Our Story

The story behind Clubmatch is straightforward: it stems from our love of tennis, particularly club tennis. James, a co-founder, has been a full-time tennis coach for over 20 years. Throughout this time, he has gained extensive experience listening to not only the frustrations and challenges faced by clients who belong to a club but also those experienced by coaches trying to run a business within one.

One issue that consistently surprised James was how often members had to cancel social games or team matches due to someone being on holiday or sick, with no one available to fill the spot. Imagine a club with over a thousand members, and yet games get canceled because members don't know enough people.

These and other frustrations followed James as he became the Head Coach of a local club. A close bond and friendship developed between James and Kevin, Clubmatch's other co-founder, who was newly appointed as the club's Chair. Within 18 months, they had grown the club from 32 members to 209, with a waiting list. Despite this success, many day-to-day issues still frustrated them—whether it was coaching members, chairing a volunteer committee, team captains managing their squads and recruiting new players, or simply finding people to play with. Existing systems and software didn’t adequately address these challenges. Inspired by how other sports had grown by embracing smartphone technology and understanding the modern ways people socialise and meet, they put their creative minds together to develop a solution to these grievances.

Management software systems have been excellent for helping committees run a club, but we felt that nothing truly simplified the experience for members or enhanced their overall club tennis experience. It still seemed to be the same old routine: pay a membership fee, receive a clubhouse key, get a list of some sessions you can attend, and that’s it. We believed there had to be something more than just that.

This is where the idea for Clubmatch came from—a platform designed to give tennis members more opportunities to play with others at the club they love, playing the sport they love. This is the heartbeat and core functionality of Clubmatch: allowing you to play when you want to, not just when your friend is available or when a club session is running. You can create a game, invite others at your level to join, and be invited to games as well. From this idea, it quickly became clear that we could solve many more issues with a single app: giving coaches greater visibility, simplifying bookings, and helping them build a larger client base; making the jobs of team captains and match secretaries much easier; and providing clubs with better analytics to see who, how, and when their facilities are being used. Members can now clearly see their development too.

We are passionate about engaging all club members, from newcomers to long-time participants and complete beginners to A-team captains, helping everyone to be more involved and elevating their overall experience of club tennis.

This is just the beginning—not only for the ongoing development of the app but also for what Clubmatch as a business will achieve for those who join us on this fantastic journey. We aim to bring clubs together to share their stories, promote their successes, and inspire others by showcasing how rewarding it is to be part of a tennis club. It’s not just about improving your game but also about the social benefits and the sense of belonging to something special.

We really do believe that with Clubmatch, it's your advantage.