With the new year already well underway, Collaroy again cranked up the Barbie to celebrate the first Grand Slam of the Year, the Australian Open.
Old drawers and relatives’ cupboards were raided to meet the call to dress in Green and Gold. Valerie again rose to the occasion… (she obviously has a wardrobe dedicated to Grand Slam fashion). Anita was resplendent in a classic Aussie jersey. Dave dressed as an Irish immigrant, Stuart donned the yellow of Ecuador and Eri, John H and Sarah may just be colour blind. Of course, Garry had to look no further than his regular cache of colourful tennis attire.
There were some bona fide Aussie team uniforms on display too.
Though some members were on holiday, either overseas or in Melbourne for the Finals, we still managed close to 40 players across 5 courts, with Court 4 designated as a ‘hitting court’ for the day. Competitors played within their group per court, swapping partners after each match and playing a minimum of 4 (and sometimes 5) matches across the afternoon.
Lynne, Kate, Lavinia, Ros and co. prepared a rolling feast of Aussie treats from Lamingtons to Iced Vovos, those famous Ros slices and delicious fresh fruit, while stalwarts Eric and Peter C. fired up the Barbie to cook a range of delicious sausages and onions, (Eric looking a little like an Aussie Smurf in his non-traditional Aussie head gear). John F. was later press-ganged into taking up the tongs after jokingly complaining about the quality of the pre-sliced onions. (That'll teach you John.)
The tennis was willing on all courts with winners measured by the cumulative individual total of games won over the course of a minimum 4 matches played. The roll call of newly minted CTC Grand Slam Champions contained some fresh faces among the usual suspects… it read as follows:
Court 1 – Stuart S.
Court 2 – Geoff A.
Court 3 – Peter G
Court 5 – Garry M.
Court 6 – Anna C.
Richard and Carmen were upset that they weren’t able to defend their titles as Grand Slam winners last year, Richard in particular aggrieved when he discovered he was on the same court as Anna C. As always, Anna proved tactically astute by turning up late when most competitors were starting to tire and/or had consumed the odd beverage or two, then racing through her matches, back-to-back.
As always, prizes were awarded to the Court Winners and also to the ‘best dressed’. It was decided that the latter awards on this occasion would go to Maryanne and Damo, as the gear they wore held a touch of Aussie sporting history. Maryanne played in a top and shorts that her daughter had worn before her… running hurdles at both the Paris and Tokyo Olympic Games! She also brought along additional Olympic gear for Melinda and Angie to model. Damo sported a shirt his son had worn as an Australian Cross-Country representative... the legacy continues.
There was a sad note to the day when Clarrie B., playing his first match back since surgery, suffered a nasty fall while chasing a short ball on Court 1. (Note: Dave K. was NOT responsible… not even on the court!)
Clarrie managed to dislocate a finger and sustain some bad cuts and had to be taken to hospital by ambulance for treatment. But in typical Aussie style, he toughed it out, making light of his injuries and continued to joke about his circumstance while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. The good news is that he was released to come home later that day and is now recovering under the careful supervision of Nurse Lynne. Get better quickly Clarrie!
With the social tennis winding down, we were treated to a wonderful climax on AO Day – the delayed Club Championship Open Mixed Doubles Final between Greg B’s ‘kids’ – Kelly and Mike (the reigning Champions) and contenders Janet and Jan. The result of this match was tough to predict with many thinking Jan’s power hitting may prove the difference.
But the brother/sister act refused to give up their title, Kelly as consistent as ever and Mike covering more territory than Robert de Castella and Steve Moneghetti in their prime… combined! The end result was a straight sets victory to the siblings with proud dad Greg cheering them on from the grandstand. Congratulations Kelly and Mike for retaining your title.
A presentation ceremony was held to close out the day, with all players in the Mixed Final receiving their trophies and the winners of AO Day 2025 taking home melt-in-your-mouth prizes.
We now have nearly four months to prepare for French Open Day, when again, a little bit of Roland Garros will be transported to Collaroy. ALLEZ!
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