The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
Anne-Marie Darcy, club coach and member of Ennis Tennis & Badminton Club, was part of the Ireland ladies 35s team that finished 10th in the world at the International Tennis Federation World Team Championships 2022 in Portugal last week.
Orginally from Nenagh but now living in Ballyea, and teaching in Clarecastle National School, Anne-Marie’s great achievement to be selected for Ireland has been hugely inspirational to all the club’s budding tennis players of all ages.
After an intense week of matches in Lisbon, Anne-Marie with a team of three other ladies, finished 10th in the Ladies 35s ‘Suzanne Lenglen Cup’ after a play-off against a strong France team.
It was a big honour for Anne-Marie who got selected based on results and ranking from the 2021 season in her age category. This opportunity to represent Ireland is the culmination of many years of success in competition at local, national and interprovincial level.
Anne-Marie is a top-graded Munster player who has played and competed with clubs in Ennis, Nenagh, and Dublin. She has captained and won Munster Winter League and Summer Cup titles.
She has competed in national competitions and won titles in Munster, Connacht & Leinster. Her successes include singles, ladies doubles and mixed doubles titles, highlighting her skill base.
In between practice she also provides coaching in Ennis Tennis and Badminton Club throughout the year, for both children and adults alike.
Most recently she led the Tennis Ireland ‘Try Tennis’ initiative in conjunction with Clare Sports Partnership aimed at enticing ladies who had never played tennis before to give tennis a try out which was oversubscribed in less than 48 hours. Of the 24 ladies who took part many became members of the club and some have already competed in their first tournaments.
In preparation for this event, Anne-Marie has been training on an artificial clay surface in Killaloe Tennis Club and in DCU, Dublin.
This takes huge commitment as suitable locations to prepare for such an event are geographically dispersed. Anne-Marie is honoured to have been selected to represent her country in the World Tennis Championships and is really looking forward to the experience.
Anne-Marie would like to thank the members for all the good wishes in preparation for her trip. Ennis Lawn Tennis & Badminton Club is very proud to have had Anne-Marie representing Ireland in Portugal. Karen Walsh Tennis Captain
“We are very lucky to have such a great player, coach and role model in our club,” said a club spokesperson, adding, “Congratulations to Anne-Marie on an amazing achievement to play for Ireland, and compete at a high level.”
