Real Tennis Fantasy League - British Open round-up
Looking back over the last ten days at Queen’s Club
We’ve seen some extraordinary tennis across the British Open singles and doubles events earlier this month. It’s also been eventful for the Real Tennis Fantasy League (RTFL), established earlier this year for real tennis fans to show their support for elite tennis players. Here, we take a look at the winners and losers from the British Open.
Before that, let’s quickly recap the idea behind the Fantasy League. If you’ve ever played in other fantasy leagues, like Fantasy Premier League football, or maybe Formula 1, or NFL, the concept will feel familiar. Pick a squad of players, earn points based on their performance, most points wins. Sounds simple, right? But, when each player in your squad comes at a cost, and you have a fixed budget for the whole season, you need to plan strategically and look for good value players.
Which brings us to how the 2024 British Open unfolded. Camden Riviere’s victory over Nick Howell in the singles final earned both players a handsome haul of points. Leon Smart and Ben Taylor-Matthews - as defeated semi finalists - also brought home a fair number of points too.
Bonus points are available in the RTFL in a few ways:
pick a player that no-one picks. That’s tricky when the League has over 70 players in it. But the British Open is a 24-player draw, so there’s more names to pick and hope no-one else spots a diamond in the rough.
Big Wins (W! according to RTO) earn big bonus points for League players.
Play your Tournament Boost. Double points for all your players, for one tournament that you specify in advance.
So aside from the four semi finalists who else raked in points for our League players? The standout performance comes from John Woods-Casey whose five set win over Tim Chisholm earned a Big Win and also a Solo Pick bonus for player ClareAndPresentDanger. Only one League player backed Steve Virgona, possibly as other League players saw the draw and doubted Steve’s chances against Camden in the Quarter Finals. Nonetheless, Steve’s quarter final appearance secured a solid haul of bonus points.
There were also bonus points for Nino Merola, with his Big Win against Matthieu Sarlangue in the Round of 16. Nino was widely backed by League players, clearly seeing his impressive uptick in form coinciding with a good draw. Freddie Bristowe generated bonus points with his comfortable Round of 32 win against Tony Hollins, while four players secured bonus points through Solo Picks.
It goes to show that backing the top seeds might provide excitement towards the end of the tournament; however there are opportunities for big points across the whole field.
If you fancy taking part in this year’s League, there’s a little bit of time left to enter. Almost 75 people are taking part this season, with around 20% playing from the USA, Australia and the Netherlands. The season covers the four Opens, the US Pro, the Champions Trophy and all five legs of the Tambour Tour. Enter for free and join the fun at rtfantasyleague.com
The next event is the second Tambour Tour event at Seacourt on 7-8 December.