Varsity 2025: Warwick nets victory as lively tennis showdown serves the best of University sport

Varsity. If you’re a long-time reader of The Boar or if you’ve been on campus anytime in the past few weeks, you’ll know what this means for the thousands of students taking part in the ultimate Warwick–Coventry showdown today. Warwick Tennis especially is at the heart of the competition, with four games going consecutively all day. Around us in the viewing stands, separated from the fixtures below by thick netting, people are queuing up to get a taste of what makes the Warwick Tennis Club so special.

With Andrei Reid and Conor Stevens taking centre stage for Warwick, the men’s doubles are fast-paced, fleet-footed and engaging to boot

With its origins in the 12^th Century, the tennis matches played today are carrying on the tradition with fast paced, intense games. With Andrei Reid and Conor Stevens taking centre stage for Warwick, the men’s doubles are fast-paced, fleet-footed and engaging to boot. Being the duo’s last Varsity games, the pair are giving it everything they have to prove that Warwick is deserving of that 35^th straight title over their opponents.

Now, if the only frame of reference you have for tennis is the movie Challengers, here is a breakdown of the sport: A ‘Game’ consists of rounds of points won between two players serving, up to four points won, or until a player is two ahead of their opponent. A ‘Set’, then, consists of a sequence of Games played with alternating serving between the games, ending when the count of Games won by a player meets six. And in the tournament today at Westwood, matches consist of a ‘best of three’ sequence, the first side to win two Sets.

Everything from the players’ stances, serves, and conduct screams proficiency

Far from expectations that a student-led tournament might be anything short of professional, everything from the players’ stances, serves, and conduct screams proficiency. After a grand slam of doubles games, we move swiftly on to our singles matches, with Emillie Parsons-Hann, Tristan Marnitz, and Luis Bullinger representing Warwick.

All the great talent of the University’s tennis scene is here today in the flesh, though unlike the Sharapova-embodiment we were promised, sadly no racket throws were to be found. The community combines all levels of experience, but on this occasion Warwick’s finest are all out showcasing the experience they’ve accumulated playing “for as long as [they] can remember”, with this excellence being the core of what the club promises to its spectators.

From the multiple games being put on today, what stands out about Warwick Tennis against the great variety of other sports offered is the sheer amount of endurance it requires. Stretching their energy for the amount of time the matches take, with a Set able to last as much as 9 Games, players are pushed to their limits. Games today are being held from 2:30pm to 6:00pm with multiple players switching being called onto the courts. A tennis match is intended to be continuous, both rivals aiming to tire each other out: As stamina is key, arbitrary delays are not to be found here.

Warwick Tennis’s mastery of the courts wins out as victories are served in both the Men’s and Women’s tournaments

In the end, Warwick Tennis’s mastery of the courts wins out as victories are served in both the Men’s and Women’s tournaments. In the former, Team Warwick slams home the win, triumphing in all six games. There is similar success in the Women’s: in the Ladies single matches, Set 1 results 6-0, 6-1 for both Warwick players, and Set 2 clinches the lead with 6-1, 6-2 wins.

The atmosphere is as lively as the matches, with continuous support throughout the day from the stands and over the loudspeakers, from the How To Train Your Dragon soundtrack to ABBA’s greatest hits. The positive sportsmanship from friends and family displays the heart this club cultivates in each of its tournaments. The competition is brimming with the ambition to improve in each game played by Warwick’s athletes. And as best put by Sami Knowles, Club President, this competition highlights how tennis at the club is simply, without fuss, “the best sport to be a part of”.