Charnwood Tennis Club played their first match in the prestigious National League Seniors knockout event at the weekend, as their 45/40 mixed doubles team travelled to Warwick Boat Club.

This category requires each team to put out two mixed pairs, with the male having attained the age of 45, and the female being at least 40.

Charnwood's team reached these milestones some years ago, so they were always going to find it difficult to overcome a powerful Warwick team, but they nonetheless approached the match with a positive attitude.

The Charnwood team comprised Dave Foster playing with Caroline Wilkinson, and Kevin Leck alongside the ageless Claire Elkington.

Warwick Boat Club were led by 48-year old Warwickshire county captain Gavin Henderson, partnering 43-year old Warwickshire over-40 player Helen Simpson.

Their second pair featured Warwickshire over-60 stalwart Sarah Tolliday and Alex, a tall left-hander with a tricky serve. In the first round of matches, Foster and Wilkinson took on Henderson and Simpson. 

Outstanding tennis in windy conditions

Conditions were very windy, but this contest produced outstanding tennis, with some exceptional groundstrokes from Wilkinson and Simpson complemented by some dynamic interventions from Foster and Henderson.

Ultimately, Henderson always had a little bit extra in hand when needed, but the home pair were certainly tested before emerging 6-1, 6-4 winners.

On the other court, Leck and Elkington battled determinedly against Warwick's second pair. There were some fascinating rallies as the four players deployed their full range of skills, but from 3-2 down in the first set, the Charnwood pair lost 7 of the next 8 games to find themselves 6-3, 4-0 down.

They battled back to 4-5, but ultimately Warwick were able to serve out for a 6-3, 6-4 win.

In the second round, Leck and Elkington gave everything they had against Henderson and Simpson, but the quality and youth of the Warwick pair ultimately proved too much as they earned a 6-2, 6-1 victory.

On the other court, Wilkinson was starting to suffer with golfer's elbow by this point, and Foster was unable to reproduce the inspired form of the first round, but they still pushed the Warwick second pair hard, eventually slipping to a 6-4, 6-2 defeat.

Overall, Warwick marched on to the quarter-finals with a 4-0 victory, but Charnwood competed well and will be looking forward to their other National League Seniors events with plenty of optimism.