Varsity 2026: University Tennis Club smash Coventry in dominant display

The University of Warwick Tennis Club (UWTC) put in another dominant Varsity performance against Coventry University this year, sweeping the doubles events and achieving success in the singles.

The Boar Sport had a front row seat to the action, shifting between the crowded viewing gallery – populated with club members and Coventry supporters – and courtside areas too. Loudspeaker music and roars of support set an upbeat tone for the afternoon, boosted by the on-court sportsmanship of the challengers.

All smiles in this friendly rivalry

Big serving was the order of the day

After several minutes of warm-up, the doubles matches opened the day’s proceedings, with both Team Warwick and their blue-sporting visitors seeing success at the net and finding themselves in some early stalemates.

Warwick doubles pairing David Augustyn and Tom Lander were an anomaly to this rule, blitzing their way to a 6-0 6-0 victory and vanquishing their city opponents in style.

Augustyn and Lander cruised their way to victory, not dropping a game

The other three Warwick doubles teams – two womens’ pairs and another mens’ pair – soon enough also pulled away from their opponents, each sealing their respective games’ first sets across the action in the Tennis Centre.

Next to finish were India Rodway and UWTC President Megan Perera, who comfortably cruised to a 6-0 6-3 win, and other women’s pair Maria Kirpichnikova and Ahana Chhibber.

Club President Megan Perera celebrating a doubles win with a teammate

The final doubles match to finish, contested for the reds by Timothé Banidol-Jacob and Ollie Ross, was a gruelling fight which lasted so long that the singles games were already underway on other freshly vacated courts by the time the final ball was struck.

When the pair won their second and deciding set 7-5 after earlier trailing 0-3, they drew one of the hall’s biggest cheers of the day – the summation of a pitch-perfect afternoon for Warwick’s mens’ and womens’ doubles teams.

Coventry’s challengers looked a spent force

The singles events picked up the action again immediately, featuring some close-fought battles in the women’s events and some dominant wins by the Warwick boys in the men’s events.

Among the highlights were Banidol- Jacob’s match, in which some impressive shot-making and a consistently accurate serve gave him a straight sets victory, and Chhibber’s own win which closed out the day in style in the women’s singles.

Other matches seemed to swing on a pendulum, resulting in some thrilling tennis and hard-won contests for  Warwick’s ladies. All in all, Warwick eventually won all eight singles games, achieving a margin of 12-0 across singles and doubles for both the men’s and women’s events.

Timothé Banidol-Jacob was particularly impressive in the singles

There was no lack of showboating

The Tennis Centre action closed late after 7pm, wrapping up a great day of success for the Tennis Club yet again at Varsity.