Shropshire tennis teams looking forward to playing in the LTA Summer County Cup

Shropshire's men's and women's tennis teams are looking forward to playing in the Lawn Tennis Association's Summer County Cup next week.

Hundreds of tennis players will take to courts around the country to represent their counties in a competitive team environment at the popular annual event.

First played in 1895, County Week is one of the longest-running tennis tournaments on the domestic calendar, with teams for each tie consisting of three doubles pairs, as counties attempt to earn promotion and to avoid relegation.

Matches will be played throughout a busy and enjoyable week, from Monday until Friday, with 44 counties competing in groups at 12 different grass courtvenues.

Shropshire's men's team, having impressively gained promotion last summer, head north to Ilkley Lawn Tennis & Squash Club in Yorkshire to play in Men's Group 5, with the county's women's side making the long trip south to Frinton Lawn Tennis Club on the Essex coast for their matches in Women's Group 7.

The men's team will begin their week by playing Lincolnshire on Monday, with fixtures against Durham & Cleveland, North Wales, Berkshire and Staffordshire following.

Captain Alex Parry leads a side also including Tom Loxley, Ed Gibbs, Matt Lee, Roan Jones, Duarte Monterio, Luke Henley and Matt Jones.

Alex said: "It's going to be a hard fought week with plenty of ups and downs. Let's see where we come out at the end of it all, but we are really looking forward to the challenge in a higher division. Let's hope the weather holds!”

Shropshire's women's team will start their fixtures against South of Scotland on Monday, with their initial matches on the next two days against Bedfordshire on Tuesday and Staffordshire on Wednesday.

Elena Griffiths captains a team which also features Lily Evans, Maisie Evans, Gwen Klu, Karen Sullivan, Verity Gwilt and Helena Simmonds.

Elena said: “It is a good opportunity for some of our younger players to play in the County Cup, so hopefully everyone enjoys it and we can have a positive week.

“We are looking forward to playing good levels of tennis on the grass."

Pictured: The 2024 Shropshire men's and women's teams played their LTA Summer County Cup matches last year at Hunstanton and Manchester respectively