At 9:00am on 18th April 2026, two men walked onto court at St George's School Indoor Tennis Centre, marking the return of the OT Tennis Club after over 50 years of slumber. Max Kensington (HS 16-21), and Spencer Alderton (WW 12-17) took up their positions to commence proceedings of the IPSOBLTA D'Abernon Cup qualifying round.  

This annual competition sees the best old boys teams from public schools around the country come together in a rekindling of old rivalries. The qualifying round consists of 5 teams competing in a round robin format, in matches of 6 games with a 7th game tiebreak.

Max and Spencer started well against a strong KCS pair. With the nature of the match format, the boys knew that one break of serve either way would decide the final outcome. Whilst applying constant pressure against the serve, the speed of the courts and consistent serving from KCS resulted in an uphill battle in search for that key break. A mammoth service game from Max in which the boys battled through 5 deuces before finally coming out on top saw them through to a deciding tiebreak at 3-3. At 6-6 in the tiebreak, the result could have gone either way, but a dipping return from KCS forced a missed volley from Tonbridge, and the tiebreak ended 8-6 to KCS. A disappointing result, but overall, a performance to be proud of from the debut Tonbridge pair.

Next came Lancing. A John Isner esq serving performance combined with a backend return reminiscent of Andy Murray, proved too much for Tonbridge to handle. In the intensity of the tournament, a few minor lapses in concentration pushed the boys to a 6-1 defeat.

Tonbridge were then pitted against an impressive Eton pair. They were treated to a volleying masterclass which saw the first 4 games go against the head. However, Max and Spencer then put on a world-class display of grit and determination, playing their best tennis of the day to claw back to a 4-3 final result.

The day came to a close with a final match against St George's. Tonbridge kicked on from their crowd raising performance of the previous match, to ease to their first victory of the day.

Despite coming away in 4th place on a day of what if's and what could have been, Max and Spencer showed that OT tennis are here to compete. A strong display of shot making, mental fortitude, and glimpses of geniusonly hinted at what's to come for OT tennis.

The OT Tennis Club has been resurrected this year with the aim to bring together as many OT tennis players as possible. We will be hosting weekly court bookings over the summer months, as well as building a team to compete both in competitions such as the D'Abernon Cup and in friendly matches against old boys form other schools. If you would like to get involved, please contact us via the OT tennis page on the Tonbridge Connect app.