GCU Tennis make their comeback

The GCU Students’ Association Tennis Club have come back with a bang! Following a lull in activity within the club and a global pandemic, GCU students have rebuilt the club from the ground up.

“It basically just stopped because there weren’t people willing to run it so it just paused for a couple of years,” Team Captain, Charlie Smith told us.

“I’m part of the West of Scotland Tennis Community and it’s quite a small world in the tennis community. I said to one of the boys I know from tennis who also studies at GCU about starting the club up again, he was really keen and ended up competing in most of our matches.”

In the early days of 2021 when life was slowly beginning to return to normal after the winter COVID wave, Charlie set out to rebuild the club.

“During COVID I just went on and enquired about how to get it back up and running again and it just sort of unfolded from there so we started the club up again.”

“The first year was quite slow, which is to be expected with a new club and obviously restarting during COVID restrictions didn’t help.”

Once the 2022/23 academic year began, the club finally began to see all their hard work pay off with more members joining and a variety of sporting success throughout the year.

Charlie explained: “It was initially just a men’s team but last minute we got some new female members so managed to put together a women’s team which is great.

“This is our first year of competing so we started off in the bottom division of the league. The men’s team managed to win their division and the cup too.

“The men’s team had trips to St. Andrews, Stirling and Dundee. The final was in St. Andrews and we managed to get a good few people up there for it. Even some fans came along to cheer us on.

“Our final match went to 3-3 so we went to shootout deciders and we managed to clinch it in the end. I think that was quite a fitting end to our first season! It was a really good day.”

The team have not only found great success on the court this year, but also formed strong bonds between the club’s members.

Charlie said: “I really enjoy competing but I think the social aspect is definitely the best part of being in the club. We’re still quite a small group but everyone gets along really well and we’re always open for people to join us. We also do a lot of socialising outside the club so it’s a good way to make friends from across the University.

“It’s a really good dynamic, we all get along and go along to support one another. It’s great for people to just come along and join in too. We’re a really inclusive club, no matter where you’re from or how good you are at tennis, we really pride ourselves in the fact that it’s a club for everyone.”

Team President, Matthew Heenan agreed, saying: “People have actually made some really good friends that they see all the time and do other things with. I didn’t expect the club to be as social but everyone has just ended up being really good pals.”

They both explained that the club is not only for those who wish to play tennis competitively, but for people who just want a hobby to do alongside their studies.

Matthew said: “I’m alright at tennis but it’s good just being able to play with people who are the same level as you for fun or you can play with people who are better than you so it’s a great opportunity for you to get better too. We’ve got people in the club who coach tennis so it’s a really good environment to learn and get better.”

Charlie also explained: “That’s the great thing about it, it’s for people of all abilities. You find that with a sport like tennis even if there’s a couple of people around who are of a similar level to you then you’re always going to get something from it.”

Following the club’s success this year, they have been moved up a division and plan to put forward a second men’s team for the new season.

Talking about what is next for GCU Tennis, Charlie said: “Growing the club is something we really want to do, especially the women’s side of the club, that’s something which is really important to us. There’s lots of female role models in tennis so hopefully there’s more women out there who want to join us next year!”

Matthew also added: “We obviously want to grow the club a bit more and make more of a reputation for ourselves.”

If you're interested in signing up to GCU Tennis, you can find them at the Freshers Fair in September!

You can keep up with GCU Tennis Club by liking their Facebook page or following their Instagram.

By Derry Wyllie.