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Winchester Raquets didn't love our debate last time around about their patchy league efforts in Episode 18, but that was nothing compared to the national media debate this week that would come to surround the future of padel at the "posh tennis club" in Bereweeke (blame the Daily Mail for that one, lol).

Cue lots of pictures of disgruntled neighbours in the papers, and at least one threat to take it all to the Supreme Court. Gosh, this might be the most excitement Winchester has had since the infamous Christmas lights debacle of 1985.

Still, we are a padel-adjacent podcast and tennis is really our thing. So Twyford Mixed captain Rob Ernsberger joins us for a run down of the Winter Mixed Doubles leagues, which are now two-thirds done.

Winter must surely be ending soon... and before it does, will Glebian's inverted pyramids be corrected? And can anyone give Thornden a real game out there? Some at the club are starting to wonder, reports Rob.

Sometimes I'm glad to be in Div 6, that's all above my pay grade.

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Moves at Winchester kicked off a busy January transfer window in Hampshire's tennis coaching market. We explore whether a blockbuster move between JEM and Swanmore could shake up the league come the summer.

It's also time to check in on the Winter Men to see how they're getting along. The fixtures have passed the half-way mark. Did Absolute Men drop the mic for Christmas? Which team has yet to even play a fixture?

Meanwhile, Tom & Dave are having a rough ride in their divisions, but it's all good for the soul.

Oh... and it turns out that over the winter, the best TWO teams in Hampshire are from Wiltshire, lol.

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After a break so Tom could hunt for club glory and we could both spend some time with the family, we're back!

Did you miss us? Our bad maths and tennis resolutions will soon put that to rest, after which we take a deeper look at the very competitive Ladies Winter Doubles Leagues.

Welcome to the Tennis Hampshire Podcast as we start the New Year with the very best of intentions. Let's see how long it lasts...

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year… Tennis AGM season! Tom and Dave bring you the latest from the Southampton LTA and Apsley AGM meetings.

The top brass was voted in once again for another year, but with the committees filling up at last there are signs of new life in the corridors of power. One of the podcast just became one of the youngest committee members ever. Congratulations, young Jedi.

Meanwhile, there are insights galore about how 2025 will shape up for tennis in Hampshire. Beyond general news we look at the three hot button topics - continuous play, point deductions for walkovers, and whether Ryde Meade’s application to join the Southampton LTA would get past a members’ vote. The more the merrier, right? We’ll see.

Plus, since we’re recording on a Friday night, Tom had a Brewdog while we recorded. See if you can spot the signs of inebriation slowly creeping in as the discussion continues. Kids these days!

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We're joined this week for a Courtside Chat with George Thomas from Romsey-based Tennis HQ (www.tennishq.co.uk).

Did you know you don't have to trek all the way to Farnham to get your hands on higher-end tennis gear so you can try before you buy? Neither did I. George takes us through the kinds of issues to consider before you spring for a new racquet, strings, tennis balls and more.

We also explore his playing career in tennis, coaching at different clubs and his pioneering work to secure scholarships to US universities for high performing juniors across the county. George successfully helped five college students get funded for US studies through his programs, so if you (or someone you know) is thinking of developing an academic career through the sport itself, his tips could offer plenty of insights.

We also spend a bit of time exploring the myths about stringing - if you've ever been offered the opportunity to have your racquet strung by someone keen to intervene in your equipment, George has a few thoughts around what to look out for to tell the pros from the amateurs there, too.

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Gemma Hargrave joins the show this week from David Lloyd West End. We take a little walk through hot topics like club-hopping before getting into the heart of what it means to captain teams at a mega-club like David Lloyd. Can you bring the small club feels to big club environments? We find out more.

Gemma shares her vision for getting young players through those tricky late teenage years, and shares her thoughts on why participation in inter-club competitions is different for men and women.

Before all that we spend a bit of time on the Mixed Doubles Winter Leagues. Now that we’re a third of the way through, we’ve got a sense for how things are heating up across the six divisions in Hampshire.

Some familiar names at the top of the higher divisions are starting to rile Tom up, while some unfamiliar league shapes at the bottom end of the event have Dave flummoxed.

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Tom and Dave man up in this episode and get stuck into seven divisions of Winter Men's Doubles Tennis, the fastest-growing tennis format in the county.

One in five fixtures have been played already, so we have a sense for how things are going. But not everyone will have the stamina to hold onto top spots until the end of the season.

Do Absolute Men have the coolest team name in tennis? Why do they play all their pictures before Christmas? Why does Tom wait until midnight to go trick or treating? And what team has already dropped out of the running...? All this and lots of heavy guitar soundtracks.

It's a high testosterone start to the winter in Hampshire. Thankfully we'll be balancing things out next week, this one got a bit bro-tastic!

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We took a few weeks off to get the summer done once and for all, and spiff up the website.

Check out the new inforgraphics on THPod.UK! It's just the start of how we think about visualising tennis data in ever more compelling ways. And please send us your feedback, it helps make the content better and all your ideas have been excellent so far.

Meanwhile... we take a run through how the summer ended, including a pretty ugly end to affairs in Division One, where a new champion was crowned the ugly way!

We look forward to the winter and how the podcast coverage will handle the chillier side of the game.

Oh, and Tom loses it when we talk about how his algorithm performed in retrospect... necessitating the very first appearance of the censorship beep ti keep things clean for you all, lol.