There was more sun at the All Collaroy Almost-Lawn Tennis Club on Saturday, 13 July 2024 than had been seen in 2 weeks at this year’s actual Wimbledon Championships.
Despite it being school holidays, members still turned up in big numbers (around 40!), with five courts in action for the Round Robin and Court 4 kept spare for those who forgot to register (!). Dazzling white shone from every court with hints of purple and green on show, denoting Wimbledon’s century-old colours.
Simone graced the courts with flowers in her hair, turning the heads of those judging ‘Best Dressed’. But when 5-time Wimbledon Champion, Bjorn Borg himself, turned up, it was hard to look elsewhere for a winner. (Turns out ‘Bjorn’ was actually Geoff Ashdown in a blonde wig and headband, which he played in all day! Had he been using a Donnay racquet, it would have been near impossible to tell him apart from the original!)
The tennis reached remarkable heights, with Kenny just nudging out Eri for honours on Court 1, Warren the victor on Court 3 and Maryanne winning Gold on Court 6. Incredibly, on both our Centre Courts (2 and 5), total games were tied. It was impossible to split Glenn and Anita on Court 2 (so to speak) and Mark and Clair on Court 5 (though as Clair was undefeated in her 4 matches, she was declared the Court 5 winner).
Inside the clubhouse, Lynne, Ros and the team served scones with jam and cream, fresh strawberries and of course, refreshing PIMMs and Lemonade… (which was so popular, we ran out of lemonade, forcing Dave to discover that PIMMs and Canadian Club goes together pretty well too!).
While we missed the catwalk models on display at our French Open event, the post-tournament presentation still held a surprise. Winners from every court were awarded their choice of a range of prizes and received them with dignity, but when ‘Bjorn’ accepted his Best Dressed prize, an audible gasp could be heard throughout the room as he grandly swept a blushing Lynne off her feet in a very non-Swedish ‘dip and kiss’ move. (Always the heart throb Bjorn.)
This was another wonderful Grand Slam event at Collaroy Tennis Club, leaving just one more on the calendar for 2024. In September, we’ll recreate the brash New York vibe of the US Open. Will Bjorn visit us yet again? Or will Johnny Mac make a rare appearance in Collaroy? Only time will tell.
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