Essex pair rise in England U-11’s…Richie and Elise still No.1

Oliver Green and Joel Braddock are putting the top players under pressure in the England rankings. The two Essex lads were the big movers when the list was published this week with Billericay’s Oliver up to fourth and Joel from Colchester now sixth in the under-11 category.

The pair have been busy over the past month and met recently in a close and exciting final of the East Anglian Tennis and Squash Club Boys’ U-13 event in Norwich.  Seeded 1 and 2 respectively, Oliver and Joel both topped their round robin groups with Oliver overcoming Joseph Henden and a late replacement for withdrawal Alex van Blerk and Joel winning against his club mate Harry Martin and Ross Wilson of the Norwich club.

Having both reached the final without dropping a game, Oliver and Joel gave a superb display of high quality squash, demonstrating impressive skill and flair and playing the match in  a great spirit. Both boys had game balls in the first and third and the match could easily have gone either way but Ollie emerged the winner of a 13-11, 11-9, 12-10 thriller. There will clearly be plenty more encounters between these two over the next few years.!

Haydon Smith was also competing in his first Under 17 event at the age of 13 and performed extremely well to finish fifth overall, an extraordinary achievement.

Meanwhile, Essex’s strength in the England rankings was highlighted by the number one positions held by Elise Lazarus (under-15’s) and Richie Fallows (under-19’s). The Redbridge pair have dominated their divisions in recent years, alongside British Under-19 champion Anna Kimberley. Sadly, Anna surrendered her No.1 ranking this month when she celebrated her 19th birthday on March 11th.

Alice Green, Oliver’s big sister, is ranked two in the under-13 girls with Ellie Hewes up to an impressive ninth.

How Essex players are ranked in England:

Under-11 Boys:

Oliver Green (4); Joel Braddock (6); Michael Tallentire (35); Max Hyde (39); Harry Martin(43).

Under-11 Girls

Mikayla Mann (28)

Under-13 Boys:

Harry Kitchens (17); Timothy Bacon (23); Oliver Green (27); Joel Braddock (48).

Under 13 Girls:

Alice Green (2); Ellie Hewes (9); Eleonor White (39); Amy Aspinall (48).

Under-15 Boys:

Conor Adams (36); Joseph Blackmur (37); Ben Richardson (49).

Under-15 Girls

Elise Lazarus (1); Alice Green (19).

Under-17 Girls:

Elise Lazarus (25); Collette Whittington (28).

Under-19 Boys

Richie Fallows (1); Jags Sehmbi (22).

Under-19 Girls:

Collette Whittington (49.