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We're joined this week for a Courtside Chat with George Thomas from Romsey-based Tennis HQ (www.tennishq.co.uk).

Did you know you don't have to trek all the way to Farnham to get your hands on higher-end tennis gear so you can try before you buy? Neither did I. George takes us through the kinds of issues to consider before you spring for a new racquet, strings, tennis balls and more.

We also explore his playing career in tennis, coaching at different clubs and his prioeering work to secure scholarships to US universities for high performing juniors across the county. George successfully helped five college students get funded for US studies through his programs, so if you (or someone you know) is thinking of developing an academic career through the sport itself, his tips could offer plenty of insights.

We also spend a bit of time exploring the myths about stringing - if you've ever been offered the opportunity to have your racquet strung by someone keen to intervene in your equipment, George has a few thoughts around what to look out for to tell the pros from the amateurs there, too.

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Gemma Hargrave joins the show this week from David Lloyd West End. We take a little walk through hot topics like club-hopping before getting into the heart of what it means to captain teams at a mega-club like David Lloyd. Can you bring the small club feels to big club environments? We find out more.

Gemma shares her vision for getting young players through those tricky late teenage years, and shares her thoughts on why participation in inter-club competitions is different for men and women.

Before all that we spend a bit of time on the Mixed Doubles Winter Leagues. Now that we’re a third of the way through, we’ve got a sense for how things are heating up across the six divisions in Hampshire.

Some familiar names at the top of the higher divisions are starting to rile Tom up, while some unfamiliar league shapes at the bottom end of the event have Dave flummoxed.

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Tom and Dave man up in this episode and get stuck into seven divisions of Winter Men's Doubles Tennis, the fastest-growing tennis format in the county.

One in five fixtures have been played already, so we have a sense for how things are going. But not everyone will have the stamina to hold onto top spots until the end of the season.

Do Absolute Men have the coolest team name in tennis? Why do they play all their pictures before Christmas? Why does Tom wait until midnight to go trick or treating? And what team has already dropped out of the running...? All this and lots of heavy guitar soundtracks.

It's a high testosterone start to the winter in Hampshire. Thankfully we'll be balancing things out next week, this one got a bit bro-tastic!