Despite the surname, there’s a quiet Aussie twang to the voice of recently-appointed Team Bath tennis coach Lauren English. Dig a bit deeper and you find that the softly but professionally-spoken player-turned-coach, who came to Team Bath from The Redland Club in Bristol, has a remarkable back-story. Not one necessarily typical of someone who has played Grand Slam tennis at junior and senior level and who is now passionate about coaching and the need for...
Aspiring tennis aces from around the world will be serving up a treat at the University of Bath later this month when it hosts a Tennis Europe youth competition. Grand Slam winners Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are among the hundreds of players who have developed their skills on the Junior Tour during its 26-year history. Now the latest crop of talented teenagers will be competing at the Nike Junior International...
The academic year may be over but there is no let-up in the sporting action at the University of Bath, with the Sports Training Village playing host to thousands of athletes of all ages during a busy July. This week’s big event is the 19th Team Bath CoMpete Open Tennis Festival, taking place on the indoor and outdoor courts every day until Saturday, July 23. Hundreds of tennis players from around the country are competing...
Rising Team Bath MCTA Tennis star Eden Richardson has been handed a wildcard into the main girls’ singles draw at Junior Wimbledon. And she could be joined at SW19 by Megan Davies, who will be looking to build on some impressive recent results when she competes in the qualifying tournament on Thursday and Friday. Richardson, a 17-year-old Ralph Allen School pupil, missed out on a singles place in the qualifying stages last year but did...
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...
The University of Bath is through to the national final of the Lawn Tennis Association’s Aegon British Tennis Awards after being named as Education Venue of the Year by the South West LTA. The honour – which follows on from success in the same category at the Avon LTA County awards – recognises the outstanding work of Team Bath Tennis coaches in enhancing the student experience at the University, as well as taking the sport into primary...
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...
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...
The University of Bath has been named as Education Venue of the Year by the Avon Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). The award recognises the outstanding work by Team Bath Tennis coaches in enhancing the student experience at the University and taking the sport into primary and secondary schools throughout the region. Head of Club Coaching Matt Smith, who received the award on behalf of the University, said the two-tier coaching programme had engaged around 200...
Ana Bogdan provided a fitting finale to a week of top-class tennis at the University of Bath as she won the $25k Aegon GB Pro-Series women’s singles title. The Romanian justified her billing as number one seed after overcoming the number two seed, Croatia’s Ana Vrljic, in a final that lasted more than two hours at the Sports Training Village. Bogdan, ranked 161 in the world, won the opening set 6-3 but Vrljic hit back...