The Weekly Tennis Update
Friday 12 June 2026
Boys FUNbledon Doubles Championships
With just 17 days to go until the 2026 Championships at Wimbledon get underway, we have crowned a new boys’ FUNbledon champion: Zach (3W)!
Although FUNbledon is a doubles event, Zach’s partner was unfortunately unable to play at the last minute. Undeterred, Zach took on pairs of opponents by himself, alternating singles points throughout the tournament, still managing to claim the trophy.
Congratulations to all 24 competitors who took part, and special recognition goes to Devan and Ted (RW), who reached the final and helped provide an exciting and closely contested conclusion to this year’s event.
Inter-House
With West House already enjoying a strong run of Inter-House success, they added the Lower Fourth boys’ tennis title to their growing collection of 2026 victories.
North House, however, responded in style last week in the Remove girls’ competition. Led by an elated Miss Grimwood, they secured a dramatic victory on games difference, edging out School House!
The final Inter-House tennis event of the year takes place on Friday afternoon, when the Thirds boys compete for the remaining title. The overall Junior, Middle and Senior School trophies will be awarded later this term once the results from all events have been combined.
Junior Tennis Teams Continue Strong Season
The junior tennis teams have enjoyed an excellent fortnight of fixtures, producing a series of impressive performances across all age groups.
The mixed U12 team travelled to Brentwood, where all 16 pairs and trios competed superbly to secure a dramatic victory by a single match, winning 25–24 after a final round of matches.
The U12 girls and U13 girls both maintained their unbeaten records with 15–3 victories over Chigwell. The U13s are now aiming to complete a second consecutive unbeaten season. The U14 girls secured an excellent 12–6 win away at Colfe’s, with pairs 4–6 proving decisive after the top three pairs were evenly matched.
Against Chigwell, the combined U12/U13 boys faced a particularly strong side and were defeated, while the U14 boys earned a hard-fought 5–4 victory after three closely contested rounds.
Championships
Miss Wainwright was in action on the Championships grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon, showcasing a superb slice approach shot!
Friday 15 May 2026
Congratulations to the Bancroft’s combined U12/13 Girls’ Tennis Team, who won the 4-way Haileybury Team Tournament over the weekend.
The U12A and U12B teams performed brilliantly the previous week, securing an 18–3 match win. This strong result gave the U12A team a real confidence boost heading into the tournament, where they joined forces with the U13A team for the Haileybury tournament.
Ten pairs competed in matches against Haileybury, Highgate and St Edmund’s, with all results combined to determine the overall standings.
Our team delivered a strong and consistent performance throughout the event, emerging as overall winners!
Well done to all players for an excellent team effort.
U12A Mixed Tennis Team
Whilst the U12A mixed tennis team took on Latymer and secured an incredibly close 9–8 win, the U12B/C girls impressed with a 19–8 victory against Colfe’s. The U13A boys faced a highly competitive cup tie against Coopers’ Coborn but were narrowly defeated 9–3.
The U15 boys played brilliantly against Latymer, earning a15–1 win, and carried this excellent form into their Saturday block fixture against Brentwood.
They secured a 9–7 victory, which, when combined with strong performances from the U12, U13 and U14 boys, resulted in an overall 30–18 win.
Well done to everyone who represented the School in fixtures over the last two weeks.
Next up is the Inter-House tournaments!
Essex Learning Disability & Autism Tennis Tournament
Five of our pupils, Shona, Shaan, Hsien Yang and Hsian Wen, alongside Miss Claire Mésenge, who is currently a PGCE teacher, supported the Learning Disability & Autism Tennis Tournament at Redbridge Sports Centre.
They helped by guiding people to their courts, supplying balls to them on court and helping them know where to stand and when it was their turn to receive/serve.
The Bancroft’s volunteers thoroughly enjoyed the experience and particularly valued the opportunity to learn about the wide range of adapted tennis formats that help make the sport more inclusive.
Julie O’Mahoney, EDI Lead for Essex Tennis, expressed her sincere gratitude for the support provided by Bancroft’s, describing the team as a valuable asset to the event.
A massive thank you to everyone who gave up their time over the weekend to support this initiative.
Friday 1 May 2026
The first two weeks of the tennis season have provided club sessions and fixtures a plenty, as well as a “triple crown” of titles for West House - including the Senior Inter-House tournament.
Thirds-L4ths took part in the U14 Play Your Way To Wimbledon tournaments. Round-robin formats were followed by quarter-finals and a series of Plate events, ensuring everyone had the chance to play several matches against others of a similar experience level.
Congratulations to Ryan and Juniper on their impressive victories and they both advance to the County Finals where they have a chance to qualify for the National Finals on the grass at Wimbledon!
Hannah and Jeevan competed brilliantly in the finals, and well done to the following for winning their Plate events: Molly & Amelia, Olivia & Kyra, Toby, Anvik, Basil & Aarushan and Aydin & Georgi.
There have also been LTA Team Tennis Cup fixtures galore, with the girls and boys U13 & U15 A and B players putting in some truly “ace” performances against Forest, St Paul’s Way Trust and Roding Valley.
On Saturday, 65 Bancroftians taking on New Hall in a mixed block fixture. Congratulations to the U12, U14 and U15 girls on their well contested 6-6 draws, and the U13 girls on their 7-2 win. The U12 and U13 boys teams both earned 6-3 wins with Oli D, Rory S, Ammar I and George making their debuts for the School. The U14 and U15 teams battled away against strong opposition but were edged out of overall wins.
On Monday 27th April, the U13A mixed team travelled to Brentwood and the girls recorded a fine 8-4 victory at the same time as the U13B girls taking a 16-10 win over Colfe’s School.
Well done to everyone who took part!
