Tutt serves up Wimbledon double
KNIGHTON’S Richard Tutt completed a unique tennis double on the hallowed turf of Wimbledon when he captured the singles and men’s doubles titles at the over-75s British Closed Grass Court Championships, part of the ITF Seniors’ 700 series, writes Paul Mason.
The 74-year-old retired wholesaler in the textile industry had stepped away from the main seniors circuit in 2017 due to a lack of competitive motivation, but he returned in style to take a duo of trophies at SW19.
His first success in the same event came nearly 30 years ago.
“I stopped playing on the main tour for over three years, and this one was the first ones that I came back to, which is the grass court nationals,” said Tutt.
“I started playing tennis at about six years of age. I never played the main professional tour due to work, but I played county for Leicestershire for a number years, and was county captain for many years, and I still belong to Leicestershire Tennis Club.
“I was 35 when the seniors tour started to take off, so I started to take it more seriously, and I’ve been playing on that tour for over 30 years now.” Tutt, above, defeated
Nigel Barker 6-1 6-3 in the final of the men’s singles, and then teamed up with his partner Chris Ornstien to win the doubles event.
The pair defeated Peter Friedmann and Robert J Harrower in the semifinals, and were due to face Barker and Michael Hepker in the final, but the pair conceded to give Tutt and Ornstien the title.
“If you travel to a tournament and you don’t lose, then you go home happy,” said Tutt.
“I went down to win, and I did win, so I was content.”
Tutt is now ranked number one in Great Britain, and it caps off a remarkable career on the seniors tour that has yielded more than 20 singles crowns, along with 18 doubles titles.
He has won well over 100 titles in total, including local, national, European and global tournaments over the years.
Tutt is also vice-president of the Leicestershire Lawn Tennis Club, and has worked with the LTA in the past after taking an early retirement.
But he has no plans to hang his racket up any time soon, and hopes to win many more events since entering the over 75s age bracket.
“I plan to continue, and I’ll be looking to play in the World Individual Championships in Majorca in six weeks’ time. I also have an indoor version of the British Closed Championships at the end of September in Wrexham.
“The ITF main seniors tour is worldwide. I’ve been to Australia, New Zealand, South America, everywhere really. It’s huge nowadays.
“Tennis is a great way to keep active, and a way to keep the mind and body in shape.
“They say if you play tennis, it can add ten years to your lifespan, and I still very much enjoy playing.”