Inclusive Lead, Martin Etheridge, had the pleasure and privilege of refereeing this year’s Inclusive event
The Middlesex County Championships provided a fantastic opportunity to celebrate competitive and inclusive tennis. It included players of all abilities coming together to enjoy a memorable day on court.
Learning Disability
Our LD (Learning Disability) event welcomed 18 players. Participants travelled from four counties — Suffolk, Kent, Hertfordshire and Middlesex. This highlights the growing reach and popularity of inclusive tennis across the region.
In the Yellow Ball competition, Swastigan claimed the gold medal. This followed an impressive 6–4 victory over Lily in the final. Earlier in the competition, Swastigan had overcome Fraser in the semi-final. While Lily secured her place in the final with a win over Ben.
The Green Ball competition featured four players from the Wots Up group in Ipswich. The group was led by the inspirational and dedicated Mags Fortune. Following a round-robin format, Kathryn finished top of the group, followed by Catherine, Alice and Maria.
A particular highlight of the day came when three players from the Down’s Syndrome group at Thistleworth joined the event. After enjoying exhibition matches between themselves, they teamed up with players from Wots Up for a series of fun and inclusive doubles matches.
The day was a wonderful demonstration of how tennis can bring people together, providing opportunities to compete, make new friends and, most importantly, enjoy being on court. The Middlesex County Championships were proud to showcase the inclusive spirit of tennis and the fantastic contribution of players, coaches, volunteers and groups who make events like this possible.
We look forward to future inclusive events.
Martin Etheridge, Inclusive Lead, Middlesex Tennis
Photo Gallery
Our Umpires
A big thank you to our two LTA licensed officials Grayce and Lorraine who helped everyone with the rules.
A big shout out to two young umpires – Xander and Kit – who helped Martin throughout the day with umpiring duties.
Here’s what they had to say:
Xander
When I fractured my back & was in a brace for a year, umpiring was a way to stay involved in competitive tennis. Thankfully my injury healed but many players have lifelong challenges to deal with. Resilience is one of tennis and life’s most important character traits and volunteering in inclusive tennis shows me some great role models.
Kit
As a younger player & brother I can get frustrated on the tennis court. Umpiring helps me see matches from a different perspective while getting to know inspiring players who overcome much greater challenges on the court than I have to deal with.
And a final few words from Louisa, Xander & Kit’s Mum:
“… they had the best day. It’s a great reminder of how tennis can bring people together. They said you (Martin) were a super head umpire making it fair and fun for all so the time flew by. I hope you’ll have them again next year!
They umpired visually impaired, deaf and youth at the National Tennis Centre, Westway and Banbury but this is their favourite event.”
Para-Standing, Wheelchair & Visually Impaired Events
Unfortunately, the weather prevented our Para-Standing, Wheelchair and Visually Impaired events from taking place. The weather took a turn for the worse midweek and as the safety of our players is paramount the decision was made to cancel the events. Obviously, we were extremely disappointed but look forward to seeing our competitors back next year.
More on Inclusive Tennis
