European Deaf Tennis Championships 2024: a quartet of British players selected to compete in Austria

This year marks the first in eight for the Brits having taken an unexpected hiatus from the competition in 2021 due to risks surrounding COVID-19.

With the LTA’s GB National Tennis Coach Catherine Fletcher at the helm, a selection of the nation’s leading deaf stars will fly the flag as they compete against 14 other registered countries.

About the European Deaf Tennis Championships

Following a similar format to that of the Olympic and Paralympic games, the European Deaf Tennis Championships is a quadrennial event for players with a hearing impairment.

Every four years one of the 15 European countries contesting will run the tournament on home soil under the auspices of the European Deaf Sports Organisation (EDSO).

This year, the Austrian Deaf Sports Association (ÖGSV) host the 15^th instalment, welcoming all member federations of the EDSO to compete for European titles in a variety of events and draws.  

The event also sits among the most recognised deaf tennis tournaments, alongside the World Deaf Tennis Championships and, the pinnacle of the deaf sporting calendar, the Deaflympics.

When is the European Deaf Tennis Championships 2024?

The European Deaf Tennis Championships will take place from the 22 June to the 29 June 2024 at the Sportpark Warmbad-Villach in Carinthia, Austria.

Which British players have been selected to play at the European Deaf Tennis Championships 2024?

A certified veteran in representing her country, 21-year-old Phoebe Suthers already bears an impressive list of accolades both internationally and domestically.

Among them, Suthers has earned medals in junior and senior competition on European and World stages, including a haul of silverware in 2016 when she claimed gold in both the girls’ singles and doubles in the European Deaf Tennis Championships in Portoroz, Slovenia.

Joining her will be Valerie Copenhagen, a six-time silver medallist at the National Deaf Tennis Championships who also broke her duck in Slovenia by earning her first win in a GB shirt back in 2016.

The 2023 Young Deaf Sports Personality of the Year nominee, Charlie Denton, is set to mark his maiden appearance in the competition alongside doubles partner Ethan Carter.

This year’s European Deaf Tennis Championships also incorporates the 2^nd European Deaf Tennis Youth Championships and Denton and Carter will also vie for medals in this event during their week in Austria.

Denton and Carter partnered last September to represent Great Britain at the World Deaf tennis Championships, securing their first appearance for their country on the world stage.

What is the format of the European Deaf Tennis Championships?

All draws are set to follow the same format of best-of-three tiebreak sets where the loser of each match is immediately eliminated.