Somerset Tennis were pleased to host this year’s U8 County Cup event which was staged at Taunton Tennis Centre on Saturday 25th April.

This year we were in the fantastic position of being able to field two teams in both the Boys and Girls events. This is the first time we’ve been able to enter two teams for the girls, a really positive development.

The event was played against teams from the neighbouring counties of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset who each fielded one team in each event.

The boy’s tournament took place in the morning with the girls following on in the afternoon.

The standard of play throughout the whole day in both the boys and girl’s events was great to see.

The players from all the teams had a lot of fun, competing hard and showed their commitment to their counties. Over the course of the day, we witnessed some lovely displays of sportsmanship between the players, a lot of team bonding and not a single ‘tear’ or ‘tantrum’, a real testament to the players, coaches and parents. This is Tennis as is should be.

Somerset Boys A, who’s team consisted of Eddie, Oscar, Edwyn, George and Felix had some great battles against the other teams beating Devon 6-5 in a ‘shootout’ tie break having finishes tied 5-5 at the end of the regulation matches. They then beat Cornwall 6-4 before losing 7-3 to Dorset. It resulted in the boys coming second overall, a fantastic performance.

A special mention must go to Eddie the Somerset No.1 who won all his matches on the day, 8 singles and 5 doubles including the doubles shoot out win against Devon with Felix, it was an outstanding performance. Well done.

The Somerset Boys B team, Kuba, Patrick, Danny, James and Joseph, demonstrated some great character and competed incredibly well throughout. Whilst they were unable to win a match, they made us all extremely proud with their attitude and effort on court, competing to the very last point in every match and it was a fantastic experience for them and one they will never forget.

In the girl’s event we had 3 returning players from last year in our Somerset A team, Bonnie, Darcy and Fleur, they were joined by Adeline as the fourth player. What a great day they had, winning all their matches against the other counties and our own B team and taking 1st place on the day. This however was not accomplished without putting both the coaches and parents through the ‘ringer’ with not one but two shootouts with Cornwall and Dorset. Credit to Bonnie and Fleur who came together for the both the shootout doubles and taking the wins. What a turnaround from last year where the girls finished 4th out of 4. A brilliant effort!

As with the Boys, our Girls B team of Floryn, Martha, Ettie and Amelia were unable to secure a win, however, they showed the same grit and determination as the boys and played their hearts out through the whole event. It was so lovely to see how both the teams supported each other throughout afternoon and the B girls were able to celebrate the success of the A team along with them. The strength of the girl’s tennis in this age group bodes well for the future – some definite ‘Girl Power’.

I would like to take this opportunity acknowledge the progress shown by all our under 8 players in the County Training Programme this year, it has been tremendous to see the improvements. The opportunities they’ve had to compete in the U8 Red Dragon Tour have paid dividends with the match experience and understanding they have gained from those events, it certainly shone through in the County Cup this year.

My thanks to Sophie and Jon for their help and support on the day and throughout the season with the U8 training and teams. A big thank you too to Taunton Tennis Centre for allowing us to host the event and to Parul our referee who was ably assisted by Pippa. Thanks too to Elliott and Anna who volunteered as Court supervisors for the events.

A final word of thanks to the parents and families of the players who came along to support on the day and who facilitate their children’s ‘tennis playing journey’. Without your support none of this would be possible.

Roll on 2027!

Tim Seymour - U8 Lead Coach, Somerset