PLAYER INFORMATION BOOKLET
Tennis Cornwall junior development pathway
U8 U9 U10
Autumn programme
2025
‘Grow the game, inspire the next generation’
County training, its purpose and who it is for
The aim of county training is to bring tennis players together from across Cornwall, this is where they will have a place to train and improve together building a sense of comradery and team spirit. We are preparing players to compete, and county training uniquely brings players together of similar skills, ability and aspiration. We always aim to create a positive and supportive tennis learning environment. County tennis is a place to work hard and have fun. Learning works best when players enjoy what they are doing.
We expect all players to be working on developing their technique and game with their individual coaches at their home clubs. County training won’t aim to cover technical elements but will be more focussed on tactical elements of the game. The county training programme will follow a rigorous structure to enable the best players in Cornwall to train and improve together. We offer performance and development squads to help all players reach their potential.
Performance squads
This squad brings together all the highest performing tennis players to continue their tennis improvement journey.
Player criteria:
- Will have been playing for some time and have a good technique, play tennis at least 4-5 hours weekly on a regular basis, where at least half of those hours are within a structured tennis session through coaching, or a coach led squad.
- Compete regularly (at least once or twice a month) across Cornwall or further afield with good results
- Have attended, attend or are looking to attend regional training camps, county cup events etc.
- Show commitment and dedication to further their tennis.
- Demonstrate the behaviours required as performance players i.e. work hard, great attitude, focus, respect to others, dedication.
- Attend sessions equipped with drink/snack/towel/wear clothes with pockets for storing balls, etc.
Development squads
This squad is for good tennis players to help accelerate their tennis improvement journey.
Player criteria:
- Will be playing tennis at least 2-3 hours weekly on a regular basis and are looking to do more and are developing their technique.
- Complete regularly, at least once every other month across Cornwall or further afield in grade 5 and grade 6 tournaments.
- Show commitment and dedication to further their tennis.
- Showing up to their sessions willingness to work hard, demonstrate great attitude, focus, respect.
- Attend sessions equipped with drink/snack/towel/wear clothes with pockets for storing balls, etc.
How a player can maximise their potential
In order to maximise a player’s development in tennis they should be regularly playing tennis, i.e. several times a week. Playing tennis can be anything from a group or individual coaching session, playing for fun with their friends and family, knocking up against a practice wall or playing in tournaments.
Tennis Cornwall strongly recommends that children also spend some of this ‘playing time’ participating in regular structured sessions i.e. coach led squads or individual coaching to develop their tennis stroke technique with a professional and experienced tennis coach. Tennis is a technical sport, and a lack of technique can hold children back from progressing to their full potential as a tennis player.
Competition and squad age groups
Your competition age group is determined by your year of birth. We suggest players join the autumn county training squad according to their age group in January 2026 and start building relationships with their teammates. Playing in the relevant age squad will help players to start building upon their skills on the relevant court size and ball colour which they will be competing in during 2026.
| January 2025 – December 2025 | |
| Age group | For players born in |
| 8U (red ball) | 2017 or later |
| 9U (orange ball) | 2016 - 2017 |
| 10U (green ball) | 2015 - 2016 |
| January 2026 – December 2026 | |
| Age group | For players born in |
| 8U (red ball) | 2018 or later |
| 9U (orange ball) | 2017 - 2018 |
| 10U (green ball) | 2016 - 2017 |
County training structure
Tennis Cornwall launched its new county training structure from September 2024 for children under 10 years old. The sessions take place at Heron Tennis Centre, Newquay on a Sunday afternoon once a month and will use a mixture of indoor and outdoor space as appropriate.
- All three training squads (U10, U9, U8) will have maximum intake of 16 players per age group and Tennis Cornwall will strive for the coach to student ratio to be no higher than 1:8 (however occasionally this might vary in order to maintain flexibility).
- In order to be part of the Tennis Cornwall County programme, players will be required to commit, book and pay for the term (a block of four sessions). These sessions are not for casual drop in.
- The autumn programme will run from October to December, sessions will take place one a month.
- The players will stay in their respective squads until the end of the year where the coach will revisit the squad allocation.
- To play in the performance squad we are looking for players who have a committed training plan, are enthusiastic, have a positive attitude, good tournament results and a great team spirit.
U9 and U10 county squad
- The performance squads will be offered through invitation only based on ability as part of the player’s continuing improvement journey.
- The development squad will be offered to players to sign up (on a first come first served basis, based on availability).
U8 county squad
- This squad will be offered out to players to sign up (on a first come first served basis).
- At the first session players will be assessed and will play either in the Development or the Performance squad for the remainder of the term.
End of term report
County coaches will work closely with all players on a consistent basis over the training and competition season which gives coaches a chance to get to know their players well. Coaches will provide termly player report cards to the players, their individual coaches and parents on their overall progress at county training and/or county cup performance, etc and in some cases will speak directly to the players, parents and their individual coaches.
Player development pathway
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| player starts playing in national tournaments |
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| player attends regional training camps |
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| continues intensive training / increases number of grade 3 tournaments |
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| player is selected for County Cup event |
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| player starts playing in grade 4 tournaments |
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| player invited to join the performance squad within county training sessions |
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| player starts competing at local grade 5 and 6 tournaments |
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| player increases training (minimum 5 hours a week) at their local club (coaching, sqauds, hits with friends/family) |
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| player invited to join development squad within county training sessions |
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| player starts playing 2 or more times at their local tennis club |
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| player attends a mini tennis festival |
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| player enters their first local fun tournament |
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| player joins a tennis squad once a week at their local club |
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| player tries tennis at school or at their local club |
Junior County Cup
The junior county cup is one of the biggest and best team events of the junior tennis season. Teams from every county in the nation come together for a series for regional and national events to uncover the champions.
There are seven age groups of competitions for the Junior County Cup – 8U, 9U, 10U, 11U, 12U, 14U and 18U giving young players a chance to compete with top talent around Britain. All players must have an advantage membership through the LTA to compete.
Please see the LTA website for provisional County Cups dates for 2026.
Selection criteria
Up to 6 players will be selected each year to represent each county at the County Cup event in each age group, U8, U9 and U10.
Tournaments
Local ‘Whirlwind’ tournaments
The local business ‘Whirlwind Sports’ supports both Cornwall and Devon tennis and providing competitive opportunities for mini players through the mini tour and winter series. This is a fantastic way for players to play against other local players in a fun and competitive environment and gain valuable match experience. This is a great introduction to match-play and provides players with the confidence to move on to more challenging competition as their game develops.
Tournaments take place across both counties, the list of upcoming tournaments can be found both on the Whirlwind website and to enter online please use the LTA competition search tool to locate the competition online. For guidance on finding a tournament please see ‘how to enter a tournament’ section of this document.
Whirlwind mini tour
The mini tour runs from January to August each year
Whirlwind winter series
This is a series of grade 6 events run each year from September to December.
How to enter a tournament
- Click on this link which will take you to the LTA website to ‘find a competition’
- Click ‘log in’
- Enter your LTA member login details
- Select ‘tournaments’ from the side bar
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- Then click ‘advanced search’
- Complete the filters on the right of the page shown below
- Select the relevant month
- Select the county you are looking for a tournament in from the drop down or choose a radius from a postcode
- Grade - The grade of the tournament (the more competitive the tournament the higher the grade).
- Tournament type - you can leave this blank or select as appropriate
- Events - you can leave this blank or select as appropriate
- Age group – select the relevant age for the player
- When you have found a tournament to enter, click ‘online entry’ shown in green.
- Select the event for the player, only the relevant events the player can compete in will be shown. This will also show the price of the event.
- Select yes to agree to the tournament terms and conditions.
- Click submit in ‘green’ and pay for the entry.
Additional resources
We have included some links you may find useful information. However, we know the world of tennis is extensive and at times complicated. The best way to find out more is to start talking to other tennis parents who have been through it. We want to encourage an inclusive tennis community among parents and sharing information is a great way to support each other. Don’t forget you also have coaches, volunteers, the committee – all who have lots of valuable knowledge and experience to share with you.
An introductory guide to competition for parents
LTA competition age groups and age calculator
LTA competition parenting workshop
For more information about the tennis Cornwall junior development pathway programme please contact Inga Ziemina, coaching lead.