Bishop Monkton Tennis Club was set up in 2009 when two courts were built as part of the new Village Hall and Playing Fields development. In 2023, Pickleball was added and the Club was then renamed the Bishop Monkton Tennis and Pickleball Club.

The Club is welcoming, relatively small (40 or so active members) and is always looking to encourage new members from the village and surrounding area. Run by a committee of six, it aims to provide an environment where playing tennis and pickleball is fun, good exercise and has a social as well as a sporting angle.

The Club provides tennis and pickleball facilities all year round. Subject to availability, members are able to use the courts on an ad hoc basis at any time and to play in the regular organised club sessions and competitions if they wish. Details of these sessions are listed below.

Non- members are welcome to attend any of the organised club sessions for free as an initial taster, allowing them to make a decision as to whether or not to take out membership. The club needs to generate a surplus every year in order to maintain and improve the courts-hence the need for a small annual membership fee.

Access to the tennis court is via a key that will be provided on payment of membership fees and is subject to a £5 returnable deposit.

If you would like further information or apply to join please click here to email.

Subscriptions,

Subscriptions run from 1st April 2025 to 31st March 2026 and cost

Adult-£40

Couples-£70

Family-£80

Junior-£20

Club Sessions

Club sessions run from early May to end of September. Members can find out who else will be playing at these sessions by joining the respective WhatsApp groups for Tennis and Pickleball.

The tennis courts remain open for use by members all year round.

Tennis

Wednesday- 6 p.m. onwards.

Pickleball

Monday- General Session 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Wednesday - 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. 

Friday- Improvers Session and Skills 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and General Session 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.*

*From October these sessions are indoors at the Village Hall, places need to be reserved and are subject to a fee of £5 per session.

Non- members are welcome to come along to test their skills in a free taster session. The Club has loan paddles (aka bat!) available.

Programme 2025

Pickleball Tournaments - Saturday 24th May and Saturday 16th August.

Wednesday 16th July - Annual Barbecue-Free to Members-6 p.m. onwards.

Wednesday 19th November Annual Gala Dinner and (Fun) Awards Ceremony. 6.30 p.m. onwards at the Masons Arms, Bishop Monkton. Booking available from mid- September.

Read the latest club news below:

First Pickleball Tournament of the Season-Saturday 24th May 2025

The Club held its first Pickleball Tournament of the season with twelve players competing in a six match competition. On a warm but windy afternoon, a swirling breeze added an extra dimension to the competition which was hotly contested. Three players, Kathryn Bethel, Lawrence Ireland and Chantel Ireland finished joint top - all winning five of their six games. They were separated only by points scored against in their winning games leaving Lawrence as the overall winner.

Second Annual Dinner & (Glittering) Awards Ceremony- Thursday 17th October 2024

Bishop Monkton Tennis and Pickleball Club confirmed its reputation as one of the village’s most friendly and welcoming clubs with its 2nd Annual Gala Dinner and (Glittering) Awards Ceremony at the Masons Arms

Brief opening remarks from the Chair, Jonathan Pimley, emphasised the growth of the club in the last 18 months, thanking the whole committee for their efforts, but particularly Dorothy Culshaw for her outstanding work organising and coaching pickleball –comments which were later echoed by member Colin Philpott in his amusing and relevant remarks.

Greg MacDonald, Graham Banks and Susan Stead were all Award winners for various acts of skill, determination and kindness over the year-highlighting the fact that club revolves as much around friendliness and team spirit as it does around racquet sports.

The Masons provided a superb dinner for the 20 attendees, with both an interesting menu and extremely efficient service.

Pickleball Inaugural Championship - A Great Success -August 17th 2024

The drama of the Centre Court enveloped Pickleball on Saturday as entrants packed their paddles (aka bats) and gathered for the inaugural Bishop Monkton Pickleball Championships.  Over the following two hours a near capacity crowd would discover who could best combine their own natural talent with the skills learnt over the season from award winning coach, Dorothy Culshaw.

Based on a round robin doubles format where everyone played with and against everyone else, players kept their own scores from each round-then the four players with the highest individual totals entered a play-off format to decide the overall Champion.

The players who made the final four were Chantal Ireland, Ruth Abel, Graham Banks and Dorothy Culshaw and after a tense finale Graham Banks was crowned ‘Champion Pickleballer of the Year’.