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The Tennis Hampshire Podcast

The Tennis Hampshire Podcast
Author: David Ernsberger, Tom Mitchell
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© 2025 The Tennis Hampshire Podcast
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Catch up on the latest developments in club tennis across Hampshire, England.
Email us at hello@THPod.UK
Leave us a voice message at https://www.speakpipe.com/THPod
Social media and podcast covers by Visualising Stories, original music by Jamie Noyce, podcast logo by Karen Holloway
45 Episodes
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Send us a text Thornden have won the Premier Division for a third successive summer, but Riverside took them all the way in their fixture - so nearly getting the win, and forcing a tie. Wellow are on the up, we debate whether their new courts - subject to local press interest this week — will be enough to help them stay in the Premier Division next season, now that they are locked in for promotion out of Division One. Twyford A went down in the end, but at least the C Team (featur...
Send us a text Saturday September 13 was originally scheduled to be the end of the summer season when Apsley schedules came out all the way back in April. As it happens, this summer’s rollercoaster of heatwaves and washouts means we will still have a dozen fixtures left after Saturday is done, but plenty of things will be decided this weekend. Tom doesn’t see any way Thornden can’t realistically wrap up the Premier Division, but the Inception-level scenarios around Premier relegation me...
Send us a text We’re getting to the business end of the season, which is a terrible time for Dave to be stranded in America and Tom to be busy in Southampton. We can’t unite for a dual podcast this week, but we’ve got a Quick Hit update here to get you up to speed. The County Champs are over - it looks like a changing of the guard among some of the elite men could be on the cards, while on the women’s side of things it’s good to see last year’s runner-up go one better this time. I...
Send us a text We're reunited in the UK and joined by another special guest! Pete Guerreri, from tennis royalty in Swanmore and currently captain of the National League team from David Lloyd West End, joins this episode. There's certainly plenty to talk about. Pete and Tom shares some memories from their debuts at the Hampshire & Isle of Wight County Championships, which wrap up this weekend. They give their own experiences some pretty high ratings. But... we can all strive fo...
Send us a text This week we look back on a high-octane weekend of action that made Thornden champions-elect, brought Winchester A its first win for almost three seasons, and shows us that South Hants B could sweep in on Division Three out of nowhere. The County Championships start this weekend. Tom is taking part, and we get his thoughts on signing up, the onerous availability requirements (turns out it's not so bad actually!) and how deep he hopes to go. In the weekend ahead we have so...
Send us a text Club summer seasons will be made and broken this weekend in the Apsley League, so how could we possibly leave you hanging without an episode? Dave is in Greece and Tom is working hard on the day job but we found a way to make this episode against all the odds. We talk about where the tables stand now that the season is 75% complete — and who has promotion or relegation on the line this weekend. Before all that we congratulate the Hampshire warriors who played at the Maste...
Send us a text Mike and Jay Barry join as our sixth and seventh guests on the podcast. We talk about the origins of Riverside Tennis Club, who they consider their biggest rivals, and what the future holds for the club. On a more personal note, we reflect on sibling rivalry, their pathways into coaching, and their advice for young Riverside players who want to push on into semi-pro tennis. Stick around for the Barry Brothers’ Dream Club Challenge at the end! Who created the best Dream Cl...
Send us a text The summer is flying by, and this weekend could bring the first crown in the Apsley as Compton look to see off resurgent Winchester in Division Four. Elsewhere, Riverside play Destroyers of Dreams as David Lloyd Southampton make the pilgrimage to Wiltshire. Can they equal or better Twyford's 1-7 loss last week? Premier Division survival could depend on it. We had a lot of great feedback o our Ladies Doubles episode, including a voce message from David Lloyd. Listen ...
Send us a text Three out of five Summer Ladies Doubles divisions have been won, but the very highest honours are still being disputed by Bassett and Thornden. Could Winchester sneak through and take the top prize? We discuss from around the 18 minutes mark. And there's nothing more dangerous than Tom with a spreadsheet... we find shenanigans in Division Four. Though we're sure no one did anything in purpose. Will the league notice? Where's that Michael Jackson popcorn gif?? Elsewhere, Dave ge...
Send us a text After last week’s grim statistics showing age spreads across the Hampshire inter-club leagues, Venus Williams gives Dave some inspiration this week. Tom has been in deep correspondence with Apsley League chief Geoff Prince on how the league positions work. If things are looking a little wonky to you too, there’s a good reason for it! Meanwhile, who needs league tables when there are winners and losers to recognise - stats, metaphysics and philosophy are our friends here. We pic...
Send us a text Mens Doubles is the most popular Hampshire & Isle of Wight doubles event over the summer, so take a deep breath with us as we run through all nine divisions to see how things are shaping up now the end of the season is in flight. Two of those divisions have already been won — congrats to Riverside and David Lloyd West End on getting some early titles in. The men's doubles review starts at 27:21. Meanwhile, last weekend’s heatwave turned the tables upside down fo...
Send us a text A major heatwave is grabbing the southern UK during peak tennis season for the first time in two years, so new rules created back in 2023 will be put to the test this weekend. In this episode we discuss the moral quandary around postponing a match in 29 degree weather (feels like 31!), and whether or not there will be any funny business going on after fixtures start, should one side fall behind quickly in any of the Apsley's 13 fixtures this weekend. It's inevitable...
Send us a text We take a step eastwards in Episode 2.11, exploring how the East Hants league works for clubs that lie out towards the border with West Sussex. The East Hants chat starts on the 20 minute mark. We find a smaller but more perfectly structured set of events out there, but no website to help us make sense of it all. Does East Hants have a website? Please let us know if there is one. Analysing the data that’s available, we look at the overlaps with Southampton LTA, discuss wh...
Send us a text We dropped an epic episode last week (thanks for all the feedback!), so it’s just a Quick Hit with Dave this week. It took nine weeks, but Thornden are back at the top of the Premier Division. Will anyone knock them off their usual perch from here on out? Wellow also made big gains in the league, but we're keen to see if they can build on that this weekend. Meanwhile the latest round of the county singles boxes have ended, and we tip our cap to the Spring champions in the top t...
Send us a text Dave's on the road and no one's heard from Tom since he went to that stag do in Poland a week ago. But never fear, Edwin Lau is back! And just as well, since we have a bumper round of Apsley fixtures to talk about. Bassett's winning streak came to an end at the top of the Premier Division, Division Two bought us a real slugfest, and it seems we've all been sleeping on Willow. Who knew? In our special topic this week, we dig deeper into cheating in tennis. Why is it happen...
Send us a text There are only three Saturdays in the summer when 28 teams go out and do battle over 14 fixtures, and this weekend is one of those Peak Apsley moments. Bassett face a proper test in the Premier Division against Riverside, who have their own Super Day to worry about at the same time. Division One will be fully in action, with just one of the nine teams left to sit things out. Division Two has the pick of the non-Premier action with some very spicy matches lined up. M...
Send us a text This week we take a closer look at Ladies Doubles in Hampshire, and see who's battling it out for top spots across the county's five divisions. That discussion starts at 27 minutes in. The contest to find the best women across the county also has a big impact on the Apsley League, and we take a look back at Week Five's results, plus check in on the tables. Two clubs had Super Days last weekend, and we celebrate Winchester - who have done the best so far out of any club to...
Send us a text Paranoia strikes this week, as Dave spots something suspicious in the Hampshire Tennis Awards, and Tom dissects A versus B team selection theory. Are shenanigans afoot, or are we just seeing ghosts in the shadows? It’s all just tennis, right? Meanwhile, we've got one of the county's blockbuster weekends ahead. 26 teams will be on court in the Apsley, and there are two club Super Days. We look at 13 fixtures that will change the tables. Follow us at: Instagra...
Send us a text Six ambitious clubs field three or more teams in the Summer Apsley League. At least once a season the league organizers oblige each of those clubs to field al of their teams at once -- a phenomenon we call Super Day. This week we look ahead to Twyford's Super Day, which hits on May 17, and look back on Swanmore's Super Day last weekend. After that, there are four more to come - how can clubs survive, and even thrive, on these tests of planning and execution? ...
Send us a text We've got one week in the bank for the season, and we've learned a lot about how things are shaping up in the Apsley league - Hampshire's best tennis tournament. Tom and Dave dissect the action from up and down the divisions, and take stock of what it all means for the May 10-11 weekend, where 28 teams go into battle. The sun is shining and we take this pod outside (pardon the occasional police sirens and enjoy Hampshire's intermittent birdsong). In news outside the...