North-East Premier League:

David Sherwood and Daniel Kiernan, the North-East's leading doubles players of Yorkshire and Durham/Cleveland respectively, ranked first and seventh in Britain, will no doubt send warning signals out to the rest of the competitors in the 16-team Northern and Southern Division of the NEP - as they have been acquired by the Queens Halifax Club for this season.

Most teams will be relying on the squads they fielded last season, which must set up Queens as one of the favourites. The Sunderland Racquets Club in Doxford Park, now playing as Esporta Sunderland, will be hard pressed in defending their North-East title. They will still have Adam Barratclough and Ainsley Kershaw who had an outstanding season last time plus brothers Sean and Guy Galpin, Graeme Foreman and Nathan Lundy.

Tennis World Middlesbrough have kept the same regulars as runners-up in 2002-2003, namely Nigel Beavers and Mark Franklin, a leading D and C county partnership, veterans John Hudson and Nigel Garton, plus Kevin Rudd and Richard Love. Their first fixture is at home to North Yorkshire.

This team is an amalgam of players from three local clubs which do not have indoor courts and thus play all matches away. Great Ayton, Nunthorpe and Yarm have provided Mike Dixon, Michael Hall, Charles Hingley, Steven Preston, Kevin Rowley and Ian Spears.

Junior Finals

SPECTATORS at the junior finals of the New Blackwell Lawn Tennis Club in Darlington saw a high standard of matches.

Results: Under-18 Boys Singles winner Harry Sliufko, runner-up Mark Russell; Under-18 Girls Singles winner Lauren Airey, runner-up Nicola Jackson; Under-15 Girls Singles winner Jacqui Phillips, runner-up Emma Russell; Under-18 Boys Doubles winners Mark Russell and Jack Wilson, runners-up Mark Zissler and Ross Galbraith; Under-18 Girls Doubles winners Leanne Wytcherley and Sophie Ward, runners-up Emma Russell and Lauren Airey; Under-11 Boys Singles winner James Dobson, runner-up Jack Barron.