Isle of Man 45-and-over tennis team narrowly miss out on county title

The Isle of Man men's 45-and-over tennis team enjoyed one of their most successful seasons in recent years, narrowly missing out on the Division Three County Championship title following an impressive 2026 campaign.

The six-man squad, consisting of captain Neil Ronan, Rob Mason, Nerijus Gricevicius, Jos Woolford, Nigel Hunter and Rob Comber, faced a challenging schedule with a home fixture against Norfolk followed by away matches against Cornwall and North Wales.

The Manx side began their campaign in August, welcoming Norfolk to Castletown Lawn Tennis Club.

Playing at first singles, Gricevicius gave the hosts the perfect start with an impressive 6-3, 6-1 victory over Kevin Hart.

At second singles, Woolford was involved in a closely-contested encounter against James Lillistone. After taking the opening set 6-4, Woolford narrowly lost the second 5-7 before eventually going down 4-10 in the deciding championship tie-break.

In the first of three doubles matches, Ronan and Mason produced an excellent performance against Andrew Devaney and Ian Blackburn. The Manx pairing barely put a foot wrong, securing a convincing 7-5, 6-3 victory.

Gricevicius and Woolford then combined to face Devaney and Blackburn. Despite dominating the opening set 6-1, the Manx duo were unable to maintain their momentum as the Norfolk pairing fought back to take the match on a championship tie break 1-6, 7-6, 10-4.

With the overall score locked at 2-2, the outcome rested on the final doubles encounter.

Ronan and Mason rose to the occasion, delivering a commanding 6-4, 6-2 victory over Lillistone and Hart to secure a hard-fought 3-2 win for the Isle of Man.

It was an excellent start to the team's 2026 campaign.

September saw the Manx squad travel to Wrexham for a demanding schedule of two county fixtures in a single day, facing Cornwall in the morning before taking on North Wales in the afternoon.

The morning encounter against Cornwall began with disappointment as both singles matches went the way of the opposition.

At first singles, Gricevicius lost 4-6 2-6 to Alistair Johnson, while Woolford went down 3-6 1-6 against Anthony Summers.

Trailing 2-0, the Isle of Man faced an uphill battle, needing to win all three remaining doubles matches to secure victory.

Ronan and Hunter, reunited as a doubles partnership for the first time since 2022, immediately rediscovered their understanding on court. The pair produced a dominant display to defeat Jamie Simpson and Ross Dowler 6-1, 6-2.

Gricevicius and Woolford then kept the Manx hopes alive with a battling performance against the same Cornwall pairing. After losing the opening set 1-6, they fought back superbly to take the second 6-2 before clinching the deciding championship tie-break.

With the scores level at 2-2, the pressure once again fell on the final doubles match.

Hunter and Ronan proved more than equal to the challenge, producing a commanding performance to defeat Johnson and Summers 6-1, 6-0. 

The result completed a remarkable comeback from 0-2 down, giving the Isle of Man another impressive 3-2 victory and maintaining their unbeaten record.

With little time to recover, the Manx players returned to court that afternoon to face a strong North Wales side in what would ultimately prove to be the championship decider.

Gricevicius was involved in a fiercely contested first singles encounter against David Callanan. Despite taking the opening set 6-3, the Manx player was unable to hold off his opponent, who fought back to win the second set 6-2 before securing the deciding championship tie-break.

At second singles, Woolford produced some of his finest tennis of the weekend against Rodri John. After narrowly losing the opening set 5-7, he responded brilliantly to take the second 6-3 before completing an excellent comeback victory in the deciding championship tie-break.

Hunter and Ronan continued their impressive doubles form from the morning, edging a thrilling encounter against Mark Honey and Liam Evans-Ford. Having taken the first set 6-4, the Manx pair lost 6-7 in a tight second-set tie-break before holding their nerve to claim the deciding match tie-break 11-9.

With the Isle of Man leading 2-1, Gricevicius and Woolford had the opportunity to secure the overall victory against Honey and Evans-Ford. But, despite a much closer second set, the Manx duo were unable to overcome their North Wales opponents, eventually losing 1-6 5-7.

Once again, the outcome of the county fixture came down to the fifth and final match.

This time, Ronan partnered Comber in a closely-fought doubles encounter. The Manx pair edged a tense opening set 7-6, but their North Wales opponents Callanan and John responded strongly to take the second 6-1.

The deciding championship tie-break proved equally competitive, with North Wales eventually prevailing 10-6 to seal a narrow 3-2 victory.

With all county fixtures completed, North Wales were crowned Division Three Men's 45-and-over county champions, with the Isle of Man finishing as runners-up, Norfolk third and Cornwall fourth.

Although the narrow defeat to North Wales ultimately denied the Manx side the title, the campaign represented one of the team's strongest performances in recent years.

Two excellent 3-2 victories, including a remarkable comeback against Cornwall, demonstrated the team's quality, determination and fighting spirit.

Finishing runners-up by the narrowest of margins was a tremendous achievement for the six-man squad and provides plenty of encouragement for future county championship campaigns.

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