A new tournament hits the scene – the Moore Family Office Summer Challenge! The top 12 real tennis professionals in the country battle it out for a £20k prize pot at the Oratory School. However, there is a twist – matches will be played off half-handicaps, increasing the tension for the fans as everyone has a shot at winning
Sponsored by Moore Family Office
cheers good evening ladies and gentlemen welcome back to the Oretry Real Tennis Club this is live coverage of the more family office summer challenge 2025 the top 12 professional real tennis players in the country battling it out for their share of the 20,000 prize purse my name is Ben Gayenbeek and I will talk you through the match today this is the second day of the quarterfinals here at the oratory school we will have had the first day yesterday where we had Rob Fay and Darren Long progress into the semis the semis of course not being played this weekend they will take place next week on Thursday followed by the final next week on Friday looking at the players on court for you tonight starting with Cla Fay the ladies real tennis world champion rackets world runnerup playing on her home court in front of the home crowd one of few players who have had top level match experience on this court in recent years having won her seventh world championship here on this court and defended that title a couple of weeks ago at Newport uh which was a change in format to the one played here at the oratory our opponent tonight is also on good form ben Taylor Matthews currently at Bristol but in the process of relocating to the uh Westwood Country Club where he will work as the assistant professional to Ivan Ronaldson but I think we really know that it’s about the prestige of having a a top four or five player in your club that’s what’s attracted them to hiring him i don’t think he’d like me commenting on that particular graphic so we’ll talk about this one instead had an excellent run at the US Pro singles beat John Lumley the world number two and current challenger for the world title in five sets lost to the final to Rob Fay um but it really was an excellent tournament for him and so the head-to-head between these two players just the two matches and it has been a while since they graced the court together partly a fact of the the tournament that the these will this pair will both play more often than not is that British Open but Taylor Matthews has been a seed for that tournament for the last decade or so whereas CLA usually is fighting it out in the first round cl doesn’t usually play the the US Open the US Pro um or the French Open and so the only other place they can meet is the Oz um which Ben plays sporadically so not surprising there’s no not much record on the headto-head between these two even though they’ve both been around the game for a long time of course here at the More Family Office summer challenge we are playing with half handicaps so that means that Taylor Matthews will be owing Fay 15 love every game ladies and gentlemen welcome to the third quarter final of the more family office summer challenge introducing the players at the receivers end we have Cla Fay ladies world champion [Applause] serving currently at the Bristol Club shortly to be at Washington club ben Taylor Matthew the name for this match is 15 love every game claire receives 15 love best of three sets 40 all games good luck that’s enough ready one chase excellent start from Cla Fay there don’t think she could really script it better two very short chases uh and a point in there as well with this 15 i love handicap it is generally the fastest of all the handicaps in on the table so takes better than two
the fewest points required to get to games off excellent response from Taylor Matthews chase off that chase worse than the yard will be the next one
chase worse than a yard not the serve she would have wanted that one a little bit tighter not giving Taylor Matthews enough room to get his racket behind it for the force [Applause] [Applause] into the server first game 150 thank you how you doing [Music] last gallery you know so yeah a couple things to watch for early on in this match that 15 love handicap as I say the quickest of the handicap so that’s the fewest points that both players need to uh win to reach 40 all of any handicap so what that means is the match tends to run a lot faster than any other handicap if you think of your hourong social singles generally get through two and a half almost three sets in an hour playing 15 love whereas of 05 you’re looking at one and a half to two sets [Music] 15 better than three ready [Music] oh he’s ready [Music] sorry to do that game point last the other thing about the 15 love handicap compared to an 05 handicap um is that in each and every game there’s a lot less time to find a chase so what you end up with often is that uh the stronger player will benefit sorry the weaker player the play receiving the handicap will benefit uh from their time at the service end a lot more cuz they can get to 40 a lot quicker before their opponent can get a chase so 40 all here game point no juices in this match more than a yard worse than the last gallery here’s the chase not up
so early lead for Clare Fay here two games to that handicap proving very useful [Music] 30 love
this is what I mean if you get that get that first point of 30 love you all of a sudden you’re within a point from 40 and Tanner Matthews hasn’t yet got a chase 1530 There you go that
has just come out of the edge of the Dead-On gallery narrowest Dead-On in the world cla [Music] is really up for this throwing in her trademark fist bumps saw on Instagram today there was a montage posted by the IRTPA I think of all of the fist pumps that CLA had uh showed off during the ladies world championship in Newport and there were quite a lot of photos in that particular gallery yeah I think that’s a fair call from Rob ben was brave to to leave that to the back wall on a court that he’s not familiar with and commit to leaving it to [Applause] the other thing to watch um as we make our way into this match is this is Cla’s home court she’s it’s been her home court for about three years now she plays on it every day she won a world championship on it
whereas Taylor Matthews does not have a lot of recent experience on this court you’ll have to figure all the dimensions out on the fly [Music] three games to our first set
so three love lead now for FA rack get an apology for the ball off the tambber that came flush off that wall there’s the line need more check all right thank you with that point just before the ory has the the widest tambber in the world sometimes what that means is if you get it in your head that it’s going to be hitting the tower because it’s so so wide then you’ll end up playing for it all the time whereas otherwise you might read it better um if it was a more normal size of of tambber which is what I think led to Ben just read misreading those last couple It’s worse than the secondary wor second [Applause] 40 first winning gallery of the night gain points chance of Ben to get on the board here [Applause] wonderful from CLA four love up really quickly gallery [Music] that said speaking of the differences in the court if there ever was a court that was similar to the oratory it would be Bristol which is where Ben is currently based bristol’s got the third widest tambber in the world also very wide court like this one both built in a similar era in the late 1990s the second gall this green color no natural lighting it they are relatively similar cords 15 one and two one and [Applause] 4015 so point for a 511 lead now from CLA who’s that 30 40 30 40 points so once again at game point CLA has had all three of the game points so far again that 15 live handicap really encourages the game points cla wins yet another of them five love lead now who had this on their bingo cards going into tonight [Applause] [Applause] looks
like Ben’s just going to have a thrash at this game see if he can learn anything out of it high flop’s a very big uphill climb is that 15 40 worse than 200 just hasn’t really find a way to to hit it cleanly taylor Matthews tonight claire with her first of three set points for a bagel set 405 receiver chase wor still two more set points to go for CLA once again at 40 cla has won every single one of these ports there’s been about four it’s not what you want to see stays in claire gets the width and the angle across it takes the first set six love taylor Matthews needs to reset more than a yard worse than us 15 [Music] two chases just 18 minutes for the first set and CLA getting the bulk of the points so she she has won more points than Ben Taylor Matthews in addition to receiving the points from the handicap which is not the way around Ben wants to see that particular stat excellent chase length as always from CL great width from Ben 40 chase worse than a yard just read the angles really well so Ben telling Matthews on the board takes the first game of the second set guaranteed to avoid the double bagel 150 all two check [Applause] great volley from Claire taylor Matthews looked like he almost had it covered if he did rest of the court was open but just couldn’t find the finish [Music] yes it’ll be interesting to see how Ben plays this next little phase of the match put the first set behind him he He really wasn’t all that far off it’s often the case you come um in in club games you have someone come off a handicap and they say “What was the score six love but I had a lot of 40 alls you kind of suspect that might be how Ben would describe this first set that’s it not that he would particularly approve of such a statement excellent retrieval from CLA there she is reading this call really well it’s Ben i think it’s just second guessing himself a little bit 30 40 ch the last gallery last gallery chase couldn’t quite get that one to tip over 40 all can Ben win a 40 all that’s the first one he wins
two games for love second set just getting a bit frustrated better than secondary no strokes not like her to take a swipe on the ball like that um after she lost 40 all game normally a lot more composed but she is very serious about this match when you find the first set six love and you feel like you’re in a position to push on
chase is better than secondary [Music] desperate turners from both players but in the end it goes to Taylor Matthews great pick up off the back wall on that first shot just a little volley off the back wall [Music] hit the second gallery post but playing chase it doesn’t matter 40 15 Telemet is definitely showing more intent in this set first set was very much happy to push the ball into the corners and wait and hope for something to happen but being open to playing his shots a little bit more so much is depend on the first point of the the game
sets up how aggressive or defensive you have to be if you’re 30 love down or 15 all 40 15 hasn’t chased the has a side [Applause] always going to end up in the gallery of the penthouse like that this set going very much in a different direction to the first [Music] in the last gallery let’s try I don’t think Hannah Matthews was quite ready willing to offer the letter to Cla but she’s turned it down [Applause] i can’t quite believe that she was aiming to miss the tambber ended up hitting the biggest tambber in the world matthews was actually in a position to to play it he’d given up on the ball really 1530 interesting that CLA’s been struggling a little bit with her second serve tonight b lot of bubbles going around onto the back penthouse really is something you would have thought that she would would really do too much of on her home court they kept struggling with it last week as well against Craig Greenhouse in a match that went for one and a bit sets before Greenhouse retired with soreness to his tendon in his forearm 15 leads chase better than last gallery do or die time now for FA in this set chase 15 chase better than three to Taylor Matthews right up the court on the the volley cutting up any ideas of a main wall in the one game to three second set so FA on the board in the second set 150 all the rare one that misses [Music] [Music] well save 405 just about to say what we haven’t seen the loss of tonight is targeted as T Matthews hits his second winning gallery proving me extra wrong f hits a grill oh pardon me it’s a deadon it’s
definitely fewer than last night we had Darren Long on court and Rob Fay on court game point once again Cla walks away with the game after a game point i think it’s now something like 51 on the game points hey love [Applause] 1530 [Music] last guy 1530 thank you receiver [Applause] just sorting out some technical difficulties comes down the surface end with a chance to make it three push on for home she’s played really well tonight absolutely taken the game to Hannah Matthews it’s the last gallery found that punishing line into the corners as she so often does [Music] [Applause] chase 30 40 40 in point
so back to 40 once again get those a lot in the 15 love handicap receiver games
tanner Matthews gets his second of tonight’s
40 all game points missed four in the first set great serve from Fay love gets that crucial first point on the board 15 30 Oh nearly got it too there you are
just hit the bottom ledge of the dead on pace really taken out of it slowed up off the floor as well i don’t think FA realized she was going to be quite as good a position to hit that shot as she was in the end [Applause] 40 does this mean we’re going to head to three sets [Music] relentless play from Taylor Matthews catch the short chase something he’s very much been in search of so far tonight so Tan Matthews back down the service end looking at a 5-2 lead short chase to play fa will always attack that short chase backs itself for a length that’s something that CLA has done really well this match has been able to find the chasers spent a lot more time down the serving end than Taylor Matthews would have liked i think that’s just a testament to how she plays gets a lot a lot of balls
deep into the corners so worst in second gallery is the chase [Music] [Music] searching for the grill on the first shot couldn’t find it in the end
the shot back hand straight back down the line puts Tenner Matis on under enough pressure 40 all game point once again as we so often see on the 15 love handicap these players won’t have much experience playing this kind of handicap tennis the only real competition that they do play regularly off this hand off any handicap is the Cort Silver racket browning cup not being played for since the co pandemic 40 is the last gallery so 40 all last gallery chase to be played lost it worse than last game there can’t quite believe that begging Rob for a a recall on that chase now with Taylor Matthews on the charge once again fun in the winning gallery [Music] great play from him oh my days partly because Claire has been so good at reading the backhand corner he’s had to go across that side a lot more under arm twist there from Taylor Matthews same again not a serve you usually see from him [Music] so that brings up set point Taylor Matthews to bring it back to one long hill to climb for Cla if she’s going to make it back into this set boys receiver chase five and six come on first set point saved another game point [Music] two cla had her chances in that rally but couldn’t quite find the finish tanner Matthews just able to hold on and eventually capitalize on a couple of loose shots comes down the service end still with set points for your game point and a better than two chase there’s anyone to be nervous in the world when they’ve got a better than two chase it’s to have Cla Fay down the other end she’s so good at hitting that length [Music] set up one come on [Music] 150 15 [Music] 40 15
going into this third set these first few games are going to be so key who gets the break [Music] first it goes to Taylor Matthews he’s definitely
worked his way into the match looked better and better as the play’s gone on but with a one set shootout anything can happen especially off handicap [Applause] cut boy has really been CLA’s best shot this match 1530 all right one will back herself coming down this end 4015 chase a yard pending every game that she gets from here on out she should consider a win just because you make it that much more of a lottery when you get late into the set i think it’s unreasonable to expect that she would race through at 61 from here especially good only playing half handicaps not full handicap so best bet is just to try and hold on and then throw everything at the five ball game five game one game ready okay fantastic finish from CLA just kept asking the question to that backhand side 40 love up now so she’s back in the lead 2-1 lead in this set still barely an hour into the match not even an hour and we’re well into the third set this is where the handicap becomes blinking you’ll miss it 1530 [Music] so let’s take a look at the facts and figures of that second set it loads up 25 minutes again it doesn’t take long to get through a a 15 love set this time much more in the favor of Taylor Matthews winning points at a rate of two to one not getting nearly as many deep chases as she did in the first set testament to Taylor Matthews improving his familiarity with the court there goes the force on the short chase doesn’t pay off another short chase to follow [Music] very tight can’t really see from that camera angle so trusting Rob penalizing his wife by a couple of inches don’t think you could accuse Rob any accusations of bias i think he’s been absolutely spot on with his marking true real tennis professional thank you oh my goodness there 15 [Applause] 15 Chase so bit of activity in the live chat tonight we’ve got Rob Shakeman is Claire the best supported real tennis player on the planet i would say she’s probably the second best supported second to her husband Rob whenever Rob plays he draws absolutely massive crowd dominic Wilson oretry built in ‘ 89 yeah uh first court built in the UK for about 70 years at the time i think the one before that was probably Cort someone might correct me if I’m wrong um started a real renaissance in court building through the 1990s with uh New Market Bridport Cambridge Harbor Club pre uh Preads both courts Cambridge Blue coming into play after this one had done so 30 40 [Applause] CLA [Music] had several opportunities to find a finish to that she never quite could talamat is going up 32 [Music] going to add Sydney to the list of courts built in the ’90s first Sydney that is second i
think Newport might have been as well might have been a little bit before and that also the original Bordeaux court well the the third iteration of the Bordeaux court currently on the fourth iteration i think that was a ‘ 90s construction as well [Music] my
memory serves me correctly i think Melbourne when they relocated from Exhibition Street to Richmond built the two court complex there was the first time that any court had been built or refurbished to playing standard um since since the Second World War followed about 10 years later by Berat and then in the 90s when there was a lot of lottery funding around the UK and great new drive for court building here especially now most of the court building outside of the UK four courts opened in the last 5 years great finish from
Fate as I say just needs to keep finding games from somewhere make it more and more of a lottery [Applause] worse than second brave lead from Taylor Matthews right decision in the end don’t know if I’ve mentioned Tron yet tron also reopened in the ‘ 90s but since been lost sure someone has a list of all the actual dates instead of me trying to remember them off the top of my head the original quarter Washington open in the ’90s
it’s more than a yard worse than last gallery at the MLAN Health Club now since relocated to Westwood Country Club so here’s back to the lottery of a 40 game point excellent play by Taylor Matthews gets the short chase i think he’s done that quite well on the on the 40 all points since since the first set audio one and two so one and two is the chase forces are on target but that ball coming off the back wall is so difficult to control for length 42 now to Taylor Matthews good 15 30 15 Mike Carter in the chat reminded me about Romzy Cope Williams’s um court the private court that was built outside of uh Melbourne in the 90s absolutely right um hearing good things coming out of Romzy um as it looks to become uh more and more in the regular play um I think there was some pictures of Instagram on Instagram of a a tour match that happened there um with under the new ownership and then also commenting that the lottery funding didn’t make it to uh to Essex well I think we’ve ended up with two fantastic courts at Pread uh Mike I will have to say the glass court is one of my favorites that’s not just me being nice shot three
4030
i think the lottery funding was involved in the rebuild of Bridport as well as the build of the Bristol Court if I remember correctly back to Ford again again you see it so often in this handicap claire with the serve gives her a little bit of an advantage really needs this point if she’s going to have any chance winning the match and she does she takes it [Applause] not the best rally quite defensive three games to fourth
gets the volley away right back in this match 34 now chase just needs to stay within touching distance of Taylor Matthews roll the lottery dice at the end [Music] taking out the second Gary post so change of ends here no strikes in the game tatis coming back down this service end looking to close out the match fate trying to keep it alive no strokes she’s more hasn’t really found her range with the force tonight look better when she’s been attacking it on the floor it’s not really her natural shot that is her natural shot however goes ahead once again watch it
tal Matthews had no control whatsoever over that shot you have to walk away with the hazard chase really an excellent finish from FA comes back down to service with points for four looking to make it a twoame shootout that’s what the crowd loves to see really still plenty of opportunities to come down next week and see the finals here at the oratory love to have you down to come and watch so hazard the door oh and that’s done it i think sometimes you need the luck to go your way and that was definitely one of those moments landed in the hazards but beats Hazard the door for all two game shootout now [Applause] can’t quite repeat the trick that really should be a warning though she’s not going to get one
but I don’t I don’t think we can condone that 15 slotted into the dead on from Taylor Matthews points now for 45 54 rather [Music] [Music] 134 every point key here just CLA’s second grill of the match not a shot she aims for much saved by the back house yeah that from a couple of moments ago and threw a racket at the dead on i don’t really think you want to be seeing much of that in the pro game i think personally I think that markers are too hesitant to pull up players for behavioral misconduct anytime the racket leaves the player’s hand in a moment of frustration rather than a moment of desperation I think we should be punishing that more
personally that’s my opinion but it’s not endorsed by any governing body of course great finish from Claire brings it back to 40 all four and there’s two game shoot up just missed the galleries the underside of the bando gave Ben the put away 54 four [Music] first part first shot on this court that’s really actually fooled CLA she’s read it so well tonight 15
strong finish from Taylor Matthews it looks like wants to get off court get back to Bristol 14
so it brings up three match points what a turnaround from the first set first one saved from CLA two match points still to go [Music] there’s another one saved game point [Music] oh she’s done fantastically cla Fay or final game
three match points three cut volleys into the forehand corner and all of them saved so final game shootout both players three points away this is the thing in a five all how much do you value getting a point versus getting a chase she’ll take that chase
thing is if she plays that ball she’s going to be so out of position if Taylor Matthews gets it back so Tyler Matthews again with some match points three more of them has to go down the receiving end though but benefits from a hazard chase in the comments 6 foot short says “I love this sport.” I think we all love this sport when it gets to moments like this five all in the third set 15 has a chance one and two railroad has to be good can’t give up the galleries can’t give up the high back wall went for the boast and Taylor Matthews takes it on the fourth attempt love 6 6265 is the final score as we see 1 hour and 9 minutes which doesn’t feel like a lot and that’s because we’ve had that 15 live handicap and yeah well we will be back very shortly with The uh second of tonight’s quarterfinals uh will be an all press deadad affair between Levi Gale and Vaughn Hamilton um that will follow um on a link also on this same YouTube channel uh so do hope you come back and join us for that in about 5 minutes time uh but for now uh my name’s been Ben Gayenbeek it’s been a pleasure to have you here at the Moore Family Office Summer Challenge 2025 goodbye give me very How many people sunshine
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