The Robert Abdesselam Trophy returns to France

The 10th edition of the Robert Abdesselam Trophy took place from 21-23 August and brought together four international teams — Spain, Belgium, Great Britain, and France — for a competition featuring one Women’s Doubles, one Men’s Doubles, and two Mixed Doubles per match.

The French team prepared with great professionalism, with some high-altitude training in the Vercors Mountains. There, the players enjoyed scenic hikes through historic forest trails, breathtaking views over Grenoble, and, most importantly, an intensive tennis camp led by their long-time coach, Bruno Delorme, at the Villard-de-Lans Tennis Club. Off the courts, the group took time to share meals and test their culinary skills, further strengthening team spirit and camaraderie.

On arrival in Avignon, the competitors faced stormy weather. The French delegation managed a short training session on the superb courts of TC Montolivet before heavy rain rendered the grounds unplayable. The club’s President, Jean-Pierre Azam, and his wife Gisèle extended a warm welcome to all participants, their passion and dedication keeping the Avignon club thriving.

Due to the weather, the opening matches were held indoors on a single court instead of the planned four outdoor ones. Consequently, the format was shortened to a single set of six games with a tie-break at 6-6. France started the tournament strongly, defeating Great Britain — a new permanent participant in this long-standing competition — by 4–0 in the morning session. Spain then overcame Belgium in the afternoon.

The following day saw the return of sunshine, allowing play to resume outdoors for the France–Belgium encounter. Despite gusty conditions, France prevailed 3–1. In the afternoon, players and guests enjoyed a guided cultural visit to the Chartreuse de Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, a monastic complex renowned for its austere order and beautiful architecture.

The evening’s social programme featured a warm reception hosted by Odile de Roubin in her elegant family residence, where players gathered for an aperitif before the official dinner — a highlight of the event’s convivial atmosphere.

The final day brought the much-anticipated showdown between France and Spain. The French team were eager to reclaim the Robert Abdesselam Trophy, which had been in Spanish hands since the 2023 edition in Madrid.

The opening women’s doubles match proved challenging: Spain’s pair, Pauline Rodriguez (a former French player ranked no. 15) and Noelia Perez Penate (former WTA no. 121), showed their experience, while France’s Isabelle Billard-Delage sustained an early injury. Fortunately, the French men responded with a narrow win, leaving the teams level at one match apiece.

It was therefore down to the two mixed doubles to decide the title (and avoid a super tie-break in the event of two tied teams after all the matches). The French pairs — Chantal Grimal & Alain Moracchini, and MarieDo Larras & Nicolas Fourcade — made an excellent start, taking their first sets 6–1 and 6–0 respectively. Grimal and Moracchini secured their victory swiftly, while Larras and Fourcade were pushed into a deciding tie-break after their Spanish opponents, Noelia Perez Penate and Fernando Gomes de Segura, fought back to win the second set 6–4. The final tie-break was a thrilling affair, keeping spectators — including loyal French supporters Pascale and Christine — on edge. In the end, the French pair held their nerve to win 11–9, sealing overall victory for France.

The Robert Abdesselam Trophy thus returned to France, to the delight of players, organisers, and supporters alike — a fitting conclusion to three days of high-level tennis, sportsmanship, and international friendship.

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Amended IC Week 2019 competition rules

IC Week 2019: Amended Rules on Trial at Le Touquet

The EC and the IC Week Organising Committee have been looking at the IC Week Rules and decided to trial some changes for the IC Week at Le Touquet. The changes will apply only to this event, and not to other Council events. The only changes of significance which we would like to draw to your attention are these:

1) The number of players in the Mercelis Trophy for women will be increased to a maximum of four and in the Windmill Trophy for men to a maximum of six, not including a non-playing Captain for both trophies. The idea is that this will allows players to rest, and for injury to be accommodated in the first instance without resorting to the Rule on Last Minute Replacements.

The key extracts from Rule 7 being trialled read as follows (and this wording is then adopted consistently throughout the rest of the Rules for the Le Touquet IC Week)

7. COMPOSITION OF TEAMS:

a. Each team for the Windmill Trophy shall consist of four men playing IC members, two in each of two categories: Open and Senior, the latter must have reached the age of 45 during the calendar year of the competition. Each team may, however, bring a maximum of three players in each category, making a maximum total of six playing members in a team.

Teams may have an additional non-playing Captain. If the Captain is a playing member of the team, however, the maximum number in the team shall be six.

[Amended rule on trial and in effect only at the IC Week in Le Touquet in 2019.]

b. Each team for the Mercelis Trophy shall consist of two women playing IC members, one in each of two categories, Open and Senior, the latter must have reached the age of 40 during the calendar year of the competition. Each team may, however, bring a maximum of two players in each age category making a maximum of four playing members in a team.

Teams may have an additional non-playing Captain. If the Captain is a playing member of the team, however, the maximum number in the team shall be four.

[Amended rule on trial and in effect only at the IC Week in Le Touquet in 2019.]

Please note that the IC of France has confirmed that there will be no financial implications with respect to the entry fee for IC Week 2019 in terms of the increase in the number of players under these Rules.

2) There is also a new Rule that is being trialled at Le Touquet concerning the shortening of matches in the event of bad weather or a forecast of bad weather. The relevant extract from Rule 11 being trialled reads as follows:

11. THE SCORING SYSTEM:

In the event of a bad weather forecast, lack of courts, or other time limiting factors, the Organizing Committee may shorten matches to the best of three short sets with a normal tie-break at 4-all.

[Amended rule on trial and in effect only at the IC Week in Le Touquet in 2019.]

A decision to adopt the bad weather format must be advised before the beginning of the Competition if the rule applies to the full Competition, or before the beginning of each day of the Competition, and must be communicated to each Captain at the time he nominates his team for the day.

3) Lastly we would like to remind you of Rule 6d on Eligibility and age in the Open Category which was on trial at the Berlin IC Week in 2017 and which has now been formally adopted following positive feedback at and after the event:

6. ELIGIBILITY:

d. In the Open Category only, players who are between the ages of 18 years and 28 years of age, in order to qualify for selection for an IC Week Team, must have been a member of their respective IC Club for two years prior to the event (players may be in the second year of membership at the time of the event), and they must have played two matches for their IC Club. Participation in the IC Junior Challenge (in a regional event or in the finals) will qualify as one match contributing towards this eligibility.

[New rule adopted after trialling at the IC Week in Berlin in 2017.]

The drafting work on the IC Week Rules can be seen here on the IC Council website. A final version of these provisional Rules will be posted shortly after the EC Meeting at Roland-Garros in late May.