Warwickshire Women Battle Hard in Over 35s County Cup

Written by Warwickshire Tennis

Warwickshire’s Women’s Over 35s team produced plenty of excellent tennis and fantastic team spirit during three days of competition in the LTA Over 35s County Cup Women’s Group 1.

Representing Warwickshire were Louise Kilshaw, Lucie Butler, Jen Barr and Rachel O’Reilly, with the team facing Yorkshire, Hertfordshire and Surrey across a busy weekend of singles and doubles action.

Conditions were almost perfect for the opening day, with the sun shining and, unusually for a County Cup weekend on the south coast, the wind staying relatively calm!

Superb Start Against Yorkshire

Warwickshire could hardly have asked for a better start to their campaign as they took on Yorkshire on the opening day.

The whole team contributed to an impressive performance, with Louise, Lucie, Jen and Rachel combining to secure a convincing 4-1 victory.

It was an excellent opening result and meant Warwickshire ended day one at the top of the Group 1 standings, giving the team plenty of confidence heading into Saturday’s matches.

Elsewhere in the group, Hertfordshire produced an important result of their own, defeating defending champions Surrey 3-2. It meant Warwickshire knew they faced a significant challenge when they met Hertfordshire on day two.

Deciding Doubles Against Hertfordshire

Saturday proved to be an incredibly close contest.

Lucie opened the tie with a difficult singles match against a very experienced opponent, who ultimately secured the first rubber for Hertfordshire.

Louise responded brilliantly for Warwickshire. Facing another experienced competitor, she produced an excellent performance to take her singles rubber and keep Warwickshire firmly in contention.

Attention then turned to the doubles, where Jen and Rachel competed hard in a tough encounter but were unable to secure the victory.

Warwickshire were not finished, though.

Louise and Lucie joined forces for the next doubles rubber and delivered an excellent performance, coming through in straight sets to level the contest and ensure the tie would be decided by the final doubles match.

It left Jen and Rachel with the unenviable task of facing Hertfordshire’s two strong singles players for the deciding rubber.

The Warwickshire pair battled throughout and put up a determined fight, but Hertfordshire eventually proved too strong and secured the rubber to complete a narrow 3-2 victory.

It was a frustrating result after such a closely fought contest, but Warwickshire had pushed the eventual Group 1 winners all the way.

Everything to Play for on the Final Day

The result meant Warwickshire went into Sunday’s final fixture against Surrey knowing there was plenty at stake.

The team made the perfect start.

Lucie produced an excellent singles performance to secure the opening rubber for Warwickshire. Her victory was particularly impressive given that her opponent had beaten Hertfordshire’s number two earlier in the weekend.

Louise then stepped onto court against a hugely experienced opponent and former WTA top-100 player.

What followed was an extremely close contest, with Louise pushing her opponent all the way. The match eventually went to a deciding championship tiebreak, where Louise narrowly missed out on the victory.

That brought Surrey level at 1-1 and shifted the focus once again to the doubles.

Jen and Rachel faced the difficult challenge of playing back-to-back doubles matches and continued to fight hard for every point. Despite their determination, Surrey ultimately came through to secure a 3-1 victory.

The result brought Warwickshire’s 2026 County Cup campaign to a close, with the team finishing third in Group 1, behind Hertfordshire and Surrey.

Across the three days Warwickshire recorded seven rubber victories, finishing level on rubbers won and lost across their three ties.

Plenty to Be Proud Of

While the final outcome means Warwickshire will compete in Group 2 next year, there were plenty of positives to take from the weekend.

From the superb 4-1 opening victory over Yorkshire to taking eventual group winners Hertfordshire all the way to a deciding doubles rubber, the team demonstrated the quality, determination and togetherness that Warwickshire teams are known for.

A huge well done to Louise Kilshaw, Lucie Butler, Jen Barr and Rachel O’Reilly for representing Warwickshire throughout the weekend.

There was also a special mention from the team for their chief cheerleader Sara Butler, who supported every match across all three days and helped keep the Warwickshire team spirit high from beginning to end.

Thank you to everyone involved and congratulations to the team on their efforts throughout the competition.

The focus now turns to 2027, when Warwickshire will be looking to bounce straight back into Group 1.

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