topped the day’s B1 standings thanks to a slender 2% advantage in game points – a dramatic finish that highlighted just how competitive the category has become.
In the B2+ category, South Yorkshire’s Ameen Memon and Visrat Bhatti claimed top spot after an impressive day on court. The final match of the category was a real thriller, with North Yorkshire and South Yorkshire going head-to-head, both knowing that victory would secure first place.
The match remained on serve until the North Yorkshire pair of Jayanti Mistry and Rachel Abel broke serve to move into a 5-3 lead. Serving for the match, they looked set to secure the win, but South Yorkshire had other ideas. After breaking back immediately, Ameen and Visrat found another gear, reeling off the next three games to complete a remarkable 7-5 victory and secure maximum points in the process.
The standard of tennis on display throughout the day was excellent, with plenty of competitive matches and several dramatic finishes. With two fixtures now complete, the race for league honours is beginning to take shape.
With two fixtures now complete and 18 matches recorded, the league table is beginning to take shape, although there’s still plenty of tennis to be played before the champions are crowned. The standard continues to improve with every fixture, and it has been particularly encouraging to see newer players growing in confidence and making a real impact.
We now look forward to the next round in Leeds, where players will continue to demonstrate their commitment to the league, battle hard on court, and proudly represent their Yorkshire regions in what is proving to be an inspiring league season.
Fixture Winners
League Table After Matchday 2
| Position | Region | Points |
| 1 | South Yorkshire | 28 |
| 2 | West Yorkshire | 20* |
| 3 | North Yorkshire | 10* |
| 4 | East Yorkshire | 8* |
* Note: the points shown are subject to penalty points adjustments as per League Rules.
