In association with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) allows three male and three female athletes to compete for GB Students across single, double and mixed double formats.
The Master’U BNP Paribas international university tennis event, managed by French University Sport Federation (FFSU) and French Tennis Federation (FFT), in partnership with BNP Paribas, welcomes the eight top nations from around the world. The Championships are taking place from Thursday 28 November to Sunday 1 December 2024 in Reims, France.
GB Students has a rich history at the tournament with a number of well-known professional tennis players having performed at the Championships. Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls took the bronze medal in 2016, with Nicholls going onto win the same colour medal in the doubles at the World University Games in Taipei the following year. Jonny O’Mara and Maia Lumsden won gold in Lille in 2017, with Maia also taking silver in 2018 and 2019.
Last year, GB students won silver. The team defeated Australia in the semi final before losing to a strong US team in the final with the US team coming out on top by just three points. The historic silver marked the fifth medal in a row for Great Britain at these championships and a seventh major consecutive event where the GB Students team have medalled.
This year’s line up includes the familiar faces of Millie Rajecki, Finn Bass and Esther Adeshina who all played a part in securing last year’s historic silver medal.
New faces in the form of Junior Commonwealth Games Silver medallist James Story, BUCS individuals Champion Liam Hignett and 4x ITF doubles title winner Eliz Maloney complete the GB Students squad looking to bring home the gold medal this year.
The full team selected is:
James Story | University of South Carolina
Liam Hignett | University of Stirling
Finn Bass | Baylor University
Millie Rajecki | North Carolina State
Esther Adeshina | University of Tennessee
Eliz Maloney | Loughborough University
Alistair Higham | Head of delegation/Head coach
Barry Scollo | Coach
Ana Soares | Psychologist
Tom Featherstone | BUCS Digital Content Producer
