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) - 376 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 2018 TUESDAY REPORT FROM WORLDWIDE IC JUNIOR CHALLENGE FINALS Another good day of tennis with wins for Italy over Uruguay, Japan over South Africa and USA over India. This means two teams remain unbeaten with 2 wins/points each. This is USA and Italy who will meet each other on Wednesday. Japan and Uruguay have one win/point each and will also meet on Wednesday. The other two teams India and South Africa will also play each other so one will get their first win. The attitude of the juniors on court has been good demonstrating the IC motto of "Hands across the net, friendship across the ocean". The matches have also been strongly contested with the winning teams being pushed to many close matches and tie breaks in order to achieve their results. There is no question the juniors are getting a great tennis experience playing others from different countries and adapting to a new surface for many of them of artificial grass. By the end of the week they should all have played 5 singles matches and probably five doubles matches which is much more than they would usually get in any regular tournament. These are also all against high quality opponents. In addition the cultural experience they are having, that the IC of Japan has arranged, is also continuing with a visit to a Buddhist temple complex after their Tuesday matches. The results and draw tables can be seen below. Photos from the days matches can be viewed here Wednesday’s matches are: USA v Italy Uruguay v Japan India v South Africa IC junior result 2018_10092018.xlsx Draw.xlsx Previous Article MONDAY REPORT FROM COMPASS IC JUNIOR CHALLENGE WORLDWIDE FINALS Next Article WEDNESDAY REPORT FROM IC WORLDWIDE FINALS