Kendrick Cup/Pro Singles/Pro-Am Results

Last week the summer weather entered Boston in for what felt like the first time in ages, so too, did North American Racqueteers from all over the country. Ready to participate in the final event of our 2025-2026 Season, Professionals, Amateurs and Kendrick Cup Eligible players alike travelled to Boston for a fun few days of activity both on and off the court. 

Play started on the Wednesday, with 8 North American Professionals ready to play for it all in the 2026 North American Racquets Association Professional Singles Championship. The Tennis & Racquet Club of Boston was thrilled to host Messrs. John Cashman and William Hopton from Chicago, Mr. Steve Toseland from Detroit, Messrs. John Lumley and Eli Segal from Philadelphia, Mr. Dan Fisher from Montreal and Messrs. Neil Smith and Tony Hollins from Boston. After a competitive first round of matches, the semi-finals saw Will Hopton versus Dan Fisher and Eli Segal versus John Lumley. Hopton and Lumley were too strong in the end and would face off in the Finals on the Thursday. 

On Thursday morning, seasoned amateurs from across the country came to join up with their Professional counter parts for the 2026 Pro-Am. This is an event that used to be on the NARA Fixture list but hadn't occurred for over 10 years. NARA is very happy to have this event back on our annual fixture list, and hope that all Professionals participate in future years, it was great fun! The pairs were as follows: Will Hopton and Peter Dunne, John Cashman and Francois Joyet, Dan Fisher and David Kohn, Eli Segal and Jonathan Larken, Steve Toseland and Tarquin Sotir, Neil Smith and Charles Vennat, Tony Hollins and Albert Nichols and John Lumley and Lucas Walsh. There was a great round of first matches with fun and great racquets all around. The Semi-Finals would see Hopton/Dunne versus Segal/Larken in one side of the draw and Toseland/Sotir versus Lumley/Walsh in the other. 

Before the weekend's Stag Dinner, we had some cocktail matches to fire up the crowd before dinner. First up was the Final of the Pro-Am Doubles Championship which showcased an excellent match between Hopton & Dunner and Toseland and Sotir. Toseland and Sotir fought a valiant battle, but Hopton and Dunne were too strong in the end, winning 15/9, 15/11. Congratulations to Peter Dunne and Will Hopton on being the 2026 Pro Am Doubles Champions! 

Next was the finals of the 2026 Professional Singles Championship. John Lumley was seeing the ball very well and enjoyed Boston's court. Will Hopton has experience on this court, too, however. Will Hopton was surgical in his 3-0 victory, but the scores do not reflect the level of play nor do they portray the excellent rallying that occurred. Will Hopton defeated John Lumley 15/3,2,2 to become the 2026 Professional Singles Champion! Congratulations, Will!

40 tuxedoed attendees braved the heat and made their way to the Stag Dinner and started with cocktails on the terrace overlooking Fenway Park. What an excellent sight to see 8 of our professionals mingling with some seasoned amateurs and our newest players participating in the Kendrick Cup. It really portrayed what our game is all about. The Kendrick Cup Players were buzzing having just watched the Professionals display their talent and prowess on court, the seasoned amateurs were buzzing from getting to play side by side with our professionals and our professionals were excited to see which of their protégées would go on to utilize the training received over the season to win the Kendrick Cup! It was truly a special night and there was even a special guest; former Boston Tennis & Racquets Professional Jimmy Burke came by to enjoy the dinner and pass on some of his wisdom after many years in the game. 

You may recall having heard about the Professional Coaching Award, which is in its second year of existence and brought to fruition by Peter Dunne and the Jester's Foundation. This award is meant to recognize the exceptional coaching work of one of our Professionals. The award is valued at $5k and is meant to inspire other professionals to hone their craft and keep up the great work of teaching our future players the game. This year's recipient was Boston's Neil Smith! Congratulations to Neil on winning the award and for all of his incredible work at the Tennis & Racquet Club of Boston over the last season. The award was the brain-child of Peter Dunne, Kendrick de Koning, and The Jester's Foundation. Thank you to The Jester's Foundation for this incredible financial support. 

With play completed for the Professional Singles and Pro-Am Championships, focus would soon switch to the Kendrick Cup on Friday Morning. Before that, however, we must thank the North American Racquets Association & The Shumaker Racquets Foundation for the financial support on the weekend. Without their financial and organizational support, the weekend would not have occurred nor would it have been as successful as it was. Thank you!

The party raged into early morning hours and the 9am first match was approaching. 22 Players made the draw of this year's Kendrick Cup. All clubs were represented save for Chicago and Tuxedo. This is a great display of the strength and health of our game here in North America. The Professionals would attest to the level of play in this year's Kendrick Cup. While there were a few newer players to the game (keep with it!) the level of play was competitive and impressive. The top half of the draw would see Montreal's Oliver Graham versus New York's Will Eide in the semi-finals. The bottom half of the draw would see Montreal's EJ Boffey versus Boston's Christopher Tomasevich. Graham bested Eide 15/8,4 while Tomasevich bested Boffey 15/6,9. Sunday's final match was set. Would Montreal or Boston hoist this year's trophy? 

With much-needed breakfast and pastries on the table, the gallery slowly filled for the finals of the 2026 Kendrick Cup. It was a balmy 85 degrees in the gallery, and the stage was set for a match filled with long rallies. Montreal’s Oliver Graham came out swinging and won the first game 15/9, and looked ready to go one and win the second. But Boston’s Chris Tomasevich wasn’t ready to go down without a fight, he found his serve and eeked out the second game winning 15/9. Both players were feeling the heat (and the night before) and traded excellent rallies and serving runs. Oliver Graham is your 2026 Kendrick Cup Champion having bested Tomasevich 15/12 in the final game. Congratulations to all Kendrick Cup Players! We look forward to seeing your talent grow and welcome you to travel to all our tournaments for many years to come. 

The weekend was over and everyone was commenting on the success of hosting these tournaments together. As we know, these weekends take a village to organize and we must thank the members of the Tennis & Racquet Club of Boston for hosting so many participants. Thank you is due to the T&R’s new General Manager, Tony Hollins for helping take such good care of us. The event went off without a hitch and that was all due to Racquets Professional Neil Smith for executing such a well-organized tournament. 

And just like that, the 2025/6 North American Racquet Association’s season is over. On behalf of the Board of Governors, I would like to thank you all for your support over the years and particularly this most recent season. Our game is growing, level of play is high, and more new players keep joining our ranks. We hope to see you in September for the Quintathalon hosted by the Montreal Racquet Club. Stay tuned to your email and our website (www.northamericanracquets.com) for more information about next season. We wish you and your families a great summer and look forward to welcoming you back to the racquets courts in North American in the fall. 

PLAY!

Lucas Walsh