As another university year draws to a close, we take a look back on some of the highlights: from Eliz Maloney taking the BUCS clean sweep to Paralympian, Abbie Breakwell sealing her 5th consecutive BUCS title and Nottingham Men’s 1st Team taking home the National Championship title for the first time since 1954!
The Year in Numbers
2,884 students from 81 institutions competed in 2,070 fixtures across the 67 leagues and knockouts within the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) programme this season. Students compete every Wednesday between September and April against other universities and higher education institutions across the length and breadth of the UK from Plymouth to Aberdeen and everywhere in between!
In the London Universities Sports Leagues (LUSL), students from London institutions compete every Saturday across the season alongside the BUCS leagues. 292 students competed in 112 fixtures across 3 different levels of competition: recreational, intermediate and competitive. This year saw an all UCL line-up in the Mixed Cup Final compete at the multi-sport LUSL finals, LUSL Fest. UCL RUMS Mixed Competitive 1 came out on top with a tight 3-2 win over their counterparts.
2024-25 Champions
2024-25 saw another jam-packed season for the 379 teams competing across the BUCS structure. For the top six men’s and women’s teams competing in the National League, two Super Weekend’s form an important part of the calendar. These showcase weekends bring all the teams together to compete in two of their league fixtures at a central venue, this year hosted at Loughborough University and the National Tennis Centre. Loughborough dominated the women’s league going unbeaten all season, whilst Stirling took home the men’s title, with both teams taking home their 3rd title since the National Leagues inception in the 2015-16 season.
University of Stirling, 2024-25 Men's National League Champions (Credit: Tom Featherstone)
BUCS Big Wednesday concluded the National Championship and National Trophy season with 16 sports competing in 58 fixtures at Loughborough University. In the Men’s National Championship, Nottingham took home the title after defeating reigning champions Stirling after a closely fought final. Nottingham won the title for the first time in 71 years, the last time being all the way back in 1954. In the Women’s National Championship, Loughborough sealed victory in a dominant win over Bath adding to their National League title from earlier in the season. Loughborough Captain, Vasiliki Karvouni, finished her season with an impressive winning streak of 24 matches, earning her the accolade of ‘Player of the Match’ at the title decider. In the Men’s National Trophy, Stirling battled to take the win over Bath in a closely fought deciding 13-11 match tiebreak from Finlay Watters to seal victory, their first in this event since the 2012-13 season. In the Women’s National Trophy, Nottingham came out on top over Bath, taking home their 3rd title in four years in the event. To catch up on all the action from BUCS Big Wednesday, click here to watch the Men’s National Championship Final and here to watch the Women’s!
Loughborough’s Eliz Maloney has had an incredible first year of competing in BUCS, taking home all four titles available to her. Alongside her teammates, Loughborough took home both the National League and National Championship titles. In the Doubles Championship, Eliz paired up with Megan Davies at The Shrewsbury Club. The pair fought off tough competition from Nottingham pair, Katie Andreini and Madison Kane after taking the match to a match tiebreak to decide the title. In the Singles Championship, Eliz added another gold medal to her collection with a convincing win over Bath’s Orla Cooper. With four BUCS Gold’s under her belt, Eliz also made her debut as part of the GB Students team who competed at the Master’U BNP Paribas University Tennis Championships in Reims, France, where after some tough competition from Team USA in the final, they took home the silver medal.
Women’s National League: Loughborough University
Men’s National League: University of Stirling
Women’s National Championship: Loughborough University
Men’s National Championship: University of Nottingham
Women’s Singles Championship: Eliz Maloney, Loughborough University
Men’s National Championship: Phoenix Weir, University of Nottingham
Women’s Doubles Championship: Eliz Maloney and Megan Davies, Loughborough University
Men’s Doubles Championship: Liam Hignett and Robert Cowley, University of Stirling
Women’s Wheelchair Singles Championship: Abbie Breakwell, Loughborough University
Men’s Wheelchair Singles Championship: James Shaw, Nottingham Trent University
Mixed Wheelchair Doubles Championship: Abbie Breakwell and Jacob Court, Loughborough University
Eliz Maloney of Loughborough University, 2025 Women's Singles Champion with coaches Lottie Howard and Tom Kisiel (Credit: Flynn Duggan)
Loughborough University, 2024-25 Women's National League Champions (Credit: Tom Featherstone)
Nottingham Trent University's James Shaw, the 2025 Men's Wheelchair Singles Champion, in action (Credit: Flynn Duggan)
BUCS Doubles, Individuals & Wheelchair Championships have a rich history with previous finalists including Team GB Billie Jean King Cup squad members Olivia Nicholls and Maia Lumsden, former Junior Wimbledon Singles Champion Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, former world No. 7 doubles player Lloyd Glasspool, GB World Team Cup Champion James Shaw, Paralympian Abbie Breakwell and 2x Grand Slam Doubles Champion, Henry Patten.
Conference Finals form the pinnacle of the student sporting career for many of the teams within the BUCS structure. These 18 finals are played across the five BUCS Conferences of the UK: Scotland, Northern, Midlands, Western and South Eastern, students compete to become Conference Cup or Conference Trophy (Fast4) champions after battling their way through the earlier knockout stages.
2024-25 Conference Cup & Trophy Champions:
Midlands Men's Conference Cup: University of Birmingham
Midlands Women's Conference Cup: Nottingham Trent University
Midlands Men's Conference Trophy (Fast4): Nottingham Trent University
Midlands Women's Conference Trophy (Fast4): Nottingham Trent University
Northern Men's Conference Cup: University of Manchester
Northern Women's Conference Cup: Durham University
Northern Men's Conference Trophy (Fast4): Durham University
Nothern Women's Conference Trophy (Fast4): University of Hull
Scotland Men's Conference Cup: University of St Andrews
Scotland Women's Conference Cup: University of Edinburgh
Scotland Men's Conference Trophy (Fast4): University of Stirling
South Eastern Men's Conference Cup: City St George's, University of London
South Eastern Women's Conference Cup: University of Essex
South Eastern Women's Conference Trophy (Fast4): University of Surrey
Western Men's Conference Cup: University of Bristol
Western Women's Conference Cup: University of Exeter
Western Men's Conference Trophy (Fast4): University of Exeter
Western Women's Conference Trophy (Fast4): University of Exeter
Workforce Development
As part of the LTA’s University Tennis programme, three development days were held: LTA University National Training, LTA Captains Training held alongside the Davis Cup and the LTA Student Leadership Day. Over 120 students and staff from 37 different institutions attended the three days across the season hearing from the likes of LTA Head of Women’s Tennis and former BUCS Champion, Iain Bates.
In terms of student qualifications, three free competition organiser courses were held with 67 student sign-ups, 191 students completed the newly introduced University Tennis Activators Course and nine students attended a student line/chair umpire combined course facilitated by BUCS, the LTA and Loughborough University.
From a volunteering perspective, 15 students from three different institutions volunteered at BUCS Tennis events, taking on roles such as results taking, event operations and content creation & photography for the @BritUniTennis Instagram, providing students with valuable hands-on experience.
GB Students
The GB Students team had another successful season on the global stage. The team, consisting of Liam Hignett (Stirling), James Story (South Carolina), Finn Bass (Baylor), Esther Adeshina (Tennessee), Eliz Maloney (Loughborough), Millie Rajecki (North Carolina State), Alistair Higham (Head Coach), Barry Scollo (Coach) and Ana Soares (Psychologist), headed to Reims, France for the 17th edition of the Master’U BNP Paribas University Tennis Championships.
GB had a fantastic week, bringing home a seventh consecutive medal at the Championships after losing out to a strong USA team. The medal is the twelfth consecutive medal for GB Students at major international university tennis events including the Summer World University Games. The next edition of the Summer World University Games will be held in July 2025 in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany! The GB Students delegation will be announced soon. To view the rich history of GB Students, check out Legacy65, celebrating 65 years of the FISU World University Games.
Great Britain's silver medal winning Master'U squad
Neal Kington, BUCS Head of Competitions, said: “It’s been another incredible year for higher education tennis, and I want to recognise the outstanding efforts of all the students, teams, and institutions who have competed and triumphed throughout the season. The scale and quality of delivery across both BUCS and LUSL competitions - from league fixtures to the National Championship, Trophy and Conference Finals.
This success also reflects the collaborative efforts that underpin our sport. I’d like to extend a sincere thank you to Sophie Kitson, BUCS Tennis Programme Coordinator, for her dedication in delivering a packed calendar of high-quality events while also supporting the development opportunities offered through the LTA.
Our continued partnership with the LTA is fundamental to this success, and I’m especially grateful for the leadership and passion shown by Alistair Higham in his role as LTA Universities Manager, and all other colleagues at the LTA too. Together, we are not only delivering exceptional student sporting experiences, but we are also aligning closely with both the BUCS Strategy and the LTA’s vision for tennis – from grassroots engagement to international representation through GB Students.
Higher education tennis continues to be a brilliant example of how university sport can inspire, develop and unite students - on and off the court.”
Alistair Higham, LTA University Support Manager, said: “BUCS team tennis is a unique experience in GB. The weekly fixture list overseen by BUCS with the LTA’s support, gives students team tennis with a singles focus every week throughout the winter. The students love it.”
University tennis continues to grow in Britain across all levels from recreational to international competition, to find out more visit the LTA and BUCS websites or follow @BritUniTennis on Instagram to keep up to date with all things British university tennis.
