Tom Johnson (above right) won this tournament, sponsored by the Island media outlet Island Echo in a hard-fought final on 14 April. It’s the Island’s principal handicapped tournament.

Tom beat his opponent Alex Rorke in five sets (11-9, 11-8, 7-11, 4-11, 8-11) – Alex is one of the top players on the Island, so Tom had a +4 handicap advantage.

Alex won the first two sets by a tight margin, but from the third set, Tom attacked more and came back into the game strongly.

Tom managed to overcome Alex’s style and got progressively better as the game came towards its conclusion.

The fifth and final set was very tight, and the match could have gone either way, but Tom finished strongly, taking the final three points to win the match and the Island Echo Handicapped Singles title for 2025.

Alex Rorke (left in the photo) is the chairman of the Island Table Tennis Association. He said: “We are delighted, once again with the support and sponsorship of this excellent tournament by ISLAND ECHO. It helps to raise the profile of the sport among the wider community of the Island.”