Published by David Ernsberger, Tom Mitchell
Catch up on the latest developments in club tennis across Hampshire, England. Email us at hello@THPod.UK Leave us a voice message at https://www.speakpipe.com/THPod Social media and podcast covers by Visualising Stories, original music by Jamie Noyce, podcast logo by Karen Holloway
Listen on Apple PodcastsSend us Fan Mail Things are heating up around Hampshire’s leagues, and this week we take a closer look at some of the biggest battles in the Apsley League. Riverside have the chance to get back to top spot in the Premier Division after doing the hard work against Bassett last weekend. This time out they face newly promoted Kingsgate A - will they spoil their party? Stanmore C play back-to-back fixtures this weekend in a bid to clear their backlog. Will the end the weekend bottom of Division Two, or surge up the division? All to play for there. Meanwhile we check in with Mat Johnstone, who is climbing the world rankings in Para Standing Tennis, but he still sees a lot he’d like to do better as he pursues new heights. Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD WhatsApp: +44 (0) 74 7039 5289
Send us Fan Mail Lots of news from around the shire this week - sign ups have started for the County Champs (coming your way in the last week of August), preparations have begun for the Winter League, and Hampshire have dominated their groups in County Week. Speaking of that last headline, Mats Colling from Thornden joins the show to talk about his participation in this prestigious event, what the Hampshire players do all week while on the road for the event, and how Buckinghamshire moved quickly to bring in reinforcements after a tough start in the box. We round out our coverage of how the National League closed the summer with a run though the third tier of National League - the three divisions of Hampshire & IOW National teams. Want does Tom want? Consolidation. When does he want it? Now. Will anyone ever respond to his emails? Let’s hope so… Finally, the Apsley is back up and running at full steam this weekend, with 14 fixtures planned. Let’s go! Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD WhatsApp: +44 (0) 74 7039 5289 Follow us at: Instagram @thampshirepod TikTok: hampshiretennispod Facebook: The Tennis Hampshire Podcast Youtube: @tennishampshirepodcast
Send us Fan Mail The Apsley League gets back up and running this weekend, and we have the man who is single-handedly getting the ball rolling again on the show this week. Luckily he made it back from Croatia, which was a close call. Before all that though we have news from the National League and the National Regional League, where the action is done for this summer and the results are in. Winchester have taken top spots again at the highest levels of club tennis in the country, but there is good news as well for Warsash, Thornden and Riverside, as their elite players brought home some very positive results. Speaking of which, Riverside and Thornden picked up some very odd looking wins against Warsash to deny their women’s team an historic win in the National Regional South West East league, if anyone can explain how Warsash lost those fixtures we’d really like to know - drop us a voicemail or an email? We’re now on YouTube: Find future and archive show clips on YouTube using the handle @tennishampshirepodcast, including Robin’s explanation for how scoring works in Portsmouth’s leagues. Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD WhatsApp: +44 (0) 74 7039 5289 Follow us at: Instagram @thampshirepod TikTok: hampshiretennispod Facebook: The Tennis Hampshire Podcast Youtube: @tennishampshirepodcast
Send us Fan Mail Sound the disappointment klaxon, all 12 Apsley league fixtures were binned off again this week as Rule 6ii was invoked again by the league. We’re not even half way through the season, and already there are 32 fixtures to reschedule and hotter weeks ahead. With the league making it clear that there will be no opportunity to revise the rule, get ready for more disappointments to come. Robin takes us through how Portsmouth has been handling the heat alerts. Seems to us that this is probably one area where Southampton can learn from Portsmouth. At least we had the Wimbledon this week - Robin saw Sinner, Dave saw Bahrami and Rusedski, which probably says a lot about their differing tennis priorities! And perhaps their luck in the ballot. This week we look more closely at Portsmouth & District’s Mens Summer Doubles leagues, where Court X continue to build on their excellent winter, Warsash are pushing for silverware and it turns out Rowlands Castle are the Colden Common of the east. We’re now on YouTube: Find future and archive show clips on YouTube using the handle @tennishampshirepodcast, including Robin’s explanation for how scoring works in Portsmouth’s leagues. Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD WhatsApp: +44 (0) 74 7039 5289 Follow us at: Instagram @thampshirepod TikTok: hampshiretennispod Facebook: The Tennis Hampshire Podcast Youtube: @tennishampshirepodcast
Send us Fan Mail The Apsley League administrators called in their new rule on super heat for the first time on June 27th, leaving plenty of tennis players fuming as 18 fixtures were cancelled. Hundreds of players up and down the county were left adrift. The weather on the day wasn’t even that bad, so we ask… do the rules need an emergency change? We make the case for and against change, and then we ask Geoff Prince what he thinks. It turns out both Tom and Dave have been messaging the league admin for answers. While we feel a bit bad about that, we suspect their inboxes were pretty busy anyways, at least based on what we’ve been hearing from other clubs. Elsewhere, the Spring Season is done in the singles groups in Hampshire, well done to Stanmore players for winning three of them. We reckon at least one player has gone too far with bantz in the singles WhatsApp chat though. The ladies doubles leagues are hotting up - with bog matches this weekend looking likely to prove decisive for Divisions 3A, 3B and 4. Division One might go all the way though, and bring a repeat of the winter drama between Thornden and Winchester. Will Magda still be here at the end of August? Thornden hope so! We’re now on YouTube: Find future and archive show clips on YouTure using the handle @tennishampshirepodcast, including Robin’s explanation for how scoring works in Portsmouth’s leagues. Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD Follow us at: Instagram @thampshirepod TikTok: hampshiretennispod Facebook: The Tennis Hampshire Podcast
Send us Fan Mail Week 12 of the summer season delivered rebirths and meltdowns among Hampshire’s tennis clubs. Winchester are a new club under the leadership of a refreshed captaining structure. No longer the butt of our jokes on the pod, Winchester A showed what they can do when they visited Twyford A. Winchester Captain Kevin Harris joins us to talk about how the new captains have turned things around this season, and why they will add some much needed quality back up in the Premier Division next season. Elsewhere, it was meltdown city for David Lloyd Southampton. Dave reckons the captains at DL over-thought their tactics, while Tom thinks they more or less played it straight. Either way, a 96-5 games loss is a devastating outcome in any division, even the notoriously brutal Premier. Where next for DL Soton? Can they beat Twyford A’s performance against Riverside A when they make the road trip to Wiltshire on June 27th? If so, maybe we’ll cut then some slack on the show. Dave went to Queens and was crestfallen that Hampshire's rising star Toby Samuel didn’t acknowledge his raucous support on Court One. Maybe Dave is doing the whole support thing wrong. Tom shows Dave how Hampshire lads do it. Stick around for our Paul Hand interview at the end of the show, What a gentleman. But did he play at Wimbledon 10 or 14 times? Whatever the case there, he was a class act at Twyford, and thought the grass there was good, too. We’re now on YouTube: Find future and archive show clips on YouTure using the handle @tennishampshirepodcast, including Robin’s explanation for how scoring works in Portsmouth’s leagues. Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD Follow us at: Instagram @thampshirepod TikTok: hampshiretennispod Facebook: The Tennis Hampshire Podcast
Send us Fan Mail It’s a full weekend ahead for clubs in the Southampton LTA’s Apsley League, with 15 fixtures across all four divisions. Robin Ellison and Dave Ernsberger explore the top four fixtures from either side of the Solent this weekend. It’s Winchester’s Super Day, including a visit to Dave’s Twyford, can they keep up their blistering form? And a rare David Lloyd Apsley derby is in store, as West End host Southampton. Will up and coming Captain Aaron Williams resist the temptation to bring a ringer? Over in Portsmouth, Avenue will be home to a lot of the top action this weekend, and we discuss club policies on spectators coming by to watch some of these great matches. We’re now on YouTube: Find future and archive show clips on YouTure using the handle @tennishampshirepodcast, including Robin’s explanation for how scoring works in Portsmouth’s leagues. Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD Follow us at: Instagram @thampshirepod TikTok: hampshiretennispod Facebook: The Tennis Hampshire Podcast
Send us Fan Mail Milford Tennis made a big splash at the 2026 Hampshire & Isle of Wight tennis awards, leading us to wonder if they are on the ride in Hampshire. Better known for playing in the East Dorset leagues, can we encourage one of Hampshire’s finest clubs to give our own leagues a proper go? A hat trick of awards, their own seniors tourney and plum position in the New Forest makes us think so. Having said that, Tom is still sore about some of their National League stuff… so maybe it’s better to leave well enough alone. The HIOW Singles Groups wind up this round on June 27th. Have you played? Dave is done. Tom has yet to get started. Neither of your podcast hosts have any wins yet. So… let’s move on. In the Apsley, 16 fixtures have given a real shape to the divisions. Thornden slapped down Warsash in the end, while ruthless Riverside are now up and running. The toughest contests were in Division Four, however, where two 150+ game fixtures were played out in the baking heat of May 30. We’re now on YouTube: Find future and archive show clips on YouTure using the handle @tennishampshirepodcast, including Robin’s explanation for how scoring works in Portsmouth’s leagues. Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD Follow us at: Instagram @thampshirepod TikTok: hampshiretennispod Facebook: The Tennis Hampshire Podcast
Send us Fan Mail Summer has only just started but one of the biggest showdowns hits in the Apsley League’s Premier Division, as Warsash head to Thornden to find out if THIS is the year that they take back the biggest prize in county inter-club tennis. Robin Ellison has reinvented himself since our Solent Cup episodes, and returns to the show as a tent pole of the podcast's growing coverage. Portsmouth & District has also been busily reinventing itself for the summer - with at least one new club, a number of new teams, and redistricted divisions, especially in the mixed doubles leagues - Portsmouth’s closest format to the Southampton LTA’s Apsley League. We debate the merits of committee discretion about where to put new teams - Portsmouth has avoided a Group of Death scenario this summer, but does that bring any costs for the clubs that get passed over when teams are placed above them? Robin shares his predictions for who will win each of the four mixed divisions. We look forward to checking back in on those with Robin as the summer progresses. We’re now on YouTube: Find future and archive show clips on YouTure using the handle @tennishampshirepodcast, including Robin’s explanation for how scoring works in Portsmouth’s leagues. Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD Follow us at: Instagram @thampshirepod TikTok: hampshiretennispod Facebook: The Tennis Hampshire Podcast
Send us Fan Mail Only five weeks into the season, a summer-defining moment has arrived for two teams in the Apsley League’s Group of Death. Newbies Wellow B take on surprise package David Lloyd West End B, and this fixture gets the questions flying. Who will show up for David Lloyd? Is this the time to regulate squad selections? And what would Tom do if he was Captain Alexandra Dukes? Tom spent quite a bit of time in his mind palace on that one, we had to edit it down for time. We review last week’s Twyford match against Stanmore, where the Ernsberger clan met the Guerreri clan again on the field of battle. And we chat a bit about your reactions to our National League coverage last week. Tom pretends he knew Farnham Common wasn’t in Farnham, but as your show notes editor I will tell you now I’m not convinced. We’re now on YouTube: Find future and archive show clips on YouTure using the handle @tennishampshirepodcast Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD Follow us at: Instagram @thampshirepod TikTok: hampshiretennispod Facebook: The Tennis Hampshire Podcast
Send us Fan Mail This week we take a closer look at the National Tennis League, thanks to listener feedback from Riverside that we’ve been missing a trick there. Tom has been getting quite expert on how the higher levels of tennis work in NCL, and he shares his insights on the national, regional and county levels of the NCL. Warsash and Thornden are clashing in the Hampshire NCL county level, just as they are in a bit of a show down in the Apsley Premier Division. But of the clubs we follow regularly, it turns out that Salisbury and Winchester have the highest placed teams in the NCL. Elsewhere we get a complete run down of Week Three in the Apsley League, and look forward to this weekend’s only Apsley fixture - a visit to Twyford for Stanmore D in Division Four. We’re now on YouTube: Find future and archive show clips on YouTure using the handle @tennishampshirepodcast Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD Follow us at: Instagram @thampshirepod TikTok: hampshiretennispod Facebook: The Tennis Hampshire Podcast
Send us Fan Mail The Apsley fixtures are flowing now! Guest host and Twyford B team captain Rob Ernsberger helps Dave dissect the best of the weekend action to come across all five divisions. Along the way Rob shares his goals for Twyford B this season, and the three teams in Division Two that he fears the most this summer. Before that, we discuss listener feedback from another Apsley captain, Alex Dukes from David Lloyd West End B, and we debate if playing ringers is really worth it, and if it is theoretically possible to play a ringer in an A team. We also check in with Mat Johnstone to see how his quest to break into the world Top Ten in Para Standing Tennis is coming along. Spoilers, he’s doing quite well! We’re now on YouTube: Find future and archive show clips on YouTure using the handle @tennishampshirepodcast Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD Follow us at: Instagram @thampshirepod TikTok: hampshiretennispod Facebook: The Tennis Hampshire Podcast
Send us Fan Mail Week Two of the Apsley League brought the first weekend of fixtures with all five divisions involved for the first time this summer. So far Dave and Tom’s top picks for the summer are all off to winning starts - with some very big wins for some of them. Two 8-0 shellackings in Premier show us that it will very likely be a season of “haves” and “have nots” at the elite level of play in the Southampton LTA. Dave calls out a few ringers b being played in Division Four, only to (naturally) end up on court opposite one of them within hours of recording the show. Turns out he’s doing it for the very best of reasons. We’re now on YouTube: Find future and archive show clips on YouTure using the handle @tennishampshirepodcast Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD Follow us at: Instagram @thampshirepod TikTok: hampshiretennispod Facebook: The Tennis Hampshire Podcast
Send us Fan Mail Summer is here. At last! We know because the Apsley tennis season is now underway. A well-endowed Division Four has already started playing its fixtures. With a ponderous ten teams - including three new entrants and two teams relegated from last summer’s Division Three, Div Four is shaping up as Hampshire tennis’ Group of Death. As Dave’s natural hunting ground, it looks like there are a few tough shifts ahead. Meanwhile, we preview all the action from the Premier Division onwards. Beyond Apsley, Dave took on “Pistol” Pete Guerreri in the Hampshire & Isle of Wight singles league, and much discussion on how to handle rampant foot faulting ensures from there. Hear more from Guerreri from Episode 2.20, where he joined us to discuss tennis mercenaries. We’re now on YouTube: Find future and archive show clips on YouTure using the handle @tennishampshirepodcast Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD Follow us at: Instagram @thampshirepod TikTok: hampshiretennispod Facebook: The Tennis Hampshire Podcast
Send us Fan Mail We close our winter coverage with a courtside interview with Michael Isaacs, the chair of the Portsmouth & District LTA. Michael has led a rejuvenation of inter-club tennis in the Portsmouth area for more than 15 years, helping re-establisb a league that is now fully competitive with every district in Hampshire. We talk about Michael’s journey to become chair, why it is that league leaders are so busy, and what exactly it means to support “normal tennis players”. Michale also shares some of the origins of the Solent Cup, and hints at what might be done to spark more membership at clubs among under-40s. We’re now on YouTube: Find future and archive show clips on YouTure using the handle @tennishampshirepodcast Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD Follow us at: Instagram @thampshirepod TikTok: hampshiretennispod Facebook: The Tennis Hampshire Podcast
Send us Fan Mail The battle for the 2026 Solent Cup left honours split between Southampton and Portsmouth. Gate-crashers Riverside and winter-warriors Warsash took home the top winter prize in south coast inter-club tennis. Dave Ernsberger & Robin Ellison were on site for six hours of top class tennis. Even furious wind and a biting chill couldn’t stop some top tennis being played. In this episode we review the day itself, with a closer look at the teams that showed up and a deeper dive into how the spoils were shared. We hear from the captains of mens champions Riverside at the end of the show. Also in this episode - closing the books on the Southampton LTA’s winter season. 13 clubs took divisional titles this winter, after virtually all of the fixture backlog managed to clear over three frantic weeks of tennis. Just one division left fixtures unplayed - Mens Division Five. And resolving once and for all exactly how far away Salisbury is from Thornden Tennis Club. We’re now on YouTube: Find future and archive show clips on YouTure using the handle @tennishampshirepodcast Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD Follow us at: Instagram @thampshirepod TikTok: hampshiretennispod Facebook: The Tennis Hampshire Podcast
Send us Fan Mail Winter is SO over! That leaves us with just one question to be answered for the season: are the very best teams on the South Coast from the Southampton LTA or the Portsmouth & District LTA? Dave Ernsberger & Robin Ellison preview Winchester v Warsash and Court X v Salisbury, as the titans of Hampshire winter tennis get ready to meet at Thornden on April 11th. We also discuss our plans to cover the event live from Thornden, and we hope to see you there! We’re now on YouTube: Find future and archive show clips on YouTure using the handle @tennishampshirepodcast Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD Follow us at: Instagram @thampshirepod TikTok: hampshiretennispod Facebook: The Tennis Hampshire Podcast
Send us Fan Mail We're back with another Quick Hit, this time looking at the five fixtures that will shape the Southampton LTA's winter leagues. Some of the men's divisions (we're looking at you, five and six!) are in a bit of a shambolic state, so instead we focus on the divisions that got their acts together, and where relegations, promotions and championships will be decided on the next two weekends. In county news, it's a bit of good news/bad news for padel fans out there, especially if you like to play at Winchester. We look at some of the of pre-summer championships around the county. Learn more about the HIOW East Championships here: https://competitions.lta.org.uk/tournament/3471A94B-4773-457E-ABFD-3746B6502225 Sign up for Milford on Sea's Seniors Championships here: https://competitions.lta.org.uk/tournament/6A561F66-E6DF-40D3-B453-D7A9508CC129 Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD Follow us at: Instagram @thampshirepod TikTok: hampshiretennispod Facebook: The Tennis Hampshire Podcast
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Episode 2.40, where we revisit the Portsmouth & District LTA — with a proper guide this time! Robin Ellison cut his teeth with Southsea and moved on to take on captaining roles with Court X. Along the way, he started a weekly news report on tennis in Portsmouth & District, which makes him an ideal addition to the show. Who are the big dogs in Portsmouth tennis? How do people sort out when to go to the Isle of Wight and when to call it a day on the weather? Learn the answers to these questions and more. Plus Robin takes us through Portsmouth’s enviable teas culture and boisterous awards nights. Before all of that, we also hear from Mat Johnstone, who kicked off his defence of his number one spot in GB Para Standing Tennis with a convincing win in Sweden. Yep, we sponsor Mat now, so we look forward to regular updates from the world of PST3 tennis and Mat’s pursuit of a top 10 global ranking this year. He can do this, we believe. Follow Robin’s reporting here: https://www.portsmouthlta.info/pressarticles Read up on the Malmo Open here: https://www.malmo-open.com Send us your thoughts for (or about!) the show: hello@thpod.uk Speakpipe.com/THPOD Follow us at: Instagram @thampshirepod TikTok: hampshiretennispod Facebook: The Tennis Hampshire Podcast
Send us Fan Mail It's a Quick Hit with Dave this week as we look at the results from the past two weeks across the Southampton LTA's Mixed Doubles, Ladies Doubles and Men's Doubles divisions. First though we check in on some Hampshire tennis news. The Apsley League dates are beginning to appear online, which means all you captains out there need to start dusting off your tennis rolodexes and getting your teams ready to roll. Podcast favourites Magda Kornijczuk (Episode 2.30) and Toby Samuel have started their 2026 campaigns, and we check in with how they are getting along. There were 45 fixtures scheduled over the past two weeks, and 29 of them were successfully concluded, despite the usual tricky weather. We look at what that did to the tables. And in the end, we hear doom Lloyd Smith how Waterside bested a plucky Twyford side.