Pippa Eccles - Chairperson/Trustee

Pippa completed her medical training in Merton College, Oxford and after working in many hospital specialties, decided to become a GP. She is a Senior Clinical Lecturer at Lancaster University, training medical students and spent 8 years working as a GP and Doctor of Perth AFL teams in Australia.

She has always been passionate about sport and tennis, and has 2 young children in the County Peroformance set-up.

Pippa has recently completed her Level 1 coaching qualification and assists in the delivery of the county training programme at Kirkby Lonsdale Tennis Centre.  She is very enthusiastic about encouraging children into the sport of tennis.

Lynn Glaves - County Teams/Performance/Trustee

Lynn is a retired secondary school Physics teacher who co-ordinated the tennis activities at her school.

She has been involved with Cumbria Tennis both as a committee member and in the role of Vice Chair before becoming the Chairperson in March 2025.  She first became involved with Cumbria Tennis as a parent. Her children have played for the county and gained scholarships to play tennis in the USA.  They have both captained their respective University and Cumbria county teams.

Lynn is also a keen tennis player, playing at both Kirkby Lonsdale and Heversham and Milnthorpe Tennis Clubs in the South Lakes.

Roger Alston - Secretary/Trustee

Roger worked in Education as well as being the Head Teacher of a large Secondary school in Cumbria.

He was the CEO of an Academy Trust in the North East of England and the Chair of an Academy Trust in Newcastle.

Roger has played club tennis in Somerset, Bristol and Carlisle and recently represented Cumbria in Veterans County Matches.

Rob Cresswell - LTA Councillor for Cumbria/Trustee

Rob is the Franchise Manager for Jaguar Land Rover UK for whom he has worked for over 20 Years.  His background is in finance, sales and marketing and he has experience of operating at CEO and Director Level.                                  

Rob's involvement in Tennis is, since 2015 he was the Chairman of Cumbria Tennis but stepped down after his 9 year term came to an end.  He is also the Chairman and an active member of Penrith Tennis Club.

Since January 2024 Rob has also become the LTA Councillor for Cumbria.

Sophie Graham - Treasurer/Trustee

Sophie is a Chartered Accountant with over 20 year's experience including involvement with Charities and other Not for Profit organisations.

Sophie's involvement within tennis is, she was a Junior player herself but now leaves that to her two young children who have both been lucky enough to have played for the County at U9's and U8's.

Jessica Spedding -  Legal/Trustee

Jessica is a Lawyer with a wealth of experience in various property matters and is also Chair of Governors at a local primary school.

She joined the Cumbria Tennis Board in 2024 and stepped up as a Trustee in 2025 inspired by her involvement in the sport through her children.  Passionate about creating opportunities for others, Jessica is excited to help drive the future in tennis in the County.  She fully intends to dust off her own racket soon - but for now, she's enjoying cheering on the next generation from courtside.

Ruth Agnew - Safeguarding/Trustee

Photo & information to follow

Gary Payton - Cumbria Tennis Development Officer/Tennis Coach

Gary has been involved in playing, coaching and developing tennis for almost 50 years. He started playing competively at 11 years old and took on his first tennis coaching role in Dubai at the age of 17.

He was also Tennis and Sports Development Officer at Kirkby Stephen Grammar School for 16 years and Head Tennis Coach at EF International School in Torquay for 5 years.

Gary has won 4 national Singles titles, 1 national Doubles title, 5 Scottish Open Singles titles and has played for Great Britain on numerous occasions in the ITF Masters World Team Championships in Turkey and Mexico.

He has also Captained the Welsh national team in the Masters 4 nations competitions and continues to represent Wales at these events and has also represented North Wales County for nearly 50 years.

Debbie Payton - Administrator

Debbie was a Civil Servant for nearly 20 years working in Administration, Finance, Payroll and Management information systems. 

She also worked in various other administration roles and ran 2 successful businesses of her own.

Debbie's background is in Admin and having been married to Gary since 1997,  she's spent many years travelling with him to tennis tournaments around the UK and abroad.

 Erica Ferreira - Competitions Coordinator

Photo and information to follow