Sunday was the day for Conventional Singles and Latin. Poland’s Kasia Bloch continued her flurry of Golds taking the Single Ladies 2 title against a strong field of over ten dancers.

Gary and Paula danced for Team GB in the Latin Combi 2 event with eight couples on the floor. They danced confidently through the first round and heat and were extremely pleased to make the final placing sixth. Top spots went again to the Polish couple of Marek and Kasia with bronze to one of the home couples from Germany, Stefan and Vanessa.

Gary said “We weren’t sure if we would make the final given the strong competition, especially from the Asian region. Winning over couples from Hong Kong and Japan to make the final is a great result for us. We have a new trainer this year, Accursio Romeo, so we have new choreography which is always a challenge, so we’re really pleased to get this result early on. We now start the hard work with Accursio to hone technique and presentation in preparation for the World Championships in Belgium in October”.

Tabitha Fung, wheelchair tennis player.

I started playing wheelchair tennis in the autumn of 2015. When tournaments started in spring 2016, with the encouragement from my tennis club where I train in Birmingham, and the support of the Tennis Foundation, I very quickly became addicted to competing in the National Wheelchair Tennis Series tournaments. Now in my second year of tournaments, my game has improved vastly; I have already won medals and awards. The Tennis Foundation are encouraging me to stretch my wings further this year by joining the main draw rather than stay in novice. I have tried this a couple of times and I’m reassured to know that if there is a particularly strong main draw, I am supported in dropping back to B draw (if there is one) or novice.

As a new player I remember how nervous I was at my first tournament but everyone was so friendly and welcoming. I encourage new players to enter the tournaments, take a push outside your comfort zone, it’s amazing match experience and you get to meet a seriously amazing group of people who you will very quickly call friends.

Glen Gent completed the RMA Sport National Wheelchair Tennis Series in Grantham with singles and doubles titles over the weekend.

The 13-strong mixed singles draw at Grantham Tennis Centre began with comfortable early wins for the leading players. As the competition progressed, Val Fisher and Helen Bond earned their places in the last four. Bond edged out Dan Metcalfe-Hall 6-3, 7-6(4) in the last eight, while Fisher made it back-to-back straight sets wins with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Gary Cox.

However, Gent and Philip Fielding were dominant from the start as they booked their places in the final. Runner-up in the last National Series tournament in Warwick, Fielding dropped just two games in his first match in Grantham. He subsequently beat Bond 6-0, 6-1 in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Gent recorded back-to-back 6-0, 6-0 wins to reach the final.

Referee Terri Scooper said of the RMA Sport National Wheelchair Tennis Series: “It’s a terrific opportunity for wheelchair tennis players to take part in events all across the country,”

“It was an epic match, went all the way to the third set which was a match tie-break.”

The final provided a much tougher contest for both players. Fielding made much the better start, but Gent would not relent. After winning a second set tie-break, he went on to take the deciding match tie-break for a 0-6, 7-6(5), (10-5) victory.

Referee, Terri Scooper said of the Mens Singles Final: “It was an epic match, went all the way to the third set which was a match tie-break.”

Gent and Fielding also met in the final of the doubles. Cox and Fielding dropped just one game en route to the final, beating Darren Whitlock and Metcalfe-Hall 6-0, 6-0 in the semis. Meanwhile, Gent again enjoyed successive 6-0, 6-0 wins as he partnered Ben Johnson-Rolfe to the title decider.

As with the singles event, the doubles final culminated in a deciding match tie-break. But once again Gent emerged victorious, joining forces with Johnson-Rolfe to win 6-2, 1-6, (10-7).

The 2017 RMA Sport National Wheelchair Tennis Series continues in Taunton this coming weekend, 10-11 June.

Next on the Competition Calendar

Now, Gary and Paula are looking forward to their upcoming competitions in June. The first weekend, 2-3 June 2017, Gary and Paula will be in Denmark at the Danish Open Wheelchair Dance Competition competing in Select Latin, Ladies Singles, Senior Latin and Freestyle Combi. Then, the pair will represent Great Britain at the World Para Dance Sport Mainhatten Cup in Germany a couple of weeks later.