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) - 362 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...
January 2018 Richard Cousins, CEO, Compass Group Members of the International Lawn Tennis Club all over the world will be sorry to learn of the sudden and tragic death in an air crash, of Richard Cousins, the CEO of Compass Group and his family, over the New Year period. Richard was a great friend to the IC. He was extremely supportive of the International Club’s Junior Challenge, our world-wide event for 16yr-old tennis players, sponsorship agreements for which he inherited from previous chairmen, Sir Francis McKay and later Sir Roy Gardner. For the last fourteen years Compass Group has sponsored this event to an ever-increasing extent. From 2016, Compass increased their support once again and were given the title sponsorship and it has become known all over the world as “The Compass IC Junior Challenge”, with more than 1000 junior international players having participated to date. This has often given juniors their first invaluable taste of international competition. An under-privileged clinic takes place the day before each Challenge, which is led by the young tennis players taking part, which serves as a salutary lesson to them and the Compass Group were particularly keen on this aspect. Richard had recently advised that he was retiring in March 2018 and that unfortunately, Compass would no longer be able to sponsor the IC Junior Challenge from 2019 onwards. Obviously, this was not good news, but we will always be extremely grateful for the tremendous support the IC has received from Richard and the Compass Group up to this year, to enable us to stage this important IC event for aspiring youngsters. Our thoughts go out to his extended family and his work colleagues who may rest assured that he will be remembered fondly during the Junior Challenge finals in Tokyo later this year. Julian Tatum NB The world-wide final of The Compass IC Junior Challenge takes place in Tokyo, Oct 6-12th 2018. Previous Article Press Release - IC Website Management Next Article Congratulations Roger Federer and Caroline Wozniacki