Taut strings and thighs. Simmering tensions. Illicit passions. Machiavellian political scheming. Tennis is hot now, on screen thanks to Challengers and on the professional circuit, where the British No 1 Katie Boulter, 27, and the world No 9 Alex de Minaur, the 25-year-old from Australia, are just one example of a top tennis partnership going a whole lot deeper than friendly fist bumps during a game of mixed doubles. But as the pros limber up for Wimbledon next week, the hottest action of all is probably taking place closer to home.
Yes, your apparently sedate local club, that most conservative of English sporting institutions, is likely to be riven with plotlines worthy of a Jilly Cooper opus. Just swap the riders for rackets. Naturally all