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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South Africa Win Qualfying Leg of Rod Laver Junior Challenge

After a break of three years thanks to Covid, the IC Rod Laver Worldwide junior challenge is up and running again. Qualifying takes place this year on five continents with the winners going through to the finals which are to be held in California in November 2023.

We once again staged the African qualifying event with the hope initially that we could assemble more teams and with the aim of improving the quality of play. We had extended invitations to Israel and Ethiopia but, sadly, the cost of airfares prohibited them from accepting. We had also invited Zimbabwe but due to the extremely poor economic conditions there, they too were unable to accept.

However, we were able to welcome both Madagascar and Namibia both of whom had played before, but not for far too long. So, along with the IC SA team and a team from the Tennis SA Development hubs, we had four teams competing. As expected, the IC SA and Madagascar teams were far too strong for both the others, so it left these two to battle out for the prestige and honour of representing Africa in the final.

It was a final befitting the occasion. It was the most closely contested final on record with some long intriguing matches where a point here and there could have gone the other way and made a different result possible. The two girls singles were split but then the IC SA boys took charge winning both their matches. It was left to the girls to win their doubles and IC SA were through to the final.

Having Madagascar here improved the quality of the final but sadly, both the other teams were outclassed. It must be stated that the Tennis SA Development team showed a marked improvement in quality and ability than the similar team of three years ago. This proves that the work being done in the local townships where these Development hubs are staged, is bearing fruit. Long may this annual improvement continue. They beat Namibia convincingly on the last day.

Namibia, sadly, have very little opportunity to have quality tennis in their country. With just two major towns, and the vast distances they must travel, it his holding back any meaningful progress despite players showing class and ability. However, if keenness was a yard stick, they would be a top playing country.

We held a hugely successful clinic on the Saturday morning having invited players from 8-10 years to come along from local townships, and we had 34 children and 5 coaches. With qualified coaches to run the clinic plus the team players from the competing teams, they were shown the benefit of warming up and stretching. This was followed by Play and Stay exercises ending with some fun games. Nando’s kindly gave the kids a chicken lunch.

It was a huge pleasure for us to stage this event and with Israel being the only other IC member on the continent, we are delighted to ensure that Africa is represented in the finals.

So, congratulations to the IC SA team in qualifying and to Madagascar for making the final a truly worthy occasion.