Congratulations to Cecilia and Saurabh on winning the 2019 Summer Handicap! A thrilling final won in the deciding game. Thanks to all who turned up and played!

Team Challenge Time in Teesside!

• 28 Girls representing 5 North East venues enjoyed a Summer Team Challenge Event
• Held at Yarm Tennis Club
• Team Challenge led by local Competition Organisers and Coach Claire Smith

Local Competition Organiser and Coach Claire Smith welcomed 28 girls from across Durham and Teesside to Yarm Tennis Club on July 14^th.  The girls were eager to play in Team Tennis, which is continuing to grow in the North East. 

It was some of the girls first experience of Team Tennis and it is brilliant that more new players are starting to experience these fun, competitive opportunities.  This continues to build the momentum that is seeing hundreds of girls competing across the region. 

Claire split the day into two events, which included Under 14 and 14 & Over.  A timed tennis format was used for singles and doubles.

The atmosphere throughout the day was full of positivity, team work and togetherness. 

The team players came from local tennis venues including Northallerton, Yarm, Hutton Rudby, Guisborough, Barnard Castle.

Below are the results from the day,

• Under 14 Winners – Rosie Dunkerton (Yarm) and Lucy Bardgett (Hutton Rudby)
• Runners up – Sienna and Rimini Chapman (Northallerton)

• Over 14 Winners  – Anna Fergie and Lucy Graham (Yarm)
• Runners up – Laura Reynolds and Jasmin Milner (Northallerton)

Claire was delighted with the day,

“An absolutely fantastic event that provided a fun and relaxed environment for club level players to get involved in competitive matches. Some of the girls had never taken part in a competition before but were more than capable of playing some great tennis. The mix of singles and doubles offered a great balance of feeling part of a team while also getting a chance to challenge their competitive side, and Yarm Tennis Club was an ideal venue to have 7 courts of matches running. Events like these are really important to help retain girls in tennis!”

The North East Women and Girls Programme is supported through the LTA, GB Tennis Girls and the Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative.

For more information please contact:

Jo Cunliffe (Workforce Development Partner) on 0795 8233715 or Jo.Cunliffe@LTA.org.uk 

NOTES TO EDITORS

• Group Photo: All players at Yarm Tennis Club

• The LTA’s vision is ‘Tennis opened up’ and our mission is to grow tennis by making it relevant, accessible, welcoming and enjoyable. The LTA’s role is to govern and develop tennis in Britain, from grassroots participation through to the professional game

For more information about the LTA’s 2019-2023 Vision, please follow this link: Download the LTA’s 2019-2023 Vision to find out more. 

• GBTG, which is a non-profit organisation who aims to tackle this gender divide and increase equality within the game. They intend to do so through encouraging girls into tennis, retaining their interest and lobbying for equality in sport.

• The Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative is the trail blazing community tennis initiative run by The All England Club.  Funding from the Initiative supports a number of female based tennis opportunities across the North East.