IC Tennis

In October, the IC of Hong Kong was delighted to welcome the IC of the United States (USIC) for its first-ever visit to Hong Kong, and for many of the visiting players, their first experience of Asia.

The USIC team travelled with 12 players, accompanied by their spouses, including USIC President Robb Bunnen. The fixture was hosted on 3 October at the Hong Kong Country Club, which provided an excellent venue for this historic occasion.

Played on a hot and humid day, the matches were contested in great spirit, with both teams rising to the physical challenge of the conditions. On court, USIC claimed an 8-4 victory after a series of competitive encounters, but the result was very much secondary to the atmosphere of friendship and international camaraderie.

Off the court, members of the IC of Hong Kong were pleased to extend warm hospitality to our guests, sharing not only tennis but also the culture and energy of the city. The visit was a memorable one for players and supporters alike and represented an important step in strengthening international ties within the global IC community.

The 10th Robert Abdesselam Trophy (21–23 August) brought Spain, Belgium, Great Britain and France together for three days of top-level doubles and mixed doubles tennis.

After high-altitude preparation in the Vercors and a rain-hit start in Avignon, France built momentum with strong wins over Great Britain and Belgium. Sunshine returned for a thrilling final against Spain, decided by two dramatic mixed doubles. France held their nerve in a nail-biting 11–9 tie-break to seal victory and bring the trophy back home — a perfect blend of competition, camaraderie and international friendship.

The Frankfurt Tennisclub 1914 Palmengarten was the venue at the end of August for the second Gottfried von Cramm Trophy, a team competition in which one women's singles, one men's singles and a mixed doubles are held in each match.

In Frankfurt, five teams from six nations participated: Spain, Great Britain, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland in conjunction with Canada. Due to the odd number of teams, the format required all teams to play everyone else.

After three rounds, the teams from Spain and Great Britain were in the lead. In the last game of the tournament (against Germany), the British took the points to pass Spain and win the trophy. Below is the final ranking and the individual players:

Great Britain (Emily Arbuthnott, Pedro Ocana)

Spain (Isabel Fernandez, Carlos Garcia Villanieva)

Germany (Natali Gumbrecht, Tim Richter)

Luxembourg (Tatiana Silbereisen)

Switzerland / Canada (Kasia Poplawski)