A FANTASTIC week of county cup competition at Roehampton saw Yorkshire’s women finish top of Group 2 with five wins out of five, securing promotion back into the top flight of county tennis for 2027. It was a great team performance that delivered wins five wins out of five against Kent, Lancashire, West of Scotland, Buckinghamshire and Somerset. 

Captain Elena Bompieri said the team displayed determination and put in consistently competitive performances throughout the whole week. “They showed great team spirit, with every player contributing and all leading to the big win. Particular shoutouts go to Katie O’Brien, who played around her work schedule at the National Tennis Centre and to Savannah Dada Mascoll who took a break from her pro tour calendar to play at County Week.”

Meanwhile, on the final day’s play at Cromer, Yorkshire’s men faced Derbyshire in what was the crunch match of the week-long contest. Both teams had won all four of their matches played earlier in the week. In a tight encounter, Derbyshire claimed four rubbers in deciding tiebreaks to take the day 6-3. However, wins against Norfolk, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Hereford & Worcs, mean that Yorkshire still finished the week runners up and secured promotion to Group 3 next year

Congratulations to both teams and all the players on a great week and strong performances: Alice Brook, Rebecca Hill, Orla Cooper, Sarah Copley, Katie O’Brien, Millie Skelton, Molly Robinson, Savannah Dada Mascoll and captain Elena Bompieri for the women; and Joseph Newman-Billington, Paul Johnson, Barney Fitzpatrick, Scott Hillerby, JB Pickard, Louis Hull, Nicola Cigna, Kouros Anssarizadeh, Ivan Dorokhov and captain Joe Gill for the men.

The results build on strong performances from Yorkshire’s junior teams. In Nottingham, the 11&U boys team were crowned champions for the second year running while the girls team finished third overall, finishing two spots higher than last year. 

Captained by Ben Crichton and assisted by Patrick Di Maio, the boys – Hugo Asmussen, Charlie Crabtree, Isaac Ellis, Leo Hall and Hunter Henderson – completed a clean sweep with their 6-0 win against Middlesex on the final day. It followed wins over Cheshire, Surrey and Kent, recovering from 1-3 down to win a shootout decider.

The girls – Aanya Bhamra, Ella-Grace Chan, Mariyah Debono, Lizzie Greatorex Hughes, Ala Kaliszewicz and Amal Khan, captained by Jake Fisher and assisted by Ellie Dean – also capped off their weekend with a 6-0 win over Lancashire to claim third place and narrowly missed out on a place in the final. 

It means double success for Ben and Patrick, who also guided the 10&U boys team – Taj Aslam, Ibraheem Aslam, Hunter Henderson, Harry Peacock and Joseph Rafael – to their County Cup finals win at Boston Tennis Centre in June. The boys completed a clean sweep in qualifying, dropping just two rubbers along the way, and posted wins over South Wales, Cumbria, Cheshire and Lancashire in the finals.

A dominant performance by Yorkshire’s 9&U girls also saw them come away from their finals weekend in March as County Cup champions, following wins against Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire and West of Scotland at Nottingham Tennis Centre.

It was superb achievement for the girls – Penelope Garcia-Witham, Emilia-Rose Chan, Freya Debono, Halo Henderson and Emilia Willet, captained by Alice Robson and assistant Jonny Moore. 

Yorkshire’s 18&U girls also secured promotion back into Group 2 in March after a comprehensive win in their County Cup tie in Hull, which saw them post wins against Northumberland, Sussex and Hampshire & Isle of White, winning 22 of the 26 rubbers.

Last year Yorkshire secured third place in the LTA County Cup Race for the second year running, amassing a total of 193 points over the course of the year which saw the 12&U boys and 11&U boys teams crowned national champions, while the 12&U and 14&U girls also made the national finals at Nottingham. 

Final standings in the 44-county tennis event are based on performance across Junior, Adult and Senior County Cup events, with points awarded for each event. 

Key dates and results for County Cup in 2026