Wimbledon Tennis Veterans Are European Champions
Team from The Wimbledon Club taste victory at La Manga Club
Five members of The Wimbledon Club are European tennis champions after success at La Manga Club in Spain.
The quintet of captain Katie Jonas, Clare Wood, Alice Shimmin, Sarah Jordan and Lithuanian Jurate Hardy won the women’s 50 and over category at the 2019 European Senior Tennis Club Championships, which was held in Murcia from September 16-21.
Facing them on La Manga Club’s famous clay courts was a side from Walmer Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club in Kent as well as two opponents from Spain and Turkey plus clubs from Belgium, France, Holland and Sweden.
Former world number nine Spanish star Nicolas Almagro, recently appointed as La Manga Club’s new tennis academy director, said: “It’s a great privilege for La Manga Club to have the opportunity to host Europe’s top club players at this prestigious tournament again.”
Organised by Tennis Europe – Europe’s largest tennis association – the event featured men and women from its 50 tennis federations competing at the resort’s 28-court centre for titles in a range of different age categories.
Founded in 1983, the championships – which has been split into two this year, with the 60 to 75 and over players competing in December – are open to men and women over the age of 35 from national champion clubs and the runners-up from the previous year in an international team competition across various age sectors, as well as teams nominated by Tennis Europe member nations.
Each country can be represented by a maximum of three clubs in every sector at La Manga Club, with teams comprising between four to seven players for men’s categories and two to five for women.
September 26, 2019