Latest news with #WestKensington
Telegraph
8 hours ago
- Climate
- Telegraph
How Queen's is following Wimbledon's lead
Few things signal the start of the British summer quite like the start of the grass-court tennis season, and for the first time in 52 years, Queen's Club used its slot in the calendar to host a women's tennis event. In 1973, when Queen's last hosted women's tennis, Edward Heath was the UK Prime Minister and Queen were still two years away from releasing Bohemian Rhapsody. As the rain of the previous week gave way for warmth and a smattering of sunshine, and raincoats were swapped for sunglasses and cream clothing, it turned into the ideal setting to celebrate women's tennis. Olga Morozova was the last woman to win at Queen's, representing the Soviet Union and the event was sponsored by a tobacco company and offering just £1,000 prize money (approximately equivalent to £15,000 in today's money). Queen's as a venue emerges from its West Kensington setting almost by surprise, so much is the compact club nestled into the streets of white and brick terraced houses. Using only ball girls for the two weeks from local schools, Queen's hosting women's tennis has been decided, at least in part, to attract a more diverse audience to tennis – according to those organising the tournament. Although not a sell-out crowd (at least on the opening day), over 80 per cent of tickets for the week had been sold, and many of those who attended the first day had to miss out on the game of the day featuring Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu. The queue to get into the smaller court with a capacity of just 1,000 stretched for an hour and those who had bought tickets hoping to see the top-rated players were left 'outraged' and stranded outside the court, with some peering over the back of the stand from the newly named Andy Murray Arena to catch a glimpse of the action. Court No 1 is so compact that while filling up her water bottle, Raducanu was able to have an exchange with a spectator – at an almost closer proximity than those who had gathered to watch her practice earlier in the day. Britain's top two players beat Wu Fang-hsien and Jiang Xinyu 6-4, 6-2 in their match, only Raducanu's second doubles match and her first win. British No 3 Sonay Kartal was in action on centre court, claiming the biggest win of her career against world No 16 Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. 'I was excited to be the first Brit on the Andy Murray Arena,' Kartal said after her victory. 'Obviously, it's super special that we get to play here, as well. I came to this tournament as a kid and grew up watching it in person and on the telly. 'For us women to be able to play here, I think is special, and obviously to have the crowd, whether or not it is women predominant or not, I think it's just a special moment for us to be able to play on this court.' Nerves of steel🧊 Sonay Kartal holds her nerve to take out Kasatkina in three sets, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. #HSBCChampionships — wta (@WTA) June 9, 2025 Fans cheered for the home favourites, while those matches without British interest were still well-attended, although as always at sporting matches, the population shifted throughout the day from courtside to the refreshment areas, including a bar on a balcony set up in front of a screen showing the main event. Opening the Arena named after him at the start of the day, Andy Murray, who had often championed Women's tennis throughout his career, said: 'This court has had many great matches on it. I think it's a great chance for women to showcase themselves out there. You've got some great players. You're lucky, you'll get to see some brilliant matches.' More than 50,000 fans had bought tickets for the week of women's tennis at Queen's, of which 55 per cent were bought by women. Women's tennis was not the only new facet of Queen's in 2025, as the tournament also welcomed technological advances. Although not obvious to those sitting in the stands aside from the addition of its name to the advertising hoardings, Infosys was announced as the official AI and Innovation Partner for the Championships. The technology is already used on the ATP Tour and at the Australian Open and Roland Garros. Queen's also followed Wimbledon's example and has automated line calls, which the grand slam will implement for the first time at the end of this month. What is more obvious, however, is the increased prize money, up to £1 million for the women's competition this year, more than the about £730,000 that is the required minimum for similar events – although even the increased sum is around half of what the men's event next week will receive. Women's tennis has been given the platform, and on day one at least, it delivered with Kartal and the doubles partnership of 'Boultercanu' reaching the second round.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter to form doubles dream team at Queen's
Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu are to play doubles together for the first time in a British dream team at Queen's this week. British No 1 Boulter has confirmed that the pair plan to team up as women return to Queen's for the first time in more than 50 years. They will join forces alongside their commitments in the singles draw in order to maximise court time, as the grass season gets under way at the prestigious West Kensington club. 'I think myself and Emma, we've been wanting to play for a while now,' Boulter said on Sunday. 'I think we've talked about it a lot of times, and unfortunately, it just hasn't quite happened for various reasons. I think [for the] first week on grass, to get a couple more matches is super important. 'I think we were actually here at Queen's, practising on the clay, and we decided we thought we'd come back and play on the grass together. 'It'll be extremely special. Obviously, she's a great player, and I'm looking forward to having the first of many more.' Boulter, 28, and Raducanu, 22, have been neck-and-neck for the British No 1 spot this year, with the former set to move to a world ranking of No 34 on Monday and the latter just three spots behind her at No 37. Their campaigns at Queen's therefore will be hugely influential in their attempts to secure a ranked seeding for Wimbledon next month, which will go to the top 32 seeds. Raducanu faces a tough ask at Queen's though, having been drawn in the same half as top seed Zheng Qinwen, the reigning Olympic champion and world No 7. Should she progress from an opening round tie against a qualifier, Raducanu will come up against Barbora Krejcikova, last year's Wimbledon champion. Boulter will also face a qualifier in the first round with a potential meeting in the second round against fifth seed Diana Shnaider. The pair will then team up in the doubles to take on the Chinese duo of Wu Fang-Hsien Wu and Jiang Xinyu, with a potential meeting with fellow British team Jodie Burrage and Sonay Kartal on the cards. Other British players to have secured wildcards are Kartal, Burrage and Francesca Jones, who will all feature in the first women's championship at Queen's Club since 1973.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
'Stasi-like' Labour council fines stunned resident £1,000 for putting his bins out a few hours early
A Labour council who fined a resident £1,000 for putting his bins out a few hours early has been accused of acting like the 'Stasi'. Clyde Strachan, 37, decided to help refuse collectors by placing his rubbish outside his West Kensington home shortly before midday in May. He then went away for a week and when he returned was faced with an 'environmental enforcement notice', which demanded he make contact with Hammersmith and Fulham Council. The engineer then received an £1,000 fixed penalty notice, stating: 'There was one large box, six bags of waste, and one food bin deposited on the pavement and left. 'It isn't collection day so it shouldn't be there. 'There is no formal right to appeal, however the council will accept representations from you within seven days.' Mr Strachan told The Telegraph: 'I spoke on the phone to one of the council officers and said I was willing to receive a warning but felt a £1,000 fine was excessive. 'I said I had put the bins out early as I was not available the next day. It was an honest mistake. I didn't feel as though I needed to grovel, but it felt like that was what he was after.' The fine has sparked criticism towards the council's 'law enforcement team'. Likening it to the 'Stasi' - the secret police who helped maintain communist power in East Germany through spying and violence. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary said: 'Instead of cracking down on genuine anti-social behaviour, the state tries to reassert itself by punishing well-meaning people for tiny infringements. 'This huge fine for putting the bins out a few hours early veers into Stasi-like control of people's lives. This man was clearly doing the right thing in the circumstances.' The fine has since been retracted. A council spokesman said: 'Mr Strachan asked for a review of the FPN on May 28 when he let us know that the reason he put the rubbish out early was that he had been going on holiday the following day. 'The following day, the council froze the fine pending a review. 'We have since cancelled the FPN as we agree that Mr Strachan made an honest mistake and is not a persistent fly-tipper.'
