November 2025 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. Documents to download Trophée Robert-Abdesselam 2025(.pdf, 317.22 KB) - 395 download(s) Previous Article Team USA triumphs at the IC of Canada’s 60th anniversary event Tags: Robert Abdesselam Trophy Load last 15 media item(s)Loading...
October 2021 France & Germany win Potter Cup and Two Presidents’ Cup titles France’s men’s and Germany’s ladies’ teams are the champions of the 48th Potter Cup and IV Two Presidents’ Cup respectively, after the competitions were held in Barcelona during the weekend of October 21-24, 2021. 35 years on from their last title, France held aloft the trophy after beating Italy 4/3 in a gruelling final that could have gone either way. With France leading 3/2 after the five singles matches, Italy levelled the tie with the first doubles match, a convincing win for Marcelo Charpentier & Lorenzo Pennisi. This set the stage for a deciding doubles match, won by Rodolphe Gilbert & Christophe Gibiard 7-6(3) 6-1 over Roberto Pertosa & Andrea Monti. Playing at the RC Polo, the two teams had identical paths to the final, dropping just one match in each of their opening two ties. Italy beat Great Britain and Germany in the top half of the draw. Seeded second, France overcame the USA and the hosts and defending champions, Spain. The IC Spain team eventually finished in fourth place. Captained by Santiago Tintore, it included Jordi Mas, Alex Lopez Moron, Xavier Llucià, Marc Becker, Oriol Molina, Antonio Diaz de las Casas and David Pons. World Champions Germany arrived as top seeds and favourites to win the ladies’ IV Two Presidents’ Cup title that had been in the hands of the hosts since its first edition in 2018. They eventually won all three of their matches (against Spain B, Great Britain and, in the final, Spain) with a decisive 2/0 score line. The final produced the match of the tournament, in which Germany’s world #1 of the Over 40s category Manon Kruse was forced to battle hard against Spain’s Gisela Riera before eventually securing a 6-3 5-7 7-6(6) win. Gitte Müller beat Cristina Fontelles for the loss of just one game in the other singles match, securing Germany an insurmountable 2/0 win. The IC Spain women’s team was rounded off by Eva Bes and Neus Avila, and for its part had beaten Belgium and Italy at the RCT Barcelona-1899, before the ladies’ competition moved to the RC Polo for the finals. A total of 15 teams – 8 men’s and 7 ladies’ – were in action over the weekend. The official dinner saw the players and captains express their gratitude - for the organisation and for the work carried out by the late IC President, Juan Maria Tintoré. The IC Spain in return thanked the players for showing their commitment to the event. In line with tradition, the tournament also staged its popular tennis clinic for players with intellectual disabilities from the ACELL Federation, who took the opportunity to play alongside Potter Cup participants during the on-court session. In addition to the two hosting clubs, the Potter Cup was supported by the Federació Catalana de Tennis, the IC Council, the Ajuntament de Barcelona, the Consell Català de l’Esport and the Real Federación Española de Tenis. Documents to download LADIES FINAL DRAW(.pdf, 108.22 KB) - 1152 download(s) MEN'S FINAL DRAW(.pdf, 109.29 KB) - 1240 download(s) Previous Article Join the USIC Week 2022 Next Article Happy 100th Birthday Hélène Salvetat