Great Britain’s six-strong tennis squad flew out to Shenzhen, China, last weekend to begin preparations for the World University Games taking place from August 12th.
The Games are the second largest multi-sport event in the world, after the Olympics, where 12,500 participants from over 180 countries are expected to compete in the Chinese city.
The tennis team is a mixture of students from British universities; Steph Cornish (University of Bath), Claire Rickets (Brunel University) and Kyle Brassington (Leeds Metropolitan), and British players currently studying abroad in America; Natasha Marks (University of Arizona), Ed Corrie (University of Texas at Austin) and Dan Cochrane (Auburn University).
The Games take place every two years and the squad will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Max Jones, Dom Inglot and Sam Murray, who all medalled in 2009 at the last Games in Belgrade.
Leading the squad is Team Manager James Andell, who believes the Games serve as an invaluable experience for players just beginning their professional tennis careers.
“The whole team is looking forward to the challenge of the World University Games in China. I believe we have a strong team available and hope that all the players can compete to the best of their ability as well as having a memorable experience that comes with such a large multi-sport event.
“It is very encouraging to see that past Games representatives Colin Fleming, Ken Skupski and Dom Inglot have used the experience to go on and further their tennis careers including representing their country at Davis Cup.”
The squad are supported by British Universities and Colleges Sport and the Tennis Foundation. Head of Education at the Tennis Foundation, Tom Gibbins, said, “It is excellent to see the team approach which has resulted in players from both British and US university programmes make the team and we are sure they will have an unforgettable and successful experience.”
The tennis competition takes place from August 14th - 21st.
More information can be found on the Universiade website.
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