Boodles Challenge
Encyclopedia
The Boodles Tennis Challenge is an international five day tennis
exhibition held at Stoke Park Club
in Buckinghamshire
, England initially founded by veteran sports agent Patricio Apey as an event to help players hone their grass court skills in the lead-up to Wimbledon. It is played in a similar style to the AAMI Classic giving the players at least three matches each and allowing non competition players to appear in one match per a day. Over recent years Andre Agassi
, Pete Sampras
, Tim Henman
, Marat Safin
, James Blake
, Andy Roddick
, Fernando González
, David Nalbandian
, Novak Djokovic
, Fernando Verdasco
, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray have all appeared. Since its inception, The Boodles has turned into a lifestyle event featuring British luxury brands such as Boodles, Pommery
, Chubb Insurance and Jaguar.
Often described as an elegant English summer party around world class tennis, attendances are strictly limited to 1500 people per day to ensure every guests has a quality view of both the tennis and the exquisite jewellery on display.
In only its second year the tournament saw Mark Philippoussis
lifting The Boodles trophy before going on to appear in the Wimbledon
final two weeks later.
In 2004, the Champions Challenge provided four days of riveting tennis, with Andy Roddick and Wimbledon Champion Goran Ivanišević
entertaining the fortunate guests.
Due to the growing popularity ‘The Boodles’ saw a fifth day added in 2005 and an elite group of world-class players gathered to contest the title, including Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski
and defending Wimbledon Champion Maria Sharapova
. Andre Agassi's multiple appearances in 2006 were a highlight as he prepared for his farewell appearance at Wimbledon.
With sell-out crowds in 2007, and appearances from world class performers Novak Djokovic and Fernando Verdasco, the event was clearly becoming a fixture in the calendar of the tennis elite.
The Boodles 2008 continued to deliver the high standards that are now expected of the showpiece Wimbledon warm-up event, showcasing arguably its strongest field
to date. Guests were again treated as Andy Murray elected to complete his Wimbledon preparation at Stoke Park alongside his other Top 10 rivals, Novak Djokovic and David Nalbandian, all under the watchful eye of Alan Mills
, Wimbledon referee for 23 years.
2009 proved once again that the world's top tennis stars regarded The Boodles as ideal for their SW19 preparations, with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Nikolay Davydenko
and Novak Djokovic competing on the Stoke Park lawns.
With four of the world's top ten players competing in 2010, tennis aficionados recognized the unique opportunity at The Boodles to get up close to their heroes with record crowds attending finals weekend. ATP World Tour champion Nikolay Davydenko, World Number 2 Novak Djokovic and Spanish heartthrob Fernando Verdasco competed admirably, with French sensation Gaël Monfils
eventually lifting The Boodles trophy.
2011 celebrated The Boodles 10th Anniversary. With an exciting line-up of The Boodles' favourites, it was considered as one of the best years of this event. Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Gaël Monfils and Viktor Troicki
all competed, with World Number 6 David Ferrer
eventually being crowned the winner.
The 2012 Boodles event will take place between 19 - 23 June.
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
exhibition held at Stoke Park Club
Stoke Park Club
Stoke Park is a historic estate in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire. The Mansion is located amongst of parkland, lakes, historic gardens and monuments. The site is now a hotel, spa and country club....
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, England initially founded by veteran sports agent Patricio Apey as an event to help players hone their grass court skills in the lead-up to Wimbledon. It is played in a similar style to the AAMI Classic giving the players at least three matches each and allowing non competition players to appear in one match per a day. Over recent years Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
, Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time....
, Tim Henman
Tim Henman
Timothy Henry "Tim" Henman OBE is a retired English professional tennis player and former British Number One. Henman played a serve-and-volley style of tennis that suited the grass courts of Wimbledon. He was the first player from the United Kingdom since Roger Taylor in the 1970s to reach the...
, Marat Safin
Marat Safin
Marat Mikhailovich Safin is a retired Russian tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the world number 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken...
, James Blake
James Blake
James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...
, Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
, Fernando González
Fernando González
----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...
, David Nalbandian
David Nalbandian
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
, Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
, Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco Carmona is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 22 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight...
, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray have all appeared. Since its inception, The Boodles has turned into a lifestyle event featuring British luxury brands such as Boodles, Pommery
Pommery
Champagne Pommery is a French Champagne house located in Reims. The house was founded as Pommery & Greno in 1858 by Alexandre Louis Pommery and Narcisse Greno with the primary business being wool trading. Under the guidance of Alexandre's widow, Louise Pommery, the firm was dedicated to Champagne...
, Chubb Insurance and Jaguar.
Often described as an elegant English summer party around world class tennis, attendances are strictly limited to 1500 people per day to ensure every guests has a quality view of both the tennis and the exquisite jewellery on display.
History
In its inaugural year of 2002, the Boodles and Dunthorne Champions Challenge (now The Boodles Tennis Challenge) quickly established itself as one of the ‘must attend’ summer social gatherings, giving guests the opportunity to mingle at close quarters with the world's tennis elite.In only its second year the tournament saw Mark Philippoussis
Mark Philippoussis
Mark Anthony Philippoussis is an Australian tennis player. He turned professional in 1994. His father is Greek, while his mother is of Italian ancestry....
lifting The Boodles trophy before going on to appear in the Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
final two weeks later.
In 2004, the Champions Challenge provided four days of riveting tennis, with Andy Roddick and Wimbledon Champion Goran Ivanišević
Goran Ivaniševic
Goran Ivanišević is a retired Croatian professional tennis player. He is best remembered for being the only person to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon as a wildcard. He achieved this in 2001, having previously been runner-up at the championships in 1992, 1994 and 1998. Ivanišević is famous...
entertaining the fortunate guests.
Due to the growing popularity ‘The Boodles’ saw a fifth day added in 2005 and an elite group of world-class players gathered to contest the title, including Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski
Greg Rusedski
Gregory "Greg" Rusedski is a British Canadian former tennis player who turned professional in 1991 and played until his retirement on 7 April 2007, at the age of 33...
and defending Wimbledon Champion Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
. Andre Agassi's multiple appearances in 2006 were a highlight as he prepared for his farewell appearance at Wimbledon.
With sell-out crowds in 2007, and appearances from world class performers Novak Djokovic and Fernando Verdasco, the event was clearly becoming a fixture in the calendar of the tennis elite.
The Boodles 2008 continued to deliver the high standards that are now expected of the showpiece Wimbledon warm-up event, showcasing arguably its strongest field
to date. Guests were again treated as Andy Murray elected to complete his Wimbledon preparation at Stoke Park alongside his other Top 10 rivals, Novak Djokovic and David Nalbandian, all under the watchful eye of Alan Mills
Alan Mills (tennis)
Allan Mills, CBE born in Stretford, Lancashire, England, was a former tennis player and tournament referee for the Wimbledon tennis championships from 1982 to 2005. Although each individual tennis match was controlled by an on-court umpire, Alan Mills ran the entire tournament...
, Wimbledon referee for 23 years.
2009 proved once again that the world's top tennis stars regarded The Boodles as ideal for their SW19 preparations, with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
and Novak Djokovic competing on the Stoke Park lawns.
With four of the world's top ten players competing in 2010, tennis aficionados recognized the unique opportunity at The Boodles to get up close to their heroes with record crowds attending finals weekend. ATP World Tour champion Nikolay Davydenko, World Number 2 Novak Djokovic and Spanish heartthrob Fernando Verdasco competed admirably, with French sensation Gaël Monfils
Gaël Monfils
Gaël Sébastien Monfils is a French professional tennis player. he was the highest-ranked French tennis player, ranked no. 7 in the world ATP rankings. He was the runner-up at the Paris Masters in 2009 and 2010 and a semifinalist at the 2008 French Open.-2002:In 2002, Monfils finished 24th at the...
eventually lifting The Boodles trophy.
2011 celebrated The Boodles 10th Anniversary. With an exciting line-up of The Boodles' favourites, it was considered as one of the best years of this event. Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Gaël Monfils and Viktor Troicki
Viktor Troicki
Viktor Troicki is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has Serb and Russian ethnic roots. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Tver and Rostov-on-Don to Serbia in 1917. His career-high ranking is no. 12, achieved on 6 June 2011. He won his first ATP singles title at the 2010 Kremlin Cup,...
all competed, with World Number 6 David Ferrer
David Ferrer
David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000...
eventually being crowned the winner.
The 2012 Boodles event will take place between 19 - 23 June.
2011 Matches and Results
| Date | Players | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 14 June 2011 | Richard Gasquet Richard Gasquet Richard Gasquet is a French professional tennis player. He won the mixed doubles Grand Slam title at the 2004 French Open, partnering Tatiana Golovin. His highest ranking in singles is #7. His best achievements in tennis are reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2007 and later that year... v Gaël Monfils |
7–6, 6–4 |
| Tommy Haas Tommy Haas Tommy Haas is a German and recently naturalized American professional tennis player. He has competed on the ATP Tour since 1996. After breaking into the world top 100 in 1997, and reaching a career-high ranking of world no... v Tommy Robredo Tommy Robredo Tommy Robredo Garcés is a Spanish professional tennis player. On 8 May 2006, he broke into the world's top ten for the first time. His highest singles ranking to date is No... |
7–6, 6–3 | |
| David Nalbandian v Viktor Troicki | 3–6, 7–6, 10–6 | |
| 15 June 2011 | Juan Martin Del Potro v Gilles Simon | 6–4, 6–1 |
| David Ferrer v Fernando Verdasco | 6–4, 7–5 | |
| Alexandr Dolgopolov v Viktor Troicki | Match cancelled due to bad weather | |
| 16 June 2011 | Novak Djokovic v Gilles Simon | 6–1, 6–2 |
| David Nalbandian v Richard Gasquet | 6–3, 0–6, 10–5 | |
| David Ferrer v Alexandr Dolgopolov | 6–1, Match abandoned due to bad weather | |
| 17 June 2011 | Andy Murray v Viktor Troicki | 4–1, Match abandoned due to bad weather |
| David Ferrer v Juan Martin Del Potro | Match cancelled due to bad weather | |
| Fernando Verdasco v Tommy Robredo | Match cancelled due to bad weather | |
| 18 June 2011 | David Ferrer v David Nalbandian | 7–5, 6–4, 10–6 |
Past Winners
| Year | Champion |
|---|---|
| 2011 |  David FerrerDavid Ferrer David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000... |
| 2010 |  Gaël MonfilsGaël Monfils Gaël Sébastien Monfils is a French professional tennis player. he was the highest-ranked French tennis player, ranked no. 7 in the world ATP rankings. He was the runner-up at the Paris Masters in 2009 and 2010 and a semifinalist at the 2008 French Open.-2002:In 2002, Monfils finished 24th at the... |
| 2009 |  Philipp KohlschreiberPhilipp Kohlschreiber Philipp Kohlschreiber is a tennis player from Germany, who turned professional in 2001. The right-hander has won six doubles and three singles titles. He reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on 28 September 2009, when he achieved a ranking of World No. 22... |
| 2008 | Nicolas Kiefer Nicolas Kiefer Nicolas Kiefer , is a former German professional tennis player. His mother, Nicole, is French. He won a silver medal in men's doubles with partner Rainer Schüttler at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.... |
| 2007 | Fernando Verdasco Fernando Verdasco Fernando Verdasco Carmona is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 22 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight... |
| 2006 |  Mikhail YouzhnyMikhail Youzhny Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny , is a professional Russian tennis player, noted for his consistency and all-court play style. He has been coached by Boris Sobkin for 17 years.... |
| 2005 |  Fernando GonzálezFernando González ----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra... |
| 2004 |  Ivan LjubičićIvan Ljubicic ----Ivan Ljubičić is a Croatian tennis player born in Bosnia and Herzegovina . His career-high ATP ranking to date has been no. 3, and he stands at no. 37.... |
| 2003 |  Mark PhilippoussisMark Philippoussis Mark Anthony Philippoussis is an Australian tennis player. He turned professional in 1994. His father is Greek, while his mother is of Italian ancestry.... |
| 2002 |  Max MirnyiMax Mirnyi Max Mirnyi is a professional tennis player from Belarus.Today Mirnyi is a doubles specialist, but he also enjoyed a good singles career, finishing in the top 50 in the world for seven straight years, as well as representing Belarus in Davis Cup competition since April 1994, where he holds a... |