In his mind, Rob Fahey checked out from real tennis long ago. But his body, aided by a hip replacement last year, has one last match before the sport’s greatest player bids adieu. There is honour to uphold and a remarkable record as half of real tennis’s first couple.
Fahey, 54, has been world champion for 26 of the past 28 years, and his wife Claire, 31, has been the women’s champion since 2011. This month, Rob will defend his title for the final time against Camden Riviere, the American who sounds like a north London hotspot, and who beat Fahey in 2016 but was overcome in the 2018 rematch.
Behind lawn tennis, a number of racket sports jostle for position, padel and pickleball the