Our county senior teams enjoyed some great matches in 2025. Thank you to all the players who represented Norfolk and especially to the captains for managing players and organising fixtures: Karen Highfield (over 40s), Sara Worley (over 50s), Sally Bridgstock (over 60s), Caroline Blincoe (over 65s), Jane Ling (over 70s), Joseph Ketteringham (over 45s), Matt Breese (over 50s), Stuart Hunter (over 60s), Nick Smith (over 65s), Mike Hutson (over 70s) and Philip Tye (over 75s).
Special mention should go to the over 65s ladies’ team who qualified for the National finals, but just lost out to Hampshire and IOW.
For 2026 the following teams have been entered in the county cup competition:
Ladies – over 40s, 50s, 60s, 65s, 70s
Men – over 45s, 50s, 60s, 65s, 70s, 75s
Norfolk seniors tennis team captains are keen to hear from any players interested in representing the county in 2026. Those interested should contact either Sara Worley (saracheatle@hotmail.com) or Neil Henery (neilhenery@hotmail.com) in the first instance and names will then be forwarded to the appropriate age group captain for consideration and invitation to a practice session prior to the new season starting.
Note - players are eligible to play in an age group if he / she turns that age at any point during the year.
2025 summary report of senior county tennis
Ladies
Over 40s
The over 40s team clinched third place in Division 1, winning against Cheshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire.
Over 50s
The over 50s played in Division 3, winning two of their four matches, the closest of which was a thrilling away win against Oxfordshire. As a result, the team finished in second place in the league for the second year running.
Over 60s
All the teams in Division 1 proved to be very strong, but the over 60s had several close games and managed to win a closely fought fixture against Buckinghamshire. Overall, the team finished in fifth place in their league.
Over 65s
The team played in the top division (1A) and won an impressive four matches against Cheshire, Shropshire, South Wales and Lancashire. This meant that they topped the league and secured a place in the National finals in Southampton, losing 4-1 to Hampshire and IOW, despite all the matches being very close and competitive.
Over 70s
The team enjoyed an extremely successful season, winning all five of their league matches and only dropping two rubbers in the process. By beating Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Leicestershire, the Norfolk team won their division in style.
Men
Over 45s
Unfortunately, two of the planned matches were not able to take place due to Norfolk’s opposition being unable to raise a team. However, the over 45s enjoyed a good win against Bedfordshire, 3-2, but lost close games to Sussex and Cambridgeshire
Over 50s
The over 50s lost their away match against Lincolnshire, but won in commanding 5-0 fashion at home against Isle of Mann. Again, two fixtures couldn’t be played due a county withdrawing from the competition and another county not being able to field a team.
Over 60s
Despite an away loss to Cheshire, the over 60s team gained promotion and won their division (3B), thanks to two 5-0 statement wins against Lincolnshire and Northumberland.
Over 65s
The over 65s clocked up a number of miles, travelling away to Durham and West of Scotland. Unfortunately, the team lost both matches and also came up second best against a very strong Nottinghamshire side. Despite an impressive 4-1 home win against Staffordshire, the team didn’t gain enough points overall to avoid relegation.
Over 70s
The story of the season for the over 70s followed a very similar pattern from match to match – extremely well fought games, often decided by the narrowest of margins in final set tie-breaks, but ultimately leading to narrow defeats. Despite the players’ valiant efforts, the team was relegated to Division 3.
Over 75s
The over 75s encountered tough opposition in their match against Shropshire losing the fixture 3-1. However, they reversed this scoreline in their win against Buckinghamshire. The other two matches had to be decided on sets, with the score 2-2 against Suffolk and Nottinghamshire, with Norfolk missing out on both occasions.