Talking Sport Now & Then: Tara Moore to fly the flag for Doncaster at Wimbledon

Hong-Kong-born Tara, who turned professional in 2010, will contest this year’s women’s doubles.

Former Doncaster Lawn Tennis Club member Pete Clarkson, along with wife Natalie, got a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see Tara and her doubles partner preparing for the Championships during practice week last week.

The couple, who now live in Australia, are back in the city to see family and friends and Tara treated them to a day they’ll never forget.

Said Pete: “It was an amazing experience to wander almost anywhere in the Wimbledon grounds. We also had lunch in the players’ café surrounded by the likes of defending men’s champion Carlos Alcaraz and his team, Coco Gauff and Sebastian Korda. Daniil Medvedev and his coach also walked in while we were there. We finished off by watching world No 4 Alexander Zverev practising with Stan Wawrinka.”

Pete has known Tara, who used to practice at the Bessacarr-based club in her younger days as well as attending the world-famous Nick Bollattieri Tennis Academy in the States, for a number of years.

Tara, who rose as high as 145 in the WTA singles ranking and 77 in the doubles, has won numerous titles (singles and doubles) over the years on the ITF Tour.

*I always had mixed feelings about the close season during the years when I reported on Doncaster Rovers.

Having covered all the club’s first-team games home and away as well as various reserve games and the odd Youth Cup game - not to mention over 100 press conferences - I was always ready for a break and glad to get off the treadmill and spend some time covering the summer sports at the end of the EFL season.

I never watched another football game, whether it be the big cup finals or England games, until the start of Rovers’ pre-season campaign.

It may be strange to some for someone in my position not to watch the national team - and still don’t - but I always felt that I started the following season feeling more refreshed and looking forward to the new campaign than would otherwise have been the case.

Not that I didn’t do any Rovers related stories during the close season.

In addition to another three inside pages on various sports I still had to try and come up with at least a back page lead six nights a week during my time at The Star which meant that I never got a complete break.

And in a way there was arguably more pressure than during the season as most of the players were on their break as were the management.

The need to start work on a 28-page pre-season supplement during late June also substantially increased my workload given that I had to provide over 50 per cent of the copy for the publication by early July.

Although I was never a fan of pre-season friendlies at least there was something to write about and opportunities for interviews.

*Rugby league clubs such as the Dons, who share their grounds with football or rugby union clubs, are always at a disadvantage at this time of the season when it comes to fixtures and never enjoy the same home-away format enjoyed by Doncaster Rovers.

The Dons enjoyed a glut of home fixtures early in the season but by the time they entertain Barrow the end of this month they will have played six successive games on the road – a sequence which includes last weekend’s home fixture against Swinton Lions at the Millennium Stadium in Featherstone last Saturday night.

Fortunately for the Dons they managed to claim an 18-8 win to take another step nearer retaining their Championship status which is their prime aim this season

*It promises to be an emotional day this Sunday for the family and friends of the late Rob Burrow, who became something of a national treasure during his heroic battle with MND.

His coffin will visit a number of places with connections to his life starting off from a farm less than half a mile from where I used to live before I got married, and thousands are expected to line the route prior to the service at Pontefract Crematorium

I have been to several funerals there over the years including that of former Dons boss John Sheridan who was well respected within the game. The church was packed with many well-known rugby league faces that day but with all due respect to John, Sunday’s service will be another level.

*Doncaster RLFC past players’ association will be meeting at the Eco-Power Stadium at 1.30pm prior to the Dons-Barrow Betfred Championship game.

Former Dons star Stewart Piper, who is secretary of the association, got in touch with me recently to both invite me to the function and to enlist my help in notifying some Doncaster-based players he has been unable to track down.

Former coach Alan Rhodes, a Challenge Cup winner with Featherstone Rovers in the 70s, will give a short speech at the event which will feature a pre-match buffet and a free match ticket.

Among the players already pencilled in are the likes of Kevin Jones, Neil Turner, David Noble, Kevin Robinson and ‘golden oldies’ Roy Bell, Trevor Denton, Gary Brooks and Ken Rushton.

Any former player interested in attending can get hold of Stewart on 07785396254.