Team Bath MCTA Tennis player Anna Smith and her women’s doubles partner Jocelyn Rae have been handed wildcards for Wimbledon 2016. The Championships, taking place from June 27 to July 10, will mark a third Grand Slam appearance of the year for Smith and Rae, who are Britain’s doubles partnership in the Federation Cup. They reached the last 16 at the Australian Open in January and progressed to the last 32 at the French Open...
Team Bath MCTA Tennis player Lisa Whybourn got her grass-court season off to a stunning start as she recorded a career-best win on day one of the Aegon Eastbourne Trophy. Whybourn made the most of her wildcard entry by beating number-three seed Kai-Lin Zhang of China 2-6 6-3 7-5 on Monday after a two-hour battle, during which she saved two match points. The 25-year-old, who will face Spain’s Georgina Garcia-Perez in the second round, has...
Natasha Starling was named as the University of Bath’s Sports Personality of the Year during a great night for tennis at the annual Blues Awards ceremony. The Business Administration student topped a poll of members of the Students’ Union Sport from a shortlist that also included fellow tennis player Alex Walker, swimmer Jay Lelliott and archer Lizzy Rees. She was presented with her award by the University of Bath Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell (pictured)....
Victorious Great Britain Davis Cup captain Leon Smith was at the University of Bath Sports Training Village on Wednesday to help inspire the next generation of tennis coaches. He worked with more than 70 coaches to ensure they are now ready to deliver the Lawn Tennis Association’s Tennis For Kids initiative, which aims to get 10,000 children aged between five and eight to pick up a racquet and play tennis for the first time. It...
Staff and athletes at the University of Bath were among the 12,700 runners who took part in the Vitality Bath Half Marathon on Sunday. For Bob Smith, Senior Strength & Conditioning Coach with the Team Bath MCTA International High-Performance Tennis Academy, it was his 11th half-marathon in as many weeks as he continues his inspirational fundraising effort for the Wallace & Gromit Grand Appeal at Bristol Children’s Hospital. His baby daughter Autumn was rushed to...
Student badminton, rugby league, tennis and water polo teams from the University of Bath are hoping for a brilliant BUCS Big Wednesday as they prepare to compete in national finals. This Wednesday (March 16) will see thousands of student-athletes from across the country in action as the BUCS [British Universities & Colleges Sport] cup competitions reach their climax. The University of Bath men’s tennis 1st team (pictured) are looking for plenty of home support when...
University of Bath strength and conditioning coach Bob Smith will run his 11th half-marathon of the year on Sunday when he takes part in the 2016 Vitality Bath Half. It is part of an inspirational fundraising effort by Bob, Senior S&C coach with the Team Bath MCTA International High Performance Tennis Academy, which will see him run a half-marathon every week during 2016 – nearly 700 miles in total. He set himself the challenge to raise money...
University of Bath sporting scholar Emma Hurst lived up to her billing as number one seed when she won the women’s singles title at the BUCS [British Universities & Colleges Sport] Individual Tennis Championships. The Sport & Exercise Science student, supported by a Trendell Sports Scholarship, was in impressive form over the weekend as she beat Tatiana Zheleznyak 6-3 6-3 and Jessica Ren 6-2 6-0 to reach the semi-finals. She then overcame number three seed...
Junior aces from Team Bath MCTA Tennis enjoyed a first-ever clean sweep of wins when the University of Bath staged a Grade 5 tournament at the weekend. Alex Blissett won the Green Ball competition for youngsters aged 10-and-under, despite being a wildcard entry. Charlie Ruffell took the Orange Ball (9-and-under) title and Cole O’Leary came out on top in the Red Ball (8-and-under) event. Nell Harris also won the Orange Ball consolation event for players...
There was disappointment for Team Bath-MCTA Tennis player Anna Smith and her Great Britain colleagues as they missed out on a World Group II play-off place in the Federation Cup. A 3-0 win over South Africa and 2-1 defeat of Georgia had seen GB’s women top Pool B of the Europe/Africa Zone Group I competition in Israel and set up a promotion decider against Belgium. However, despite impressive performances against higher-ranked players, Katie Swan and Heather...
