Title
'She annihilated me!': Hilary Casey on playing an up-and-coming Abbie Tordoff at Hythe Lawn Tennis Club.
Subject
Hilary Casey/Abbie Tordoff
Description
In this excerpt, Hilary Casey tells the story of when she played a match against future Wimbledon player and Hythe Lawn Tennis Club's 'most well known player', Abbie Tordoff. (Transcript attached.)
Creator
Michael Romyn
Source
Hilary Casey Oral History Recording
Publisher
Kent's Sporting Memories
Date
Interview recorded on 2 May, 2019
Contributor
Hilary Casey; Michael Romyn
Rights
Kent's Sporting Memories
Relation
Hilary Casey Oral History Recording ; Hilary Casey Oral History Recording Summary
Format
MP3 File
Language
English
Type
Sound Recording
Identifier
Hilary Casey
Transcription
Kent’s Sporting Memories Oral History Transcript (Excerpt)
Interviewee: Hilary Casey
Interviewer: Michael Romyn
Date: 2 May, 2019
Location: Hythe Lawn Tennis Club in Hythe, Kent.
Recording Time: 46:58 – 50:44
Michael Romyn: Have there been any notable players from the club?
Hilary Casey: Abbie Tordoff is our, she’s now – the very first year, the very first year I joined the club, I think it was the first summer after I joined the club I got talked into playing in the club championships, or was it a tournament, I can’t quite remember, anyway, I got drawn against Abbie Tordoff, didn’t know who Abbie was. And this little tot came on the court, no bigger than these little ones here - that’s how good she was - dragging the racket behind her, and her hat was so big her baseball cap, she went like this and it spun on her head. She annihilated me! Absolutely annihilated me! And all credit to her, she was a brilliant player, obviously she was gonna go places, and she got picked up – then the LTA didn’t used to have a training session then, it was done through Rover, and it was called the Rover initiative and it was done at Bisham Abbey, which is, it was, I don’t know if it’s still there Bisham Abbey, it was a big sports, general sports training college somewhere north of London I think, Bisham Abbey, and the Rover initiative were based there, and at ten, eleven, I think, Abbie was picked to go to Bisham Abbey, and she played on the junior circuit all over the world, and we gave her family membership of the club and her parents both played, her parents still both play, and we followed her with interest. And then of course she played in junior Wimbledon, she reached the quarter finals one year in junior Wimbledon, but she was so slight, and it was the time when players were beginning to come along with arms like this, you know, and gym work was as important as on court play and that sort of thing, and she just was getting beaten by people who just were physically bigger and taller and stronger than her. Anyway she reached an age, she went to the senior, she played Eastbourne at the, which was just ladies then, she played and we had a big club trip a couple of years down to Eastbourne to support her, and then she played in senior Wimbledon, and again we had a big coach trip to Wimbledon. She reached the second round or the third round of Wimbledon I think, but again you see it was at a time when these big strong players were beginning to come along in the senior circuit. She was earning a good living at it, she was a pro, but anyway she then went into sports management and she managed several of the top – by this time she was adult of course – she then started to manage sports players and she worked, I can’t remember the name of the company she worked for, and she was still involved very much in tennis. Then we lost touch with her for a few years – I always used to ask her parents how Abbie was and this sort of thing, and she’s now married and she’s got a family now. But this tennis for teens…she’s started this initiative to get youngsters into tennis, and she’s doing really, really well. She’s probably our most well known player, and I mean she was, at the time, she was at the time of sort of Gabriela Sabatini and all these very beautiful players, and Abbie was a gorgeous looking girl you know and of course she was picked out, you’d see her picture in the paper all the time and all that sort of thing.
MR: And from Hythe?
HC: Yes, her parents still liver here, up in Saltwood, just up here. Yes, her parents still play here.
--Ends--
Interviewee: Hilary Casey
Interviewer: Michael Romyn
Date: 2 May, 2019
Location: Hythe Lawn Tennis Club in Hythe, Kent.
Recording Time: 46:58 – 50:44
Michael Romyn: Have there been any notable players from the club?
Hilary Casey: Abbie Tordoff is our, she’s now – the very first year, the very first year I joined the club, I think it was the first summer after I joined the club I got talked into playing in the club championships, or was it a tournament, I can’t quite remember, anyway, I got drawn against Abbie Tordoff, didn’t know who Abbie was. And this little tot came on the court, no bigger than these little ones here - that’s how good she was - dragging the racket behind her, and her hat was so big her baseball cap, she went like this and it spun on her head. She annihilated me! Absolutely annihilated me! And all credit to her, she was a brilliant player, obviously she was gonna go places, and she got picked up – then the LTA didn’t used to have a training session then, it was done through Rover, and it was called the Rover initiative and it was done at Bisham Abbey, which is, it was, I don’t know if it’s still there Bisham Abbey, it was a big sports, general sports training college somewhere north of London I think, Bisham Abbey, and the Rover initiative were based there, and at ten, eleven, I think, Abbie was picked to go to Bisham Abbey, and she played on the junior circuit all over the world, and we gave her family membership of the club and her parents both played, her parents still both play, and we followed her with interest. And then of course she played in junior Wimbledon, she reached the quarter finals one year in junior Wimbledon, but she was so slight, and it was the time when players were beginning to come along with arms like this, you know, and gym work was as important as on court play and that sort of thing, and she just was getting beaten by people who just were physically bigger and taller and stronger than her. Anyway she reached an age, she went to the senior, she played Eastbourne at the, which was just ladies then, she played and we had a big club trip a couple of years down to Eastbourne to support her, and then she played in senior Wimbledon, and again we had a big coach trip to Wimbledon. She reached the second round or the third round of Wimbledon I think, but again you see it was at a time when these big strong players were beginning to come along in the senior circuit. She was earning a good living at it, she was a pro, but anyway she then went into sports management and she managed several of the top – by this time she was adult of course – she then started to manage sports players and she worked, I can’t remember the name of the company she worked for, and she was still involved very much in tennis. Then we lost touch with her for a few years – I always used to ask her parents how Abbie was and this sort of thing, and she’s now married and she’s got a family now. But this tennis for teens…she’s started this initiative to get youngsters into tennis, and she’s doing really, really well. She’s probably our most well known player, and I mean she was, at the time, she was at the time of sort of Gabriela Sabatini and all these very beautiful players, and Abbie was a gorgeous looking girl you know and of course she was picked out, you’d see her picture in the paper all the time and all that sort of thing.
MR: And from Hythe?
HC: Yes, her parents still liver here, up in Saltwood, just up here. Yes, her parents still play here.
--Ends--