Claire Vigrass, 19 from Inworth in Essex, the new women's world number 1 in the Royal and Ancient game of Real Tennis Vigrass from Essex, has just captured her first Grand Slam of major titles after winning the French Open singles and doubles in Bordeaux and adding this to the British, Australian and US Open crowns she already held. She also recently became the first woman ever to represent the British Under 25 side against their American counterparts in the prestigious Van Alen trophy, remaining unbeaten throughout the 9-match tour of the top US clubs.
Later this week, on Saturday November 13th she will go into the record books again when she and a group of other top female sports enthusiasts will be playing in the first-ever British Women’s Challenge Match in the ancient sport of Rackets, one of the world’s most explosive ball-games, as part of Malvern College’s celebration to mark the re-fit of its historic Victorian rackets courts. This will also feature former world rackets doubles champion Mark Hubbard and Ben Bomford who recently became the first Malvernians to win the prestigious National Schools Old Boys trophy, beating the favourites Harrow in the final.
The event will also commemorate the much-loved Malvern professional Ron Hughes who died last year, having taught generations of Malvernians to play rackets including several world champions plus the Henman brothers Mike and Richard and Bernard Wetherill QC.
Among the other players in the inaugural women’s event, are former world Real Tennis doubles champion Alex Garside and former world Real Tennis singles and doubles champion Sally Jones, plus lawn tennis champion Alex Kurkjian.
Vigrass, who trains in Real Tennis with the Lord’s professionals and with top amateur rackets player Will Hopton at Queen’s Club, is a passionate convert to rackets, though running it in tandem with her other racket games.
.If the Malvern women’s rackets event is a success, it may pave the way for the first women’s world championship in the sport, which is the ancient forerunner of squash. Rackets began in the 18th century in the major London debtors’ prisons, such as the King’s Bench and the Fleet then spread to alehouses and the major public schools, including Eton, Harrow and Malvern College.
Today it is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s fastest ball-games, with the ball fizzing through at speeds of up to 160 mph, and it is currently played in 14 British schools and a handful of clubs. It remains a minority sport with around 3,000 regular players in Britain and North America, but it is growing in popularity as most of the schools’ professionals now run evening clubs where anyone can come and try their hand at the game. It is also no longer an all-male preserve: for the first time, growing numbers of women have taken it up, particularly at Queen’s Club, thanks to the encouragement of former world champion Howard Angus, and the first-ever women’s national championship is being planned.
