Marks Park Tennis Club

🎾 Marks Park Ladies A vs Bryanston SC A
Saturday saw the Awesome As take on Bryanston Sports Club in what turned into an afternoon of great tennis, long rallies, strategic discussions, third-set drama and just enough tension to keep everyone on the supporters’ balcony fully entertained. Joc got the ball rolling for Marks Park with a convincing straight-sets win over her young opponent. Meanwhile, Sarah was locked in battle with an old foe. Despite fighting all the way, she eventually went down in a third-set super tiebreak narrowly missing her first ever win over Rosie. Tracey took to the court while Sarah was still going, and despite being a little worn and carrying an injury from a recent fall (while running), she did what Tracey does best: gave absolutely everything and ran down just about every ball that had the audacity to land on her side of the court. With Sarah finally off court, Lisa stepped in and managed to sneak a very close first set against her opponent. Shannon, however, clearly did not appreciate the suspense and responded emphatically by taking the second set. And so, for the second time that afternoon, a third-set decider loomed. This time, Marks Park squeaked out the win. Meanwhile, just behind Lisa, Tracey had managed to win her first set but was still battling away in the second. Unfortunately, that set slipped away and, you guessed it, another third-set tiebreak decider appeared on the horizon. Determination, grit and probably a little bit of stubbornness secured a long and incredibly close win for Tracey. Marks Park headed into the doubles with a 3–1 lead in matches, but with only a 6–4 advantage in sets, there was absolutely no room for complacency. Bryanston Sports Club knew the importance of getting the doubles line-up right. A serious and lengthy team discussion followed, with strategy being discussed, analysed and presumably discussed again just to make absolutely sure everyone knew what was going on. Eventually, the BSC team emerged from their strategy summit and took to the courts. Their plan appeared to be working. At number one doubles, Bryanston Sports Club took a decisive win, while Lisa and Joc had made a comfortable start by taking the first set. But BSC were not going quietly. They fought back strongly in the second set and opened up a 4–2 lead. With Marks Park now leading 3–2 in matches, the possibility of yet another third-set tiebreak was becoming a little too real. Tension was rising both on court and on the supporters’ balcony. Enter Joc. Cool, calm and consistent, Joc showed exactly why she is so valuable in these pressure situations. A couple of perfectly timed lobs helped Marks Park break serve, before Joc calmly held her own service game to level the set at 4–4. Bridget then held comfortably to put BSC ahead 5–4. And then… momentum shifted. Marks Park won the final three games to close out the match and, more importantly, secure the overall team victory.

It was a fantastic afternoon of competitive tennis played in great spirit against familiar and friendly faces from Bryanston Sports Club. There was plenty to celebrate — not least because our most loyal supporter, Abri, was celebrating his birthday. What better birthday present than watching the Awesome As produce a display of fighting spirit, teamwork and never-say-die tennis? Happy birthday, Abri — and thank you for continuing to cheer us on! A great afternoon, a great team effort and another reminder that the match is never over until the last ball has bounced!
Lisa

🎾 Marks Park Men's A vs CCJ A — The Battle of the Week!

Massive battle - the boys arrived ready for war!

The singles kicked off with Rishay unfortunately feeling under the weather and going down in his match. 🤒

Then came Phil, drawn against a junior. Not just any junior… a 14-year-old, even younger than last week! Some would say he's s looking at becoming a day care manager 👶🎾. Phil bravely fought through an epic three-set battle, proving that experience, wisdom and being old enough to remember dial-up internet still aren't enough to beat a teenager. 😂

James kept his cool and cruised to a comfortable singles victory, showing everyone how it's supposed to be done.

Then came Lloyd, who found himself a set and a break down. Rather than panic, he decided to make things unnecessarily dramatic, fighting all the way back to win the match! 💪🔥

That left us all even after the singles, meaning the doubles would decide everything. And decide it, they did!

Both doubles teams stepped up and won their matches in three sets, producing some seriously big tennis when it mattered most. In fact, the tie was so close that one single loss in the doubles would have cost us the entire match on games.

A massive win for Marks Park A! Huge fighting spirit from everyone, some incredible tennis, and another battle where the team refused to give up.
Lloyd

🎾 Marks Park Ladies B vs Rivonia A

Marks Park Ladies B took on Rivonia in what was expected to be a slightly shorter afternoon than usual. However, despite occupying two empty courts on arrival to get all the singles underway, play still stretched on longer than anticipated. Two matches went to a third-set tiebreak, so we were grateful we had the opportunity to play on additional courts.

Carryn and Jackie spent much of their singles match discussing Court 9 and its rather unusual surface, both wondering whether they had completely lost the plot on a tennis court!

Despite a tremendous effort from the team, we went down 68-47. As always, it was an extremely enjoyable league fixture against old friends and long-standing rivals. Good sportsmanship and ending the day with a drink afterwards.

It was another great afternoon watching all the teams compete. A special thank you to CCJ for the eats.
Carryn

🎾 Marks Park Men's B vs German Club B
Marks Park B rolled into the German Country Club bright and cheerful, ready to take on their B Team.

It was a tale of two stories right from the first serve:
Marko decided to turn his singles match into an endurance sport. Two hours later he finally clinched it. The rest of us? In and out in under an hour. Efficiency vs. cardio, you choose 😅!

Score going into doubles: 3-1 to us. Then both doubles decided to be dramatic and go to three setters. Heart rates up, dignity down... but we pulled it out 4-2!

And the real MVP? The beer afterwards. Instant pain relief for tired legs and bruised egos 🍻!

Overall: won the match, lost some brain cells, gained a buzz. Successful Sunday!

Thank you to the German Club for hosting since access to Marks Park was restricted by a road race. We appreciate your hospitality.
Marko

🎾 Marks Park Men's C vs Bryanston Country Club B
Marks Park C secured a narrow 53–51 victory over Bryanston Country Club B on a beautiful morning for tennis. Our hosts at Bryanston were extremely hospitable and the fixture was played in a good spirit. We started well by winning the opening two singles, before Bryanston fought back strongly to take the remaining singles, leaving us trailing 32–20 heading into the doubles. The Marks Park team then produced an excellent comeback, winning all four doubles matches to overturn the deficit and secure a hard-fought 53–51 victory. A thoroughly enjoyable morning of competitive tennis, made all the better by Bryanston’s warm hospitality and a terrific team effort from Marks Park.
Bruce

🎾 Marks Park Men's D vs KenRho A
KenRho proved to be a tough challenge. The doubles were highly contested with a determined performance from our team. Nevertheless, we entered the singles with a deficit of 12 games. Despite Bernard and Nstako beating their number 1 and 2 seeds, Abri securing 6 games and the injured Nico never giving up MP was unable to overcome the deficit. We will be back stronger next week!
Bernard

On Saturday our Ladies A team will play Randburg A while the B team faces CCJ A, both at Marks Park. The Men’s A team take on Randburg B at the German Club.

On Sunday, the Men's B team is away to Randburg C. Our C and D teams are both at home, playing Pirates A and Fairland C respectively.

We wish you all good luck and happy playing!
Lynda

We are happy to announce the dates for our annual Junior Championships. The event will be played as follows:
Under 13 and Under 15 Boys and Girls - Sunday 20 September - entries close 13 September
Under 10 (orange ball, mini-court) and Under 11 (green ball, full court) - Sunday 18 October - entries close 11 October
Please contact [email protected] for further details.

The 2026 League season started on a beautiful Joburg winter weekend. Who would live anywhere else?

Marks Park Ladies A vs Rivonia A
Our masterplan to turn home advantage nearly backfired when one of the Bundes League newcomers, Rivonia, arrived “guns blazing” after their surprise promotion. Joc and Sarah went down in close singles matches, leaving us 0–2 after the first round. Lisa and Tracey restored parity with two straight-set singles wins, and the final result hinged on the doubles. Marks Park normally relies on “years” of experience for doubles, but these “years” were equally matched on the day by the opponents.

Joc and Lisa wrapped up their match at number 2 while the number 1 doubles was still in the balance, ensuring us a draw in matches and a possible games count. Rivonia took the first set of the top doubles 6–3, and it looked like the tie might really be decided on games. However, Tracey and Sarah staged a brilliant fightback, taking the second set and then riding the momentum to win the third-set tiebreak. The dynamic duo sealed an outright 4–2 victory for the Awesome A team — drama, grit and a bit of mayhem on court.

Marks Park A served snacks for all – a cunning plan to win hearts as well as points and ensure no complaints that we will enjoy home-ground advantage each week! Off court, the rivalry continued — this time with forks — in a heated debate over chocolate fridge tart versus lemon squares. Carryn was a proud chocolate partisan; Sarah argued for citrus justice. CCJ has bravely volunteered to cater the next round — they’ll need more than napkins to live up to the bar set by our tennis and tea time theatrics!
Lisa

Marks Park Ladies B vs Randburg A Saturday’s match was both enjoyable and memorable. We came up against a very young and exceptionally talented group of players whose ability was impressive. While their manners, sportsmanship, and respect for their opponents were worth noting, their outstanding tennis truly stood out.

Congratulations to the Randburg team, who displayed energy and determination, testing the much older Marks Park team throughout the day. We want to thank the Marks Park A ladies for the after-match eats. It was a pleasure seeing all the ladies' teams at one venue.
Carryn

Marks Park Men’s A vs German Country Club
Bundes League is back, and so are the stress, questionable line calls, and post-match stories that somehow get better with every retelling!

James decided there was no point making life easy. After finding himself a set and a break down, he casually hit the "comeback" button and stormed back to win in three sets. We suspect he was just trying to give the spectators their money's worth. Lloyd was up next and clearly had dinner plans, making quick work of his opponent with a commanding victory. No drama, no fuss—just business. Phil gave it everything he had but, unfortunately, ran into one of the league's rising stars. He battled hard, kept the rallies entertaining, and made his opponent earn every point. Uys wrapped up the singles with another rock-solid victory, giving Marks Park a 3-1 lead and plenty of confidence heading into the doubles.

The doubles brought a little frustration. Lloyd and Phil were on the wrong side of a few crucial points that could've completely changed the match, proving once again that tennis can be a wonderfully cruel sport. Meanwhile, James and Uys had the easiest doubles win of their careers after their opponents withdrew owing to injury.

When the dust settled, we claimed a fantastic 8-5 victory to kick off the season in style. The team started the campaign with a win; the vibes are high, the confidence is growing, and, most importantly... nobody forgot where the clubhouse fridge was afterwards!
Lloyd

Marks Park Men’s B vs River Ridge A
The B Team rocked up way too early on a gorgeous Sunday morning, all bright-eyed and ready to take on the seasoned players of River Ridge Club.

Singles drama: Alec vs his arch-nemesis David Griesel. Alec threw everything, including the kitchen sink, at him. Result? Down in two brutal sets. Moral victory: 100%. Actual victory: 0. Marko played 4D chess. Lost the second set 6-0 on purpose, obviously, just to flex... then snatched the match in a third-set tie-break. Tactical genius or just forgot how to play for 20 minutes? We’ll never know. Neil fought like a gladiator and lost 8-10 in the third-set tie-break - so close he could taste it. Probably still tasting it! Jacques went toe-to-toe with a seasoned master and... learned a lot. A very educational loss!

Doubles: Also tough. Both our pairs ran into teams that were better on the day. We applaud them. We also cry a little.

The real win: David’s boerie rolls with chakalaka sauce. 10/10, would lose again for that!
Marko

Marks Park Men’s C vs Soweto Giants
“Champions keep playing until they get it right.” — Billie Jean King

While those words were coined for the biggest stages in tennis, they perfectly captured the spirit of the opening league fixture as Marks Park C kicked off the season with a convincing 64–40 victory over Soweto A.

Our team got off to an ideal start, with Bruce and Richard setting the tone through commanding singles victories. Their strong performances immediately put the home side in control and provided the perfect platform for the rest of the team.

From there, our established doubles pairings showed exactly why continuity matters. Excellent communication, consistent shot-making and solid teamwork resulted in victories in every doubles encounter, steadily building an unassailable lead.

As always, the contest was played in great spirit. By the end of the tie there were plenty of sore muscles, good-natured banter, and widespread agreement that a restful Sunday afternoon was well deserved after an energetic morning on court.

No league fixture is complete without some post-match camaraderie, and the pizza certainly hit the spot as both teams reflected on an enjoyable contest. It was the perfect way to mark the start of the league season—competitive tennis, excellent sportsmanship, and good company.
Louis

Marks Park Men’s D vs UJ A
An ambitious and experienced D team faced the up-and-coming UJ A team.

Josiah led the charge with powerful serves, securing an impressive victory in singles, while Ntsako followed his footsteps with another win. Nico, despite facing a tricky opponent who sliced all his shots, won important games, ensuring we were in the lead after the round of singles.

The same momentum was carried into the doubles. Whilst the number 1 pair remained unbeaten, the second pair lost one match and won the second.

Although our opponents never gave up and displayed great sportsmanship, in the end the D team’s victory was emphatic!
Bernard

Next weekend is a long one, so no matches have been scheduled. On Saturday, 15 August, the Ladies A and B teams will play at home against Bryanston Sports A and Rivonia A respectively. The Men’s A will face CCJ A at the German Club. On Sunday, 16 August, the Men’s B team will take on the German CC B at home while the C team travels north to play Bryanston CC B and the D team heads east to play KenRho B. Good luck to all our teams!

Lynda

Congratulations, Marks Park B... provincial champions of the AMEX championship. We are so proud of you. Thank you to Lisa Wade, Tennis South Africa and AMEX for a great event.


Park

Tennis-playing guests are welcome to join us. Entries close on 1 July.

Our annual Ladies Doubles Tournament was a great success this morning. Thanks to all who supported us and congratulations to Danielle and Lisca (winners) and Lisa and Jocelyn (runners-up). Tennis was the winner!

Entries close tomorrow, 21 June... please join us. Just click on the link https://forms.gle/iSj5nabXfitJuk8k6