Stratford-upon-Avon Table Tennis Club and Meon Vale Leisure Centre once again hosted the Alan Hewitt Memorial Tournament on 29 August 2026, with 24 players competing in what has become one of the region’s premier table tennis events. 

This year’s field featured a wealth of current and former Leicestershire and Warwickshire talent, including defending champion Nathaniel Saunders, Loz Sweeney, Dave Gannon, Dave Ramsay, Ian Brown, James Berry, Micky Brown and Abraham Conteh.

Tournament organiser Mat Hobday said: “The quality of players who continue to enter from Leicester, Leamington, Nuneaton, Birmingham and Coventry makes this, in my opinion, the strongest local league tournament in the area. It has become a tournament that players genuinely want to win, and every year the standard seems to get higher.”

Beyond the competition itself, the tournament continues to honour the memory of Warwickshire and Leicestershire representative Alan Hewitt while raising vital funds for charity. Over the past four years, the event has generated more than £4,000 for charitable causes, with proceeds from this year’s tournament supporting Myton Hospice, whose staff provided exceptional care for Alan during his illness.

The tournament delivered outstanding table tennis from the opening round to the final point. Groups three and four proved particularly competitive, producing a series of fiercely contested encounters, many of which went the full five sets. 

The knockout stages provided even more drama. In the first semi-final, defending champion Nathaniel Saunders demonstrated why he remains the player to beat, overcoming tournament organiser Mat Hobday in four hard-fought sets. In the other semi-final, Dave Ramsay produced one of the performances of the day to defeat No 2 seed and three-time semi-finalist James Berry and book his place in the final.

The championship match proved to be a fitting conclusion to a memorable tournament. Ramsay, widely regarded as the tournament’s surprise package, shocked the crowd by storming into a commanding two-set lead and moved within touching distance of a famous victory. However, Saunders once again displayed the resilience, composure and fighting spirit that have become the hallmarks of his game. Refusing to relinquish his title, he battled his way back into the contest, levelling the match at two sets apiece before clinching a thrilling deciding set 11-8. The remarkable comeback secured Saunders’ second consecutive Alan Hewitt Memorial title and cemented his place as the 2026 champion.

Fellow organiser Ian Ferguson said: “The tournament will continue to be held every year, and we hope it goes from strength to strength. Alan was a tremendous player who represented both Leicestershire and Warwickshire at senior level, and I think he would be overwhelmed to know that four years on, people continue to come together to play in his memory. Even those who could not attend this year still contributed through donations, which says everything about the respect people had for him.”

Mat Hobday agreed and highlighted the community effort behind the event by adding: “This year the tournament raised £1,000 for Myton Hospice, with £355 coming from refreshments and raffle ticket sales on the day. We even had a lemonade stall run by the children of eventual runner-up Dave Ramsay, which was a fantastic addition and really captured the spirit of the event. The support from everyone involved is hugely appreciated. The success of the tournament is entirely down to the players and volunteers who continue to give their time and energy year after year. People such as Kevin Taylor, Tom Brocklehurst, Claire Welch, Phil Paggett and Doris and Bob Whittaker play a vital role in making the day possible, helping with everything from the venue and PA system to the raffle and refreshments.”

As the tournament enters its fifth year, the Alan Hewitt Memorial continues to grow in stature, combining high-quality table tennis with a shared commitment to remembering a respected player, supporting a worthy cause, and bringing together the wider table tennis community.