East Gloucestershire Club is proud to be a member of The Association of Centenary Tennis Clubs. Based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, in South West England, the club offers tennis, padel, squash and racketball to its 1900 members.

The club was founded in 1883 and started life as a cricket club. Before this, the players were known as Cheltenham Nomads, as they did not have a home ground. In 1883, the cricketers rented the present site and changed their name to East Gloucestershire Club.

Tennis was played for the first time in 1885 when the bored wives of the cricketers had a court marked out and started playing. By 1890, there were eight courts, with an increasing focus on growing the tennis membership.

A key milestone for the club occurred in 1920 when the club, having previously been a tenant, had the foresight to purchase its nine-acre ground for £1,800.

Over the ensuing years, various sports were played at East Glos, including croquet, hockey and archery. Nowadays, the club specialises in racket sports. Squash was introduced in 1972, followed by racketball in 1990.

In 2021, with padel becoming one of the world’s fastest-growing sports, outdoor floodlit padel courts were constructed. In the three years since padel was introduced, it has exceeded all expectations, with hundreds of members now playing weekly.

With the advent of padel, East Glos introduced a single rackets membership, enabling members to play any of the club’s four sports for one subscription. This brought about more of a “one club” feel, with more members enjoying multiple sports.

East Glos now has 17 all-weather floodlit tennis courts, ten grass courts, four squash courts and three padel courts.

The club offers many playing opportunities for members, with social play sessions, many internal leagues and ladders, and, of course, the opportunity to represent the club in teams.

In recent years, the club has invested in its coaching provision, which offers options for all ages and abilities. The club positively encourages children to take up racket sports and provides a comprehensive coaching programme. This includes performance academies for tennis and squash.

East Glos has an ethos of continuous improvement and constantly strives to improve the membership experience. It is currently looking to increase the number of tennis, padel and squash courts.

East Glos warmly welcomes members of CTC clubs if they are visiting the Cheltenham area.