Sizzling tennis on scorching finals day!

The only thing hotter than the weather was the competition on court as the busy Bounds Green crowd basked in the heatwave on Finals Day.

A capacity crowd was treated to some fierce competition, with the physical limits of finalists put to the test as the temperature on court went past 35°C.

The first result in was in the Men's Singles, where defending champion Ales defeated Phil 6-1 6-2. The tennis was a lot closer than the score suggests, with many deuce games and some high octane all-court action. For Ales, this is his third singles win in a row whereas it was Phil's first trip to Finals Day. Judging by his performance throughout the tournament, it won't be his last.

The Women's Singles saw an absolute classic, with Renée overcoming Asha 3-6 6-4 6-3. Renée overcame a tentative start to impose her all court game on the match. Asha battled valiantly, never letting a significant gap emerge on the scoreboard. Ultimately, however, Renée managed to see the match out. This will go down as one of the best women's finals in recent memory.

The Men's Plate saw a generational clash, with Shamus ultimately proving that age is no barrier, overcoming Jack 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 6-4. Both players played some brilliant tennis and Jack demonstrated that he is going to be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. As for Shamus, rumours abound that he is actually the Duracell bunny. He had to rush off afterwards to play in another match. Truly inexhaustible.

In the Men's Doubles, Ales and JP reclaimed the title they last won in 2023, defeating Chris and Robin 6-2 6-2. Chris and Robin's combination of guile and power caused the favourites some problems in the early part of the match, but ultimately their quality won out with a dominant display at the net.

The final match on court was the Women's Doubles and a repeat of last year's final. With Asha and Alessia already having faced Barbara and Helen in the group stages, expectations were high that this could be another lengthy one. As the temperature finally began to cool, the quality of the tennis stayed hot. This time Asha and Alessia prevailed in straight sets, retaining their crown with a 6-3 6-2 victory.

The other big winner on the day was Roberto, who came top in the predictions challenge, successfully forecasting the results of all the finals (although he didn't quite managed to get the number of sets right).

The weather, the tennis and the size of the crowd means that this will go down as a Finals Day for the ages. Club members are already looking forward to doing it all again for the Mixed Doubles tournament in September (although the weather might not be quite as hot).