Last weekend, our Men’s and Women’s Winter County Cup teams competed in the final edition of the event. The LTA confirmed last month that this would be the last Winter County Cup, largely due to the high cost of staging the competition for a comparatively small number of players.
Our Men’s team captained by Andy Davies and newly promoted to Division 1 after last year’s success, travelled to Bath for the weekend’s matches.
Featuring Liam Broady—who holds a career-high world ranking of No. 93—the team made an impressive start with a 7–2 victory over Hertfordshire. Liam, Rob Cowley, David Quayle, and Sam Chadwick all secured singles wins, followed by victories for all of our doubles pairs. On Saturday, the men faced a strong Surrey side and, despite an unfortunate injury that forced Liam to retire, the team battled to a 7–2 result.
Sunday’s matchup against North of Scotland offered the chance to finish as national runners-up, provided results elsewhere fell in our favour. Singles wins from David, Rob, Sam, and James Ashworth gave Lancashire a 4–2 lead. By this stage, results from the other fixture confirmed Lancashire as national runners-up, meaning the doubles matches were not required.
Finishing as National Runners-Up in the final LTA Winter County Cup is a fantastic achievement for the team (pictured below with LTA President Sandi Proctor; not pictured: Liam Broady and George Morgan).
A special thank you to Andy Davies for his outstanding leadership and many years of commitment as captain of the Men’s Winter County Cup team.
Men's Winter County Cup Results
The Women competed in Group 2A, which this year was held at Bidston Tennis Club on the Wirral, with Cheshire, Middlesex, and West of Scotland as their opposition.
Day 1 saw the team face a strong Middlesex side, coming away with an impressive 6–3 victory thanks to singles and doubles wins from Daisy, Mia, and Samira. Saturday brought a tough battle against local rivals Cheshire. With the singles matches tied at 3–3, all three doubles rubbers went to match tie-break thirds. Cheshire edged two of those deciding sets, taking the overall win 5–4.
Heading into Sunday, the Lancashire team knew a win was essential to secure their place in Division 2 next year. They faced another strong side in the West of Scotland, whose lineup included two professional players. The tie ended 6–1 to West of Scotland, with the final two matches not played.
A third-place finish ensures Lancashire remain in Division 2A next season—a fantastic achievement for this young team.
A special thank you to Sabrina Federici, who has captained the Women’s Winter County Cup team for many years.