The LTA has named a team of five players, including 2019 medallists Esah Hayat, Lewis Fletcher and Phoebe Suthers, to represent Great Britain at the 3rd World Deaf Tennis Championships, which takes place in Hersonisos, Crete from 23- 29 September. The full team is:

· Esah Hayat, (East Finchley, London)
· Lewis Fletcher (Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire)
· Phoebe Suthers (Elland, Yorkshire)
· Charlie Denton (Stonehouse, Gloucestershire)
· Ethan Carter (Meonstoke, Hampshire)

Great Britain National Coach: Catherine Fletcher
Great Britain Team Manager: Sophie Hall

Great Britian is one of more than 20 countries contesting this year’s World Championships, with Hayat, Denton, Carter and Suthers contesting the men’s and women’s singles events from Saturday.

Phoebe Suthers, Lewis Fletcher and Esah Hayat

Fletcher will partner Hayat in the men’s doubles and partner Suthers in the mixed doubles after teaming up with the same respective partners to win men’s doubles and mixed doubles silver medal at the 2019 World Championships in Antalya, Turkey, where the three players won a total of five medals between them.

Great Britain hosted the 1st World Deaf Tennis Championships in Nottingham in 2015, where Hayat and Suthers won gold and bronze medals, respectively, in the junior boys’ singles and girls’ singles before earning silver and bronze medals in the same events four years ago in Turkey, where they also paired up to win the gold medal in the junior mixed doubles.

As well as lining up in the men’s singles and men’s doubles, Carter and Denton will contest the World Deaf Youth Tennis Championships from Monday (25th September). Denton returned from the 3rd Deaf Youth Tennis Cup in Germany last year with a gold medal in the doubles and bronze medal in the singles and recently won his fourth LTA Deaf National Finals junior singles title.

The LTA’s Disability Competitions Manager Sophie Hall, Great Britain Team Manager for the 2023 World Deaf Tennis Championships, said: “Great Britain’s deaf tennis players have a long history of medal success at Deaflympic, World and European level and while the pandemic has limited the opportunities to contest major championships since 2019, this year started with Phoebe and Esah putting in some great performances at the Australian Open. Phoebe was runner-up in the women’s singles and doubles at the first deaf tennis tournament to take place alongside a Grand Slam. The strength and depth in deaf tennis continues to rise globally and we’re very excited to be back in world championship competition and hopefully challenging for medals at senior and youth level.”

With thanks to the LTA

With singles, doubles, mixed doubles and junior titles to be decided during the behind-closed-doors event, Hayat and Willcox are the top two seeds for the men’s singles, having shared the National title between them since 2016. Willcox claimed his 13th National title in 2018 before Hayat won his second title in four years in 2019.

East Finchley 18-year-old Hayat, a silver medallist alongside doubles partner Fletcher at both the World Deaf Tennis Team Championships in 2018 and the second World Deaf Tennis Championships for individual competition in 2019, said:

“After the excitement of winning senior and junior medals at the last two World Championship events, but then the disappointment of not being able to play the European Championships this summer, I’m really excited to get back to playing at the National Deaf Championships and trying to defend my singles title and the doubles title with Lewis as we work towards next year’s Deaflympics.

“I played my first hearing event since lockdown last weekend, winning a men’s doubles Grade 4 event in West London. So it’s going to be great to be competing with my peers in deaf tennis again.”

Yorkshire 17-year-old Suthers will bid for her fourth women’s singles National title as she also returns to deaf tennis competition for the first time since partnering Hayat and Fletcher to junior and senior mixed doubles gold and silver medals at last October’s World Deaf Tennis Championships in Turkey. Suthers will have Middlesex’s Valerie Copenhagen on the other side of the net in her bid for singles and mixed doubles titles.

Claire McCulloch, the LTA’s Tournament Director for the National Deaf Tennis Championships said: “After what has been a very challenging period for our sport we are delighted to be able to stage the 2020 National Deaf Tennis Championships, providing our elite players with the opportunity to compete for the coveted National titles, while also giving some of our younger players the chance to continue their development by contesting both senior and junior events.”

The National Deaf Tennis Championships is part of the LTA’s strategy of returning to domestic and elite competition, with members of the Great Britain Deaf Tennis now working towards next year’s Deaflympics after the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation of the European Deaf Tennis Championships, which was due to be held in Germany in the last week of July.

While many deaf players compete successfully in hearing competition, the National Deaf Championships allows them to compete on a level-playing field against their peers, as all players must remove their hearing aids before playing in deaf competition.

Great Britain continues to be one of the leading nations in the world for deaf tennis, and disability tennis more broadly, helping to inspire a record number of disabled people to pick up a racket and enjoy tennis at a grassroots level. Last year, Great Britain was the only nation in the world to win trophies and medals at all four of the major international tennis tournaments covering deaf tennis, wheelchair tennis, visually impaired tennis and learning disability tennis, while the LTA’s Open Court disability tennis grassroots programme is now one of the largest of its kind across any sport.

The programme supports over 500 venues across the UK to deliver disability specific sessions including learning disability, wheelchair, visually impaired and deaf tennis. The programme is funded by Sport England and the LTA and delivered at a local level.

Play at the 2020 National Deaf Tennis Championships is set to begin at 11am on Saturday, 26 September.

For news and updates during the National Championships follow on Twitter @LTACompetitions and on Facebook at facebook.com/BritishDeafTennis/.

To find out more about the LTA’s work with disability tennis, head to www.lta.org.uk/play or email disabilitytennis@lta.org.uk.

Photo: LTA

Lewis Fletcher, Esah Hayat, Valerie Copenhagen and Phoebe Suthers will play for medals in men’s, women’s and mixed doubles events, with Fletcher and Hayat already through to play for the gold medal in men’s doubles and Fletcher and Suthers through to the mixed doubles final.

Hayat and Fletcher beat India’s Prasanth Dasharta Hamsabhavi and Prithvi Sekhar 7-5, 6-4 in Thursday’s men’s doubles semi-finals at Antalya Tennis Club. Fourth seeds Fletcher and Hayat will now play German second seeds Urs Breitenberger and Sebastian Schäffer in Friday’s final as the British duo bid to go one better than when winning the silver medal for Great Britain in last year’s Dresse Cup World Deaf Tennis Team Championships at the same venue.

Later on Thursday afternoon second seeds Fletcher and Suthers beat third seeds Schäffer and Verena Fleckenstein 6-3, 6-2 to book their place in Friday’s mixed doubles final, were they will meet a second German partnership, top seeds Breitenberger and Heike Albrecht.

Fletcher said: “It’s a nice feeling being in the finals and after last year’s Dresse Cup result it shows GB are one of the main contenders. I’m delighted to be sharing these two finals with Esah and Phoebe, but also for making a wise decision on playing doubles only here. It has paid off, but I am keen to go one step further and take the titles in both events. We would be the first GB players to do so. We have very much adopted the British doubles system and trusted this, even when things are not going our way. We will see what the finals bring!”
Seventeen-year-old Hayat, who will also contest Friday’s boys’ singles semi-finals, said: “I’m really pleased to have made the men’s doubles final. We came through some very tough matches and I’m hoping to go one better than last year in the Dresse Cup and get my first men’s senior gold medal. I’m also very excited to go out there again tomorrow in the junior singles and doubles events.”

Sixteen-year-old Suthers, who will contest the girls’ singles semi-finals and the junior mixed doubles semi-finals alongside Hayat on Friday, as well as the senior mixed doubles final, said: “I’m very, very pleased with the mixed doubles result and I couldn’t be more delighted to be in the final and to have a guaranteed medal. Lewis and I have brilliant teamwork which makes anything possible. Val and I did extremely well to get to the women’s doubles semi-finals and it’s all to play for for the bronze medal.”

Four years ago Hayat became the first ever World Champion in boys’ singles, when the inaugural World Deaf Tennis Championships for individuals was staged on British soil, in Nottingham. Hayat plays Russian Vladislav Abramov on Friday for a place in this year’s final.

Suthers won the bronze medal in the girls’ singles in 2015 and the reigning women’s singles national champion plays Japan’s Riko Suzuki in Friday’s semi-finals in a bid to reach the gold medal match.

Fourth seeds Copenhagen and Suthers will play French top seeds Marine Beney and Lucie Boulestreau for the women’s doubles bronze medal after both partnerships were beaten by Japanese team in their respective semi-finals.

For updates and results throughout the Championships, head to the LTA’s Deaf Tennis Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BritishDeafTennis/ or keep up to date via the Championship’s official website: https://www.wdtc2019.com/shedulue.

Courtesy of the LTA via MELT

Taking place from 12th – 19th October in Antalya, Turkey, the Championships will see players from 18 countries battling it out across singles, doubles and mixed doubles events in a bid to win medals on behalf of their nation.

Sanctioned by the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD), the first Deaf Tennis Championships took place in Nottingham in 2015. Designed to enhance the existing calendar of major international deaf tennis events, which includes regional championships in Europe, AsiaPacific and the PanAmericas, as well as the Dresse and Maere Cups, the event serves to increase the number of elite competitive opportunities for deaf players across the world.

Accompanied by Head Coach Catherine Fletcher and supporting coach Andrew Graham, the following players have been selected to represent Great Britain at this year’s event:

•           Lewis Fletcher – 34, Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire
•           Esah Hayat – 17, Finchley, London
•           Phoebe Suthers – 16, Elland, Yorkshire
•           Valerie Copenhagen – 36, Ruislip, Middlesex

Speaking about his selection, 17-year old Hayat – who won gold in the Boys’ singles at the last World Deaf Championships in 2015, commented: “I’m a lot more confident that I can play at the level of all the other top senior players this year. The last World Championships were really good, but this time I will have the experience from Nottingham to draw on and I will be even more prepared. Lewis and I are a much better doubles pair than I could have ever expected and I believe we can beat anyone. We will be going for gold in Turkey. We played really well last year at the Dresse Cup and we’ve been able to practise even more this year, too.”

Echoing Hayat’s enthusiasm, 16-year old Suthers, who won bronze at the last Championships in 2015 added: “I’m very much looking forward to this year’s World Championships and I think it will be another amazing experience. Hopefully I will be able to bring a medal home for GB again, but it will be tough. It’s been a roller-coaster journey since the 2015 Worlds. There have been many ups and downs, but I’ve managed to bring myself up and fight the downs to get in the secure position that I’m in now. I’ve learnt that tennis is about dedication and never giving up.”

Fletcher – who also competed at the World Championships in 2015 and partnered Hayat to win the silver medal for Great Britain at the 2018 Dresse Cup, commented: “I am very pleased with my recent performances at the National Championships alongside my partners Esah and Phoebe. I really believe if we play the way we are we have high hopes of medals in Turkey. Esah and I set the benchmark last year at the Dresse Cup World Team Championships, winning the silver medal, so I see no reason why we can’t continue that success and go one better at the Worlds.”

Copenhagen – who contested her first major international event at the World Championships in 2015 added: “I can’t believe it has been four years since my first ever international tournament. I’ve worked so hard to get to where I am, both on and off court. It is such a special opportunity to represent GB again and I’m really looking forward to it. I want to do the best I can with the draw I have and leave everything on court. I can’t wait to play with Phoebe in the doubles – our practices have gone really well and she is so lovely to play alongside.

Commenting ahead of the team’s departure, the LTA’s National Deaf Tennis Coach Catherine Fletcher, who has also represented Great Britain in numerous major international events said:  “After the success we enjoyed in Nottingham four years ago I’m really excited to head out to Turkey with our four-strong team for the second ever World Deaf Tennis Championships. The team have all gained valuable international experience over the past few years and we’ve had significant medal success at recent championships. We have a great blend of youth and experience and I hope we will return home successful.”

For most information visit the LTA website here.

For updates and results throughout the Championships, head to the LTA’s Deaf Tennis Facebook page  or keep up to date via the Championship’s official website.

Courtesy of the LTA

Men – Dresse Cup

• Lewis Fletcher (Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire)
• Esah Hayat (East Finchley, London)

Women – Maere Cup

• Phoebe Suthers (Elland, Yorkshire)
• Valerie Copenhagen (Ruislip, Middlesex)

Team Staff

• Catherine Fletcher – National Deaf Tennis Coach, Team Manager and Team Captain
• Alex Cockram – Team Captain
• Andy Graham – Sports Therapist

The Davis and Fed Cup-style tournament will see Great Britain line up as one of 10 men’s teams and eight women’s teams set to contest both cups. Teams will begin their events with a series of round-robin ties before the knockout phase of the competition decides final placings. Each tie will consist of two singles and a doubles rubber. Three of the four selected players – Esah Hayat, Phoebe Suthers and Valerie Copenhagen, will make their Dresse and Maere Cup debuts, while Lewis Fletcher will contest his fourth Dresse Cup after making his debut in 2003:

“Looking back on all the events I’ve played, the 2003 Dresse Cup is definitely up there as one of the best experiences I’ve had in deaf tennis – it was my first international event, the venue was amazing, the team was young and hungry and we won silver!” said European medallist and two-time National singles champion Fletcher. “Now heading into my fourth Dresse Cup, I feel very privileged to still be around to compete and to share my experience with the younger players. “

Fletcher and Esah Hayat gained a confidence-boost over the weekend when pairing up to win their first National doubles title together at the 2018 National Deaf Tennis Championships in London. Speaking ahead of the World Deaf Tennis Team Championships, Hayat noted:

“I am very excited to represent my country at the Dresse Cup, and I hope that my experiences at last year’s Deaflympics and the previous World and European Championships will be useful and help me do well there. I look forward to playing at the highest level of deaf tennis again.”

Sharing Hayat’s feeling of excitement is 15 year-old Phoebe Suthers, who will also be representing her country in the World Deaf Tennis Team Championships for the very first time. Gaining her first international singles titles earlier this year after winning both the women’s singles and doubles gold medals at the Slovenia Deaf Open, Suthers is feeling confident about the tournament ahead:

“I’m very excited to make my debut for GB. It should be a brilliant experience and I’m very proud to represent my country. I think it’s going to be a tough tournament. From my previous competitions there are strong players in both doubles and singles. Slovenia has given me a huge confidence boost and I’m looking forward to seeing which countries we will play and how they use their tactics.”

Suthers’ female teammate Copenhagen has also had success on a grand stage. As a former women’s doubles National champion and multiple finalist in women’s singles at the National Deaf Tennis Championships, she completes the four-strong team competing on behalf of Great Britain:

“I am so excited to be making my Maere Cup debut. I have been working and training hard at our GB National Training weekends and in my training at home. I’m going to Turkey feeling fit and ready to play well and to give it my all with plenty of strategies I’ve practiced in training. I have some lovely memories of the European Championships, but I also remember Phoebe and I losing out in the bronze women’s doubles bronze medal match and I am determined to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

Catherine Fletcher, the Tennis Foundation’s National Deaf Tennis Coach, who has represented Great Britain in multiple Maere Cup competitions, said: “I’m really excited for this year’s Dresse and Maere Cup as we are travelling with three players who are making their debuts in the event, but who have gained valuable international experience in the last few years. It’s a long time since Lewis made his Dresse Cup debut for Great Britain and with his years of international experience and success and Esah’s international success in junior events, it will be great to see how that blend of youth and experience develops.

“After Phoebe’s success at junior level and more recently at senior level in Slovenia and the experience she and Valerie have of playing for a women’s doubles bronze medal at the last European Championships, there’s also lots of potential for our women’s team too and we look forward to finding out which teams we draw in our round-robin groups.”

For updates and team results, follow @TennisFndation on Twitter. Interested in giving deaf tennis – or any other form of disability tennis a go? Get in touch with the Tennis Foundation via info@tennisfoundation.org.uk.

Photo: GB World Deaf Tennis Squad. L to R: Phoebe Suthers, Valerie Copenhagen, Cathie Fletcher (Captain) Esah Hayat, Lewis Fletcher.

Courtesy of the Tennis Foundation

Suthers, who joined the Tennis Foundation’s Deaf Tennis Performance Programme in 2015, returned to Portoroz almost two years on from winning three European Deaf Tennis Championships junior medals at the same venue in 2016. She marked her return by defeating the top three seeds to lift the Slovenia Open women’s singles title in style.

Photo: Tennis Foundation

After a first round bye Suthers beat third seed Jafreen Shaikh of India 6-0, 6-1, following that accomplished display with a 6-0 6-2 victory over French third seed Aurelie Coudon. Suthers arguably saved her best for last, winning Saturday’s singles final against Slovakian top seed Jana Janosikova 6-2, 6-1.

A little over an hour later Suthers was back on court alongside Coudon for the first of their two doubles round-robin matches, beating Serbia’s Stasa Srebolic and Janosikova 6-1, 6-1. A landmark two days for Suthers ended with the Briton partnering Couldon to defeat India’s Parul Gupta and Shaikh 6-0, 6-0.

“I’m so pleased that I got my first international senior titles, it feels amazing! I played probably one of the best tennis matches in my life in the final and I was surprised how well I played, especially on clay, as it’s not a surface I train or compete on much,” said Suthers, who was accompanied to Slovenia by the Tennis Foundation’s National Deaf Tennis Coach Catherine Fletcher and sports therapist Andy Graham.

“Once I stepped on court I was ready to do my best. My next focus in deaf tennis is Turkey, for the Dresse and Maere Cup in September and hopefully I can bring something to the team there, too. I look forward to what future tournaments have in store. I want to thank Cathy, Andy and the Tennis Foundation team for giving me these opportunities,” added Suthers, who won the Under 18 girls’ singles bronze medal on her Great Britain team debut at the 1st World Deaf Tennis Championship in Nottingham in 2015 before her mixed doubles gold medal and girls’ singles and doubles silver medals at the 2016 European Deaf Junior Championships in Portoroz.

Catherine Fletcher, National Deaf Tennis Coach, said: “It was an absolute privilege to witness Phoebe win this tournament and it’s been a delight to have seen her grow from a young girl into a mature player over the last few years. She learnt so much from this trip and showed how much she has improved as a player and this is huge credit to her commitment and set up back at home. She is a great ambassador for deaf tennis and the Tennis Foundation and she has an exciting future ahead of her at international level.”

While Suthers looks forward to September’s Dresse and Maere Cup, the world team championships of deaf tennis, the Brooksbank School pupil now returns to training at Huddersfield Lawn Tennis and Squash Club, under the guidance of coach Matt Smith, and competition against her hearing peers, having already accumulated a string of victories in senior and age group tournaments this year.

You can read Phoebe’s Story here  – ‘Tennis has taught me so many life skills and brought me some amazing friends’

Courtesy of the Tennis Foundation

Esah Hayat & Phoebe Suthers win Gold (Photo: Tennis Foundation)

Seven players on the Tennis Foundation’s Deaf Tennis Performance Programme were selected for the eight-day tournament, with 2015 World Championships boys’ singles gold medallist Esah Hayat ending his senior and junior events with a full house of gold, silver and bronze medals.

Hayat and Phoebe Suthers claimed the junior mixed doubles gold medal after coming from a set and 4-1 down to beat Israel’s Gabriel Lutsky and Rotem Ashkenazy 3-6, 7-5, (10-7) in a thrilling deciding match tie-break.

 

Hayat also partnered Toby Clifton to the win the boys’ doubles silver medal, the Great Britain duo having eased past their Turkish opponents in their opening match before a narrow 7-6, 6-3 loss to Russians Roman Malyshev and Jaroslav Revin in the final.

 

After his gold medal-winning boys’ singles performance at last year’s World Championships in Nottingham, 14-year-old Hayat won the boys’ singles bronze medal at his first European Championships. Hayat was the only junior player to take any games off the Czech Republic’s eventual gold medallist Jasoslav Semedek and wrapped up the bronze medal with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Revin.

 

Jack Clifton & Lewis Fletcher win Bronze (Photo: Tennis Foundation)

There was an exceptional performance in the senior men’s doubles as Jack Clifton and Lewis Fletcher, who went into the European Championships as fourth seeds, exceeded expectations to win the bronze medal. Clifton and Fletcher produced a fine effort to beat Austrian third seeds and 2012 European Championships bronze medallists Mario Kargl and Robert Gravogl 6-4, 6-3.  

 

Thirteen-year-old Phoebe Suthers added the junior girls’ singles silver medal to the junior mixed doubles gold medal she won with Hayat.

Suthers, the World Championships girls’ singles bronze medallist last year, went one better in Slovenia after beating Russia’s Ekaterina Popova in her semi-final.

Suthers faced a difficult task against another older Russian opponent in the final, with Polina Smirnova having already won the senior women’s singles European title before beating Suthers 6-2, 6-1 in the girls’ singles final.   

  

Phoebe Suthers & Freya Barry win Silver (Photo: Tennis Foundation)

Suthers won a second silver medal in the girls’ doubles, partnering 11-year-old Freya Barry.  Suthers and Barry won their opening match against Turkish opponents with ease before Popova and Smirnova clinched the gold medal match against the Brits 6-3, 6-2.

“We are delighted by the performances of our Great Britain squad at the European Championships and to come back with six medals is a tremendous achievement,” said Geraint Richards, the Tennis Foundation’s Head of Disability Player Performance.

“From Jack and Lewis, bettering their seeding to win the men’s doubles bronze medal, through to Freya winning her first international medal on her Great Britain debut, we are very proud of them all and we have much to look forward as we work towards future championships and the 2017 Deaflympics.”

“This has been a very memorable European Championships with so many promising performances for the future,” added Catherine Fletcher, the Tennis Foundation’s National Deaf Tennis Coach.

“This has been the first European Championships at which I haven’t been a player and after winning mixed doubles bronze with Lewis in 2012 it has been great to see our senior players win bronze in the men’s doubles and watch and study the growth of all our GB players alongside the emergence of other players from different countries.

“The performances of our junior players have been very exciting and they have all acquitted themselves admirably and gained invaluable experience. We can look forward to next year’s Deaflympics with a solid foundation and I’m sure we will inspire many more people to take up the sport so they can enjoy playing it with friends and family or even end up representing their country!”

Report courtesy of the Tennis Foundation.