Suffolk LTA Seniors County Doubles Leagues

Fed up with playing the same people in your local leagues? Why not enter a team in the new LTA Suffolk Seniors League.

• Over 45
• Daytime
• Mens and Womens leagues
• 2 pairs 
• Open to all Clubs in Suffolk
• The leagues will be run using LTA league manager so results will be recorded for international tennis number ranking
• April to September 2 matches per month
• Men’s matches scheduled for 10:30 on 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month
• Ladies matches scheduled for 10:30 on 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month

Most counties run County wide leagues, run by their county association, that operate alongside local leagues. Suffolk has no such leagues, so players keep meeting the same players at the same small number of local clubs. This is efficient for travel and time, but we feel the opportunity to visit new clubs/tennis venues and come up against players they have not met before will appeal to some who have more time and flexibility.

For this reason, we are starting our County wide league as a Seniors (over 45 for men over 40 for women) contest with matches occurring on the same day of the week, on a midweek morning.

It is our opinion that having a league that operates on the same day, at the same time on a regular and predictable schedule is preferable to allowing each club to dictate its home match day and time preference. (when you join a book club you don’t expect the meetings to be at a different time on a different day each meeting). Club social mornings that may clash with this league are successful not because of the day on which they operate but at least partly because it is the same day and time every week. We know it may be painful to move a successful social morning in the short term but in the long term we believe it will be in the benefit of the clubs and county tennis to do so.  

Currently very few of the leagues operating in Suffolk use the Competition Management System, as a consequence it appears to the LTA governing body as if very little tennis is being played in Suffolk. This has consequences for the County association’s influence in the governing body. Whilst we are trying to persuade the local league operators to use the LTA league manager most are resistant due to the perceived administrative workload (which the LTA is looking to improve). Hopefully this pilot venture will help validate the quality and capabilities of the LTA League Manager software. 

Consult the Seniors (over 45s) in your club and see if you have sufficient interest to consider a team. 

If you find sufficient interest within your club and wish to consider entering a team, please email me, Paul Elliott (leagues@suffolklta.uk) to indicate your interest. If the proposed day and time is putting you off then let us know, we will of course consider setting a day or time that has the most common ground. 

If there is sufficient interest I intend to start the leagues from April 2025.