Shropshire's Karen Sullivan and Rob Rue enjoy huge honour of playing tennis for their countries
Shropshire tennis players Karen Sullivan and Rob Rue enjoyed the huge honour of representing their countries at a prestigious international event.
They were both selected to play at the Masters Senior Four Nations 2026, an LTA event involving teams from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Glasgow’s Scotstoun Indoor Tennis Centre hosted the men’s and ladies over-35s, 45s and 50s age groups, with the indoor courts at Newport International Sports Village welcoming the men’s and ladies over-70s and 75s teams.
Karen was delighted to receive her first call up to play for England’s ladies over-45s team in Glasgow, with Rob immensely proud to captain the Wales men’s over-70s team on home soil in South Wales a few days later.
“Playing for England was a real honour and something I’m very proud of," said Karen, who lives in Prees, north Shropshire.
“It was an amazing experience, and everyone involved was so welcoming and supportive. I feel very grateful to have had the opportunity.”
Rob, who was born in Neath and has lived in Shrewsbury since 1990, added: “I couldn’t have enjoyed it any more. It was so exciting and the camaraderie between the Welsh team was fantastic. Watching my team mates play was actually more stressful than playing myself.
“It was a great social event as well, with one of the highlights a gala dinner for all the players and officials, which was followed by some of the players, who had fantastic voices, singing.
“I knew a lot of the players from the other nations from having played against them before, but I also met a lot of new people and all the matches were played in a great spirit. Everybody had a wonderful time.”
Karen was part of an England team which finished second overall, behind champions Scotland, in the age groups competing in Glasgow.
Rob, meanwhile, helped Wales finish joint second overall, alongside Scotland, with England the overall champions, in the combined over-70s and 75s event in Newport.
Rob captained Wales to second place in the over-70s category, with his team beating Ireland and Scotland, before losing narrowly to England, despite him being part of a winning mixed doubles pairing.
Karen and Rob, who have both played for Shropshire's county age group teams, also regularly participate in ITF World Tennis Masters tour events, a global tennis tour that provides players aged over 30 with high quality and enjoyable competitive experiences.
