The new national tournament landscape announced in the Competition Review will begin to take shape from August, as we today publish the dates and host clubs for the new National Series and U21 National Cup.

Since the announcement of the first steps to implement the Competition Review, work has continued towards the launch of these events, alongside the evolution of the Mark Bates Ltd National Championships for the youngest age-groups. The hosts and further details of each event are as follows.

National Series

The inaugural four-date ‘National Series’ for the for top 12-30 Under-13, U15 & U19 boys and girls in Great Britain will take place in the 2024/25 season on:

• August 24, 2024
• October 19
• November 23
• February 1, 2025

They will be hosted, with our thanks, by Draycott & Long Eaton TTC, Nottingham TTC, St Neots TTC and Joola Plymouth TTC.

This event will be played in small-group round-robins, with promotion and relegation between tiers after each round – providing a regular high quality competitive opportunity for the top cohort in each youth age group.

Eligible members of national squads will be required to be available for this event.

An outline illustration of how this event is structured can be downloaded at the foot of the page.

U21 National Cup

The first iteration of the U21 National Cup will take place on the weekend of September 28-29, 2024 and will be hosted by BATTS TTC in Harlow.

This new event will aid retention and provide a valuable competition opportunity to this priority age group. Eligible members of national squads will be required to be available for this event.

The U21 National Cup will follow a standardised format – the top 10-ranked, England-eligible, men and women will be invited and will play a full round-robin over the course of two days.

Event documentation and further details will be published in the summer.

Age group National Championships

The evolution of the U11 & U13 National Championships to become a broader U10, U11, U12 & U13 open event will take place this season – at WV Active Aldersley in Wolverhampton on the weekend of June 8-9.

All events will be unrestricted by ranking, including doubles at U12 and U13 age-groups, but with protected places for top-ranked players – and restricted to England-eligible players who have competed at a minimum of one Local Open Tournament (or 1*) in the same season.

These changes will provide more youth opportunities without the proviso of needing to have an existing national ranking. The changes will also provide additional doubles play.

Event documentation and further details can be seen on the event homepage – entries are open from Monday January 29 on a first-come first-served basis.

As previously announced, other age-group National Championships will be reconfigured in the 2024/25 season into a Cadet & U17 event; a Junior & U21 event; and a standalone Senior event.

This reorganisation will create more doubles opportunities and continue to support integration of para categories, as well as allowing focus on one age group per day in the three age-group events, and allowing for greater flexibility in the schedule of the Senior Nationals.

As implementation of the Competition Review outcomes continue to move forward, further announcements about the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons will be made in due course.

For more about the Competition Review, including FAQs, please click here

Download