Great Britain Tennis Team for 2019 World University Games selected

Organised by the International University Sports Federation (FISU), the World University Games occur once every two years, and are the second largest multi-sport Games in the world after the Olympics. Consisting of 13 sports, the event has risen to world class in both scale and standard, with over 10,000 students from over 150 countries taking part.

With the likes of British doubles star and 2019 Queen’s finalist Joe Salisbury winning a gold medal at the Games in 2015, representing Great Britain at this level is now recognised as a fantastic stepping stone for student-athletes to progress to the professional game. Previous GB student team tennis members such as Salisbury, Jonny O’Mara, Olivia Nicholls and Maia Lumsden are all currently achieving great success on the ATP, WTA and ITF tours, with Salisbury and O’Mara set to compete in the main draw of the Men’s Doubles at Wimbledon this summer.

This year’s team will line up as follows:

• Scott Duncan (Scotland East) – University of Stirling
• Ryan Peniston (Essex) – University of Memphis
• Emily Arbuthnott (Hertfordshire) – Stanford University
• Holly Hutchinson (Middlesex) – Old Dominion University
• Team Leader: Barry Scollo - Director of Tennis (University of Bath)

Speaking ahead of the Games, Team Leader Scollo commented "The LTA and BUCS have supported the GB student tennis team since 2012 and in that time, we have had some great medal successes - winning 6 medals at major games in the last four years alone. I feel so proud to be leading this year’s team out to Italy. This is the first time the Games have been held in Europe for a number of years and the team have a very unique opportunity to compete at a tennis tournament unlike any other they would have previously - at the biggest international multi-sport event outside the Olympics.”

University of Stirling tennis star Scott Duncan added: "One of the highlights of my year was winning the BUCS Singles and Doubles titles in April this year and I'm hoping to carry that form into the World University Games 2019. I'm really excited about being selected and I'm looking forward to getting out there with the rest of the team".

Entries to the World University Games are made by BUCS on behalf of Great Britain & NI, supported by the National Governing Bodies of sport in Great Britain, and the level of performance will dovetail with NGB World Class performance pathways. The opening ceremony for the Games takes place on 3 July, with the tennis competition scheduled from 5 – 13 July.