The Summer holiday season of competitive tennis will culminate in the final week of August with County Championships events taking place across the country.
From the August 26 – September 1 players will battle it out for the right to be crowned County Champion. You can find a full list of County Championships tournaments and dates here.
Here's everything you need to know about County Championships before it kicks off for the 2018 season!
What is it?
The County Championships is a competition restricted to players of that particular county (based on residence or county of birth) and features junior and adult events, allowing players from 8 to 88 to take part! There are singles and doubles events and the winner of every event earns the County Champion title for their age group and event.
There will be 39 county championships events taking place across the country, running as ‘festivals of tennis’ to allow players of all standards to compete, typically in qualifying events joining stronger players in the main draw.
The tournaments are organised by county associations and often feature fun, social activities alongside the main tournament, including family doubles events, BBQs and activities throughout the day.
The County Championships week is the busiest week in the competitive calendar with more players competing during this week than any other during the year.
Who’s playing?
The great thing about the County Championships is that any player can take part* in their relevant county championships.
Players of all standards are encourage to enter with qualifying competitions to enable appropriate matches in the early rounds.
Mini Tennis players can compete in 8U, 9U and 10U events played with Red, Orange and Green balls respectively and there are 12U, 14U, 16U and 18U age group events for yellow ball players. Many of the competitions also have Open events for adult players.
*County Championships are delivered in a slightly different format in Scotland and Wales – please find out more on the relevant websites – Tennis Scotland and Tennis Wales
Fun Facts
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In 2017 over 6,500 players competed in County Championships events
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The delivery of the 2018 County Championships tournaments will be supported by over 40 referees, 150 court supervisors and 100 umpires
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County Championships competitions have been running for over 100 years, with the first Surrey County Championships competition taking place in 1914