Nottingham, Loughborough and Stirling lead the way in 2024-25 University Tennis
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As another university year draws to a close, we take a look back on some of the highlights, from Eliz Maloney taking the BUCS Clean Sweep to Paralympian, Abbie Breakwell sealing her fifth consecutive BUCS title and Nottingham Men’s 1s Team taking home the National Championship title for the first time since 1954.
2,884 students from 81 institutions competed in 2,070 fixtures across the 67 leagues and knockouts within the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) programme this season. Students compete every Wednesday between September and April against other universities and HE institutions across the length and breadth of the UK from Plymouth to Aberdeen and everywhere in between.
In the London Universities Sports Leagues (LUSL), students from London institutions compete every Saturday across the season alongside the BUCS leagues. 292 students competed in 112 fixtures across 3 different levels of competition: recreational, intermediate and competitive. This year saw an all UCL line-up in the Mixed Cup Final compete at the multi-sport LUSL finals, LUSL Fest. UCL RUMS Mixed Competitive 1 came out on top with a tight 3-2 win over their counterparts.
2024-25 Champions
2024-25 saw another jam-packed season for the 379 teams competing across the BUCS structure. For the top six men’s and women’s teams competing in the National League, two ‘Super Weekends’ form an important part of the calendar. These showcase weekends bring all the teams together to compete in two of their league fixtures at a central venue, this year hosted at Loughborough University and the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton. Loughborough dominated the Women’s League going unbeaten all season, whilst Stirling took home the Men’s title, with both teams taking home their third title since the National Leagues inception in the 2015-16 season.
University of Stirling, 2024-25 Men's National League Champions (Credit: Tom Featherstone)
BUCS Big Wednesday concluded the National Championship and National Trophy season with 16 sports competing in 58 fixtures at Loughborough University. In the Men’s National Championship, Nottingham took home the title after defeating reigning champions Stirling after a closely fought final. Nottingham won the title for the first time in 71 years, the last time being all the way back in 1954. In the Women’s National Championship, Loughborough sealed victory in a dominant win over Bath adding to their National League title from earlier in the season. To catch up on all the action from BUCS Big Wednesday, click here to watch the Men’s National Championship Final and here to watch the Women’s.
Loughborough’s Eliz Maloney has had an incredible first year of competing in BUCS, taking home all four titles available to her. Alongside her teammates, Loughborough took home both the National League and National Championship titles. With four BUCS Golds under her belt, Eliz also made her debut as part of the GB Students team who competed at the Master’U BNP Paribas University Tennis Championships in Reims, France, where after some tough competition from Team USA in the final, they took home the silver medal.
- Women’s National League: Loughborough University
- Men’s National League: University of Stirling
- Women’s National Championship: Loughborough University
- Men’s National Championship: University of Nottingham
- Women’s Singles Championship: Eliz Maloney, Loughborough University
- Men’s National Championship: Phoenix Weir, University of Nottingham
- Women’s Doubles Championship: Eliz Maloney and Megan Davies, Loughborough University
- Men’s Doubles Championship: Liam Hignett and Robert Cowley, University of Stirling
- Women’s Wheelchair Singles Championship: Abbie Breakwell, Loughborough University
- Men’s Wheelchair Singles Championship: James Shaw, Nottingham Trent University
- Mixed Wheelchair Doubles Championship: Abbie Breakwell and Jacob Court, Loughborough University
BUCS Doubles, Individuals & Wheelchair Championships have a rich history with previous finalists including Team GB Billie Jean King Cup squad members Olivia Nicholls and Maia Lumsden, former Junior Wimbledon Singles Champion Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, doubles world No. 14 Lloyd Glasspool, GB World Team Cup Champion James Shaw, Paralympian Abbie Breakwell and 2 x Grand Slam Doubles Champion, Henry Patten.
Workforce Development
As part of the LTA’s University Tennis programme, three development days were held: LTA University National Training, LTA Captains Training held alongside the Davis Cup and the LTA Student Leadership Day. Over 120 students and staff from 37 different institutions attended the three days across the season hearing from industry leaders like of LTA Head of Women’s Tennis and former BUCS Champion, Iain Bates.
GB Students
The GB Students team had another successful season on the global stage. The team, consisting of Liam Hignett (Stirling), James Story (South Carolina), Finn Bass (Baylor), Esther Adeshina (Tennessee), Eliz Maloney (Loughborough) and Amelia Rajecki (North Carolina State) headed to Reims, France for the 17th edition of the Master’U BNP Paribas University Tennis Championships.
GB had a fantastic week, bringing home a seventh consecutive medal at the Championships after losing out to a strong USA team. The medal is the twelfth consecutive medal for GB Students at major international university tennis events, including the Summer World University Games, the next edition of which will be held next month in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany. The GB Students delegation will be announced soon. To view the rich history of GB Students, check out Legacy65, celebrating 65 years of the FISU World University Games.
Great Britain's silver medal-winning Master'U squad
Neal Kington, BUCS Head of Competitions said, “HE Tennis continues to be a brilliant example of how university sport can inspire, develop and unite students – on and off the court.”
Alistair Higham, LTA University Support Manager, said, “BUCS Team Tennis is a unique experience in GB. The weekly fixture list overseen by BUCS with the LTA’s support, gives students team tennis with a singles focus every week throughout the winter. The students love it!”
University Tennis
University tennis continues to grow in Britain across all levels from recreational to international competition, to find out more visit the LTA and BUCS websites or follow @BritUniTennis on Instagram to keep up to date with all things British University Tennis.
