Interclub 2026

The last round of the round-robin play was held last Thursday, with the play-offs on 28 May.

A Grade

Guernsey 6 (23 games) Waterlea 6 (21 games)

This was a real see-saw match with Guernsey ahead 5-3, before Waterlea took the last three singles to lead 6-5. A straight sets win by Graeme Jackson and Bradley Roberts over Ollie Phipps and Billy Hebberd saw Guernsey get the win.

Earlier, Ollie had won three singles for his side showing excellent control with his pimpled rubber. Billy had to work hard for his five set wins over Bradley and Rob Honour and showed confidence in his backhand shots when the matches got tight.

The ever-improving Esteban Martinez won a single and showed some attacking intent. Graeme won two singles for his side with Bradley winning one. Rob was undefeated in doubles.

Kiwi 9 Arawa 3

Jacqui Wood and Nathan Cross were in top form in the singles, winning their matches in straight sets. Caitlin Exton played a great match with Kylie Hurren, with Kylie taking it by 12-10, 11-8, 3-11, 17-15. Caitlin attacked well, with Kylie using her experience to get through.

Peter Welsh and Supreya Prasertsakda (filling in for Matt Millar) also got on the board for Arawa. Interestingly, the doubles between Jacqui/ Caitlin and Kylie/ Supreya was probably the first time in many years that  four women had played an A Grade doubles match.

Springlands 8 Tua Marina 4

This was an intriguing match with four of Springlands points coming from five set victories. For Springlands, Zac Cowdrey and Jason Kennedy won two singles with Lan Zhang winning one. David Stephens and Harry Speakman also won two singles for their side, so that four players ended on two wins, which is quite unusual, although it did happen in a B Grade match last week. Zac beat Harry in five sets and lost to David in four. Jason lost to Harry in four and beat David by 11-6, 9-11, 11-3, 4-11, 11-8 in an excellent match which pitted Jason's attacking shots against the very consistent and accurate play of David. Rohan Saini, filling in for Ken Thompsett, was playing his first A Grade match and looked right at home as he took Zac and Jason to five sets.

B Grade

Blenheim 6 (22 games) Fairhall 6 (20 games)

Blenheim's Ray Zinsli again was to the fore, picking up three singles wins to give him a 100% record in singles for the entire round. In his last match, he went up against talented youngster Fletcher Phipps. Ray took it by 11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 7-11, 11-9, managing to block a lot of Fletcher's topspin shots. Yunfei Wei picked up two wins, while Hilary Wood won a doubles with  Ray. Fletcher was undefeated in his two other singles matches, while Marion Wood and Vinny van Kuyk also got on the board. There was a tremendous match between Vinny and Hilary, with Vinny taking it by 15-17, 14-12, 11-9, 11-8. The leads through the games kept changing, with both players hitting some great angles.

Ward 7 Wairau Valley 5 

John Diamanti was in top form with three singles wins. Marcus Osborne picked up two wins, including a close five set win over Lucy Thom. Barbara Burkhart beat junior player Ellie van Kuyk by 6-11, 12-10, 11-5, 9-11, 11-3, with both players hitting some good forehands. For Wairau Valley, Peter Cowdrey won two singles with Lucy picking up a singles and two doubles wins. Lucy and Ellie won their doubles match from two sets down.

Renwick 8 Spring Creek 4

Due to a change of circumstance, the Spring Creek side only had two players. Three of their four points came from wins by David Foley with Levi van Kuyk also getting on the board. Levi also went to five sets with Gerry van Kuyk and Cora Wilson.

Gerry also won a doubles with Ali Pottinger.

The play-offs are on Thursday 28 May.

Points: 

A Grade: Waterlea 41, Kiwi 39, Guernsey 38, Springlands 31, Tua Marina 29, Arawa 17

B Grade: Blenheim 40, Ward 37, Renwick 37, Wairau Valley 31, Fairhall 30, Spring Creek 20

The penultimate round of round robin matches was held on 14 May.

A Grade

Kiwi 7 Springlands 5

Jacqui Wood led the way with three singles. Nathan Cross backed her up with two wins but had to work hard to get the better of Jason Kennedy in a tough five setter. Nathan almost made it three wins, just losing out to Zac Cowdrey in another five set thriller. Catilin Exton was excellent value in the doubles. Jason took Jacqui to a deciding set and she ended on another good note with a doubles win with Nathan. Lan Zhang won the last singles of the night.

Guernsey 7  Tua Marina 5

It was 5 starts and 5 wins for Graeme Jackson, which helped his side to the win. He had to use his skills to beat David Stephens and Harry Speakman, both in four sets. Bradley Roberts picked up a singles win and kicked off a clean sweep of the doubles when he combined with Rob Honour. David and Harry each won their remaining two singles. Supreya Prasertsaka, filling in for Ken Thompsett, won the last single of the night.

Waterlea 9 Arawa 3

The regular line-up of Ollie Phipps, Billy Hebberd and Esteban Martinez got the win, with two of the matches being decided in the fifth. The first match of the night saw Esteban beat Kylie Hurren 11-8 in the fifth. The second five setter was Ollie and Billy's win over Kylie and Matt Pigou in the last match of the night. Matt was playing his first inter-club match of the season and he looked sharp with some good attacking play, which brought him three wins.

B Grade

Renwick 8 Wairau Valley 4

Ali Pottinger played a big part in Renwick's win as he won two doubles, each in five sets and won the last singles of the night. Earlier Gerry van Kuyk and Cora Wilson had won two singles each. Interestingly, Wairau Valley's Peter Cowdrey and Finnbar Duncan also won two singles, with Peter beating  Gerry and losing in the fifth to Cora, while Finnbar beat Cora and lost to Gerry.

Fairhall 9 Spring Creek 3

Fletcher Phipps was in good touch as he ended the night with five wins. His hardest match was against fellow junior Levi van Kuyk, which was a close four setter. The consistent play of Marion Wood saw her finish with two wins while Vinny van Kuyk won the last singles of the night to go with his two doubles wins. David Foley won two of his side's points with the third point coming from Levi's win over Vinny.

Blenheim 9 Ward 3

A clean sweep of the doubles helped Blenheim to the win. Ray Zinsli was untroubled in his singles matches. Yunfei Wei gained two wins, including a win in the fifth by 11-9 over the returning John Diamanti. Hilary Wood beat Barbara Burkhart by 11-8 in the deciding set. Marcus Osborne won two singles for Ward, including a five set win over Yunfei. John won the first point for his side, with a 12-10 win in the fifth over Hilary.

The third round of inter-club was held on 7 May.

A Grade

Guernsey 6 (24 games)  Springlands 6 (23 games)

What a cliff-hanger this was! It all came down to the last doubles where Guernsey's Graeme Jackson and Bradley Roberts had to avoid a 3-0 defeat to win on the countback. Zac Cowdrey and Jason Kennedy took the first two sets before the Guernsey players won the next two sets before Springlands won the fifth by 11-9. Earlier Graeme had won his three singles, which included an 11-4, 11-13, 6-11, 13-11, 11-5 win over Zac, with both players showing their skills. Bradley won a single and a doubles while Rob Honour again excelled in his two doubles matches, complementing his partners well. For his side, Zac won his remaining two singles in tight matches. Jason had a good night with two straight set wins. Lan Zhang also got on the scoreboard.

Waterlea 8 Kiwi 4 

Ollie Phipps led the way with 5 wins in total. Marlborough's top junior showed his wide range of skills, including drop shots and some tremendous retrieving from the back wall, when the points seemed lost. Billy Hebberd won two singles but had to work hard to beat Caitlin Exton in four sets. Caitlin really took the game to Billy, with some intelligent serving to set up her attacking shots. Esteban Martinez continues to improve with every outing and picked up a singles and a doubles win. Nathan Cross attacked well to win two singles for Kiwi and combined with Caitlin for a doubles win. Fill-in player Chris Hood won Kiwi's fourth point.

Tua Marina 10 Arawa 2

Ken Thompsett, David Stephens and Harry Speakman won the singles 9-0. For Arawa, Kylie Hurren picked up doubles wins with Peter Welsh  and Ping Muanwong. Ping was filling in for Matt Millar and nearly got on the board in singles, just losing out in a five setter to David.

B Grade

Blenheim 6 (23 games) Renwick 6 (20 games)

This was a close contest with all 6 players getting a win. Ray Zinsli won his three singles for Blenheim. In his first match , he beat under-13 player Cora Wilson by the extraordinary score of 11-9. 9-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9. Yunfei Wei won a single while the steady play of Hilary Wood earned her a win in both singles and doubles. Cora won her two remaining singles for her side and was undefeated in doubles. Gerry van Kuyk gained two wins from the number one position while Ellie van Kuyk won a doubles with Cora.

Ward 7 Fairhall 5

The teams were locked at 4 all with one round of singles and a doubles to be played. The last round saw Marcus Osborne beat Marion Wood 11-8 in the fifth, Rohan Saini beat Fletcher Phipps 11-7 in the deciding set with Barbara Burkhart holding off a spirited comeback from Vinny van Kuyk to win 14-12, also in the fifth. Rohan was undefeated in singles, on the night. Marcus ended with two wins while Barbara also added a doubles win. For Fairhall, Fletcher won his two remaining singles. Marion was undefeated in doubles which included  a five set win with Vinny.

Wairau Valley 8 Spring Creek 4

A clean sweep of the doubles helped Wairau Valley beat Spring Creek. Earlier Lucy Thom had impressed with two singles wins. Young left-hander Finnbar Duncan  also went well for two wins, hitting some stylish forehands. Peter Cowdrey won a single. David Foley was unbeaten in singles for Spring Creek , with Dennis Burkhart also getting in on the act.

The second round of inter-club was played last Thursday.

A Grade

Kiwi 7 bt. Tua Marina 5

Nathan Cross led the way for the Kiwi team, winning his three singles all in straight sets. His all round game was working well as were his spin serves. Jacqui Wood won two singles and had to work hard to beat Harry Speakman by 12-10, 8-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-8.

Caitlin Exton tried hard all night and was rewarded when she combined with Jacqui for a five set doubles win. For Tua Marina, the hardworking Davd Stephens won two singles with Harry and Ken Thompsett also getting on the board.

Waterlea 6 (25 games) bt. Springlands 6 (22 games)

This was a great contest with the result coming down to the last doubles. In that match Ollie Phipps and Billy Hebberd beat Zac Cowdrey and Jason Kennedy in straight sets to give Waterlea the win. Earlier, Ollie had won his singles, in another consistent display. Billy Hebberd also got on the board in singles and ended the night unbeaten in doubles. Esteban Martinez gave his usual committed performance, taking sets from his more experienced opponents. For Springlands, Zac and Jason won two singles, while Lan Zhang won the last single of the night.

Guernsey 11 bt. Arawa 1

Arawa were without Matt Millar and it was fill-in player Ping Muanwong who gained their point, with a win over Rob Honour. Earlier, Rob had won his two the singles with some solid play. Graeme Jackson was his usual consistent self, while ex Hutt valley player Bradley Roberts impressed with his serves.

Points:

Kiwi 17, Guernsey 16, Waterlea 16, Springlands 11, Arawa 9, Tua Marina 9

B Grade

Renwick 8 bt. Fairhall 4

Gerry van Kuyk, playing in his first competition match of the season, had an outstanding match for Renwick. He won three singles and partnered Cora Wilson and Ali Pottinger to doubles wins. Earlier, Cora had also won her three singles, which was a great achievement for this under-13 player. Ali fought hard in his singles matches, just losing out in five setters to Vinny van Kuyk and fill-in player Steve Rowsell. Marion Wood also got on the board for Fairhall.

Ward 8 bt. Spring Creek 4

Rohan Saini, playing his first competition match in Marlborough, impressed for Ward with three singles wins. Marcus Osborne and Barbara Burkhart won a single each with their team taking the doubles 3-0. Spring Creek's points were shared by David Foley and Dennis Burkhart.

Blenheim 7 bt. Wairau Valley 5

Ray Zinsli again showed why he is one of the top players in the B Grade, as he won his three singles comfortably. His team-mates Yunfei Wei and Hilary Wood won a singles match each, while Yunfei was undefeated in doubles.

For Wairau Valley, Peter Cowdrey and Lucy Thom won two matches each while fill-in player Janice Thompsett got on the board with a five set doubles win with Peter.

Points:

Ward 18, Blenheim 16,  Renwick 13, Wairau Valley 13, Fairhall 9, Spring Creek 9

The first round of inter-club was played last Thursday with each of the twelve teams having a name of a team/club that had previously played in the competition over the last 100 years. 2026 being the Association's one hundredth year.

A Grade

Kiwi 8 Guernsey 4

Nathan Cross was flying for the Kiwi Team winning 5 out of 5, with his loops into the body being very effective. He beat the well-performed Graeme Jackson in his first singles match and finished off with a four set win over Bradley Roberts. Bradley is making a comeback to the sport, and in his junior days was a New Zealand junior titleholder in doubles. Jacqui Wood won two singles and lost to Graeme in the last singles of the night, in a tactical match. Caitlin Exton, Marlborough's top junior girl, made her debut in the A Grade and impressed with some stylish play, Caitlin won her doubles match with Nathan and nearly got a second win with Jacqui, just losing out in a five set thriller. She then beat Rob Honour 11-7, 9-11, 15-17, 11-9, 14-12 in a tremendous match, with both players counter hitting effectively.

Waterlea 8 Tua Marina 4

Ollie Phipps won 5 from 5 for his side. He had to work hard though as both David Stephens and Harry Speakman took sets from him. Billy Hebberd backed him up with two wins and came really close to a third, just losing out to David by 6-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-7. These two players played out some classic five set matches last season, and this one was no exception. The ever-improving Esteban Martinez gave everything in his singles matches and played confidently for his two doubles wins. David won two singles for his side, with Harry and Ken Thompsett picking up a win each.

Arawa 7 Springlands 5

A clean sweep of the doubles gave Arawa the win after Springlands took the singles 5-4. Earlier Matt Millar had won his three singles, with Springlands number one Zac Cowdrey taking him to four sets. Kylie Hurren beat Lan Zhang 11-6,11-6, 6-11, 11-9 continuing her good form from the latter part of the 2025 season. Lan played in Blenheim as a junior back in the 2010's and showed some nice attacking touches. Peter Welsh took sets from Zac and Lan and played a big role in his team's doubles successes. Jason Kennedy was his usual consistent self, matching Zac's two singles wins.

B Grade

Ward 8 Renwick 4

Fill-in player Macey Matzig gained two wins for Renwick and played an absolute thriller against another fill-in player Steve Rowsell. Steve, back in the sport after a couple of years, won it by 9-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9 showing that he hadn't lost his ability to place the ball effectively around the table. Marcus Osborne, another returning player, also went well for two wins. Barbara Burkhart beat Ali Pottinger in a long five setter by 9-11, 12-10, 11-6, 14-16, 11-7 and as usual came away with two  doubles wins. For the Renwick side, Cora Wilson picked up a singles win to go with Steve's three wins.

Wairau Valley 7 Fairhall 5

Peter Cowdrey had to work hard to get two wins  for the Valley side. Young left-hander Finnbar Duncan, making his debut in the B Grade, played consistent table  tennis to also get two wins. Indeed, it was almost three wins as Finnbar lost to fellow junior Fletcher Phipps by 10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7. This match featured many top-spin rallies, with both boys looking for openings. Lucy Thom won a single and was undefeated in doubles. Marion Wood beat Lucy 11-9 in the fifth set adding to Fletcher's three wins. Vinny van Kuyk got on the board with a doubles win with Fletcher.

Blenheim 7 Spring Creek 5

Ray Zinsli was one of the top players in the B Grade in 2025 and he won his three singles without dropping a set showing again that he will be tough to beat. The big-hitting Yunfei Wei won two singles, including a 12-10, 11-7, 9-11, 6-11, 11-9 win over Dennis Burkhart. Hilary Wood and Oscar Duncan played out a five setter, with Hilary taking it by 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7 with both players hitting to all parts of the table. For the Spring Creek team, David Foley won two singles and Dennis, one. Dennis was undefeated in doubles, while Oscar on his B Grade debut got on the board with a doubles win with Dennis.

By Chris Hood