Last weekend Norfolk U18 boys were on home soil at Easton Tennis Centre against Durham & Cleveland, Sussex and Oxfordshire in group 4 of U18 County Cup. 

The squad of James H, Harry, James B, Mark, Beau, Oscar, Finley and Noah began their campaign verses Durham & Cleveland. After some long singles matches Norfolk found themselves 4-2 down, wins for no6 Beau and no1 James H gave the team some hope going into the doubles, however it wasn’t to be and Durham & Cleveland deservingly prevailed in a slightly harsh 7-2 scoreline.
Up next on Saturday was group favourites Sussex, this proved to be a tough day for the Norfolk team with James H coming through at no1 to record the teams only win in an 8-1 loss.
The boys regrouped Saturday evening with some ten pin bowling and down time to prepare for what was to be a survival shoot out verses Oxfordshire on Sunday.
The final day got off to a good start with no6 Beau and no5 Noah putting the boys 2-0 up. Wins for James B at no2 and James H completing his clean sweep at no1 meant Norfolk were one rubber away going into the doubles. A win for James H/Noah at no2 pair meant survival was secured in a 5-3 win. 
‘Going into the weekend retaining group 4 status was the target with this young squad and the boys stuck together the first two days and finished on a positive with the important win on Sunday. I’d like to say thank you to the parents for being so supportive and easy to work with over the weekend and thanks to Kris for giving his time away from his own work for the three days. Lastly, I’d like to give a special mention to Harry and James H whom both now bow out of Junior County representation and can be proud of the way they’ve represented Norfolk over the last decade, well done both’ said captain Crawley.

The County Cup 2026 Race moves onto 2nd-3rd May when it’s the U14’s turn to pull on the Norfolk tops.

Report: Nicky Crawley - Captain

Meanwhile the 18u Girls team travelled to Harlow for County Cup. 

With Lisa and Anghela playing there final 18u county cup we were keen to send them off on a high. 

The girls started great and were up 6-0 after singles with Sophia putting in a solid debut performance at number 5. In the doubles we mixed the pairs around to give us maximum scope for other days with 2 new pairings at 3 & 2. The girls were solid and got the job done meaning a 8-1 against Channel Islands on day 1. 

Day 2 saw us play Cumbria. With a player out unwell, players had to move up the lineup and this saw Riya come in at 5 singles to make her debut at 18u. The girls put in a solid performance to be 4-2 up going into doubles. We switched the pairs again for doubles and managed to get a clean sweep and winning the day 7-2. 

Day 3 saw a promotion shoot out with south of Scotland. We were hopefully back at full strength but unfortunately another player had been injured in the doubles the day before. So this time Amelija came in for her 18u debut.  Unfortunately we got off to a slow start and went 2-0 down. Jemima and Charlotte at 3&4 respectively put in strong performances to draw us back level. Zoe and Anghela then faced tough opposition and both lost. 4-2 going into doubles meant we needed to win all 3 for promotion. The girls fought hard but came up just short only managing to win 2 out of 3 matches. Meaning a 5-4 loss. 

It was great to see the younger girls gain so much experience. A big thank you to Anghela and Lisa for their commitment to Norfolk tennis as well as they now move into adult tennis. And a special mention to Lisa for all the entertainment and team bonding in the evenings.

Report: Sam Noble, Captain