League matches

The club is involved in tennis leagues via the Chippenham and District group.  Clubs in the area put forward mens, ladies and mixed doubles teams  who play each other at home and away within a league over the course of about 3-4 months.  There are summer leagues for all teams and winter leagues for mixed teams only. At the end of each season the best teams in each league get promoted and the lowest teams go down a league.

Anyone can play in the teams.  Currently the club runs 3 mens, 3 ladies and 2 mixed teams in the summer and 2 mixed teams in the winter.  Each team is made up of four players including a captain who selects the team from a squad of players (some squads can consist of 12 or more, so lots of people get the chance to play during any season).  

If you are interested in playing in club matches, ask about them at Club Night or contact one of the committee members.  they will help you work out which team might be most appropriate for you.  For some teams there are training sessions to help practice, get to know potential team partners and see where you might best fit in with a team.  Any enquiries about the teams, please contact us via email at marshfieldtennisclub@hotmail.co.uk

Teams generally arrive 15-20 minutes before matches are scheduled to start to warm up.  Then  they split into their agreed pairings and each pair plays two sets against each of the opposition pairs.  Matches generally therefore take approx two- two and a half hours. Prior to covid teams would then usually have a match tea hosted by the home team, however this practice has not resumed since the pandemic.  However, being the sociable club that Marshfield is, we encourage home teams to bring along some refreshments to enjoy with the opposition after the game.

Winter leagues follow a slightly different format; Mixed teams of four, start with two sets where the men play as a pair against the opposing men and the ladies do the same against the opposing ladies pair.  They then split into their mised pairings and play one set each against each of the opposing pairs.

There are nominal match fees which are to cover the cost of new tennis balls for every match and lights if required.  These are lower currently due to the fact that teams are not currently expected to provide teas, but we encourage teams to organise some drinks amongst themselves to host the visitors after the games are finished.  Team captains keep a log of who plays and will collect fees from all players at the end of each season.

The hardest part of the Leagues is making sure we have full teams turning out for every match (the club actually has a very good record for fulfilling fixtures!).  This is one reason that squads are much bigger than just four players.  However, it makes the job of the captains much easier if players fulfil their commitments to play and anticipate when they will be unavailable due to holidays etc. If you cannot make a match after having been selected, please make sure your captain knows as soon as possible so that they can arrange a replacement.