The Seniors' Lawn Tennis Club
of Great Britain

Established in 1958 as the Veterans’ Lawn Tennis Club of Great Britain, founders Dennis Coombe, a New Zealand Davis Cup player and Tom Todd envisaged a club for older gentleman tennis players 45+ years of age.  The ethos of the Club was to promote the playing of lawn tennis in its original spirit - for the love and enjoyment of the game alone.

 

At the Club’s first committee meeting it was proposed that up to 40 honorary members be elected, a set of playing qualifications established and club colours of dark green and gold adopted.

 

By the early 1960’s the Club was firmly established and continued to lead the way in promoting veterans tennis in Great Britain. It also played an important part in establishing the Veterans’ Lawn Tennis Association of Great Britain - Seniors Tennis GB as we now know it.

 

Tom Todd went on to found the Wimbledon Museum in 1977 by donating a lot of his tennis memorabilia.

 

In 1986 Mrs Kitty Godfree became our first Patron

 

Our fixture against the Norwegian Tennis Veterans goes back to 1969 and is played annually, alternating home and away, for the Tom Todd Trophy. A fixture starting in 1990 against The Fitzwilliam Club alternates annually between Dublin and the UK, playing for the Ivar Boden Cup. 

 

We do not have a home venue and rely very much on the good will of teams we play against but this does not prevent us from maintaining a high quality domestic and international fixture list.

 

In 2008, ladies were admitted and now play a vital role at both playing and committee levels. 

 

In 2010 our minimum age criteria was reduced to 35+ years of age.

 

Our Club name was updated from Veterans to Seniors in 2013.

 

Today, our membership is both diverse and flourishing and we continue to evolve through our fixture list, social activities and innovative thinking.