Saunders’ Fine Comeback Seals Victory in memory of Alan – Table Tennis England

After the enormously successful Alan Hewitt Memorial Tournaments in 2023 and 2024, Stratford Upon Table Tennis Club and Meon Vale Leisure again organized the 2025 competition.

The tournament saw 32 players coming in, including the current and former Leicestershire and Warwickshire stars in Michael Bree, Nathaniel Saunders, Mark Jackson, Loz Sweeney, Dave Gannon, Pete Barrow, James Berry, Gareth Edmunds and Abraham.

Organizer Mat Hobday said: “The quality of the players who arrived the tournament from Leicester, Leamerton, Nuneaton, Birmingham and Coventry make the standard of access easy to the best of every local league tournament, and it is really the tournament to win locally.

“Alan was a top player who represented both Leicestershire and Warwickshire at senior level and I think Alan would be a bit overwhelmed to know that I and Ian (Ferguson) are now in our third year of organizing and organizing a tournament in his memory.

“It would really mean the world for him to know that people are still playing in his memory, even those who have not been able to enter this year have donated.”

The last three years of the Alan Hewitt Memorial Tournament has collected around £ 3,000 for a charity, with money that was collected from this year’s tournament to the British Children’s Heart Foundation, a charity that is very close to organizer Ian Ferguson and his family.

The tournament saw two -time defending champion Michael Bree at no. 2 Seed Nathanial Saunders in the final. Michael took the first two sets 11-7 and 11-9, but Nathaniel, who had overcome Mark Jackson in a nail polish with four set of semi-final, was not discouraged and managed to win the next three sets 11-9, 11-8 and 11-7 to become the 2025 Alan Hewitt Memorial Champion. The Comfort Singles saw Steve Robinson Deb Barrow overcome in a high quality final.

Organizers Ian Ferguson and Mat HobDay said: “The tournament will be held every year and we hope that it will take effect, so if there are players who knew Alan of his days playing on the circuit in the mid -nineties and who want to play in his memory, contact us.

“The support of all players is really appreciated every year and the success of the tournament is without a doubt all the way to them, and people such as Kevin Taylor, Tom Brocklehurst, Claire Paggett and Doris and Bob Whittaker, who organize the location and PA system, and the Raffle and Refreshs on the day.”