Club News
Great news for the community – Duffield Rackets and Fitness are sponsoring two Junior football teams: one boys’ team and one girls’. This is putting the club into the heart of the community and will help ensure that we are known amongst the younger generations in the village. More details and photos will be on social media.
New Club Kit
We are pleased to announce that you now have the option to add your individual sport, e.g. Duffield Pickleball, to the back of your club t-shirt or sweatshirt.
Our Nike range offers everything you need to look cool and classy on court this season and is supplied by Kitlocker. As well as tops, we have joggers, leggings and shorts in a multitude of colours and styles. The clothing is high quality and great value.
Check out our online catalogue and place your order now!
https://www.kitlocker.shop/racketsports/tennis-clubs/a-e/duffield-rackets-and-fitness
Tennis
Derbyshire County Closed – This competition will once again be held at Duffield Rackets and Fitness (between August 23 and 29th). You are welcome to come and watch the best junior and adult players in Derbyshire. On finals day, the courts will see a special inclusive tennis experience, when people with disabilities and additional needs can enjoy tennis in a fun, friendly and supportive environment.
We will be adapting the toilet facilities in the foyer to make it more disabled-friendly for our visitors – we appreciate your understanding for any disruption during this time.
All courts will be taken from Monday to Saturday but please keep in touch to see if there are any early court slots available as the tournament progresses.
We need volunteers to help in the kitchen and your offers of home-made cakes will again be appreciated for the refreshment bar – please contact Sally on 07774 704709.
Kids’ Summer Holiday Club – The activities continue through the summer and a bonus week has been added covering September 1 to 4 – from9am to 3pm. Great value at £25 per day. To book, please contact Head Coach James: james.grindell@btinternet.com
Derbyshire Rackets Marathon – Duffield is hosting this event in support of Cancer Research UK on Saturday 12 September – 10 am to 12 pm. Twenty-five clubs are taking part to #Keep the rally going – 18 hours of non-stop racket sport action across the county. Please take part, donate or just spread the word. See our website for a link to the donations page. Contact Pete for more information – 07976 425788.
Pickleball
We continue to attract new members, meaning that club socials are very well attended with 30 to 40 people playing on all 7 courts. The organised match play evenings are proving very popular, as are the tournaments organised by James. The latest one being won by Wayne and Kath and leading to a great Pickleball Saturday afternoon in the bar.
English Nationals Tournament – Four of our players entered this tournament at the NEC, and all did well progressing through to the knockout stages, despite over 3000 entrants. Our members are starting to enter more tournaments such as Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham and we have several pairings playing in the prestigious Amber Valley Open at the Derby Arena.
Winter indoor play – Looking forward to the dark evenings we have secured indoor venues for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Monday and Tuesday will be social play allowing 40 members to take part across the two nights. Wednesday will be match practice for our team players. We will also be playing matches in the over 60’s friendlies against other Derbyshire clubs. Thanks to Pete for organising
Other News – The new Derby League season – kicks off in September and we will be entering numerous teams. The pickleball court lines have been repainted, which is a fantastic improvement. Thanks to Pete, Nigel and Andy.
Lastly, we have heard concerns regarding the balls used by pickle ball players – just to reassure members that these are purchased by the players themselves and not provided by the club. One of our members, Andrew, recently donated 100.
Squash
This is an update on his season’s planned activities at the club. More detailed information will be issued at the beginning of September.
Teams Winter Season 2026/27 – We will be entering teams into Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire leagues this winter season. Derbyshire Squash/Racketball is considering starting an inter-club racketball league. There are already quite a few members showing interest. If you want to know more about team squash/racketball or wish to play for a team, please contact: Marcus Thomas – 07981 967924.
Coaching Team – Our three coaches for squash and racketball are Matt Gregory, Fin Stott and Lesley Sturgess. You will see posters outlining their skills and offerings on the notice boards in the downstairs club area. Matt will be taking on a more significant role at the club in the coming months and has his own weblink where you can book onto the sessions he offers – mattgregorysquash.com
Internal Leagues – We run internal squash and racketball leagues which have proved to be highly successful and competitive over many years; they are a great way to meet new people and benchmark yourself against others. Don’t forget to subscribe to SquashLevels https://app.squashlevels.com/dashboard and Squash57Levels (Racketball) https://app.squash57levels.com/dashboard, which allow you to have a club, county, national, and international grading, to see how you and others fit into the wider arena of squash. It would be great to see more people actively playing in leagues. To join, please contact: Gill Ford 07971 346927
e-mail: leagues@duffieldsquashclub.co.uk
The Duffield Open – A much-loved event in the club calendar, this competition is back again this year (26 September, 2026 – 10 am to 7 pm). It is a Graded Squash and Racketball Tournament, (run by Duffield-grown professional player Millie Tomlinson. All standards are welcome; players will be placed into grades (A-E) according to their SquashLevels and Squash57Levels (Racketball) ratings where possible, ensuring everyone gets matched games. All participants should get three matches (best of three) over the course of the day and winners receive a trophy. There are posters around the club with information or you can enter via this link: The Duffield Open 2026.
Group Sessions – Saturday Morning Squash – 9 am
Alan Beard runs a Saturday morning Squash session open to all members, mainly of an intermediate standard, starting at 9 am. Alan is now inviting nominated juniors. There is room for more, so please sign up – we can allocate more court times as demand grows. If you wish to join, please contact Alan Beard: 07710 874886. Alan can then add you to the WhatsApp group.
Friday Evening Racketball Social and Squash Club Night – 5.40 pm to 8.20 pm
To attend either of these sociable and fun sessions, select the Friday booking sheet for the week you want, click on the links as shown below.
Circuit Training – Mondays 7.20 pm, is open to all club members to improve general fitness and core/overall body strength. Contact: Lesley Sturgess: 07941 312673.
Other News – Congratulations to our first team (Duffield 1) who have won Division 1 of the Derbyshire Summer League 2026.
Congratulations also to our club professional, Rhys Evans, who reached the final of the PSA Valencia 2026 Copper Event tournament on 15 August The result was 3-2 to Ivan Perez. Rhys is now ranked world no.80.
Social
Sisters Social – Wednesday Aug 26, 7.30 – 9.30 pm
Our social evening is open to all women members and guests – tennis, squash, pickle and fitness ladies. Come with a friend or on your own – it’s a friendly bunch who will make you welcome. Enjoy a drink and a chat, play cards or whatever you fancy – it’s your evening! No booking needed.
NTL – Les Liaisons Dangereuses – Sunday September 13
The Marquise de Merteuil is a master in the art of survival. Alongside the magnetic Vicomte de Valmont, they turn seduction into strategy and weaponise desire. But when their alliance collapses into rivalry, the battle between them threatens to destroy everyone in their path.
Lesley Manville (Oedipus, Phantom Thread) and Aidan Turner (Rivals) lead the company in a striking new staging of Christopher Hampton’s (The Father) celebrated adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos’ classic novel – a thrilling game of love, lies and social warfare.
Book now: https://duffieldrf.club/events/
Dates for your diary
Italian wine tasting – Saturday October 3, £22
October 3rd sees another of our ever-popular wine tasting sessions. This time Italian wines take centre stage (three whites and three reds), accompanied by some tasty Italian bites. Six tables of 9 people will be available for booking via the website from September 1.
Comedy evening – Friday November 13, £15
Our very first RockCentral Comedy Night is happening on Friday November 13 at the club – 7.30 pm start, bar open as usual. Tickets available from the website from October 1.
More information contact: social@duffieldrf.club
Kitchen
The kitchen has now been inspected and we will be making some improvements in line with the recommendations. Please ensure that you always leave the kitchen tidy – wash, dry and put away anything you have used and clean down surfaces and cookers.
Enjoy the rest of your summer…and the cooler weather.
Marketing team
