Hitchin Tennis Club's fifth team enjoyed another win in the Datchworth summer league as captain Sarah Custance continued her policy of "levelling the playing field" for women. 

Hitchin comfortably beat Aston 3s fielding a team with two women instead of two men, as Custance, Lyn Papworth and Richard Seaholme combined to win the match 3-0. 

The Datchworth summer league, formed at a time when there were overwhelmingly more men playing competitive fixtures, follows a format in which teams are made up of two men and one woman. But, with Hitchin Tennis Club's current membership more evenly split, Custance has taken action to give women members more opportunities to play.

Custance explained: "We are taking the opportunity to level the playing field for women to take part in as many matches as the men.

"In some cases, men were playing four or five matches a season and women playing just one. It was markedly reducing their opportunities to play across the summer. But there was an opportunity to shift that within the rules."

League rules state that: A team will normally consist of 2 men and 1 lady or, by agreement with opponents, 2 ladies and 1 man can form a team.

Custance is aiming to play 50% of the matches this season with two women and one man, so the opportunities to play are the same for both sexes. She says the response from opposition clubs has been "positive" and a number have chosen to match up with Hitchin and field two women as well.

And the stance is certainly not having a negative effect on performances, with Hitchin 5s sitting second in Divison 7A, level on sets with leaders Codicote 7s. "We've done well," says Custance.

Meanwhile, Hitchin 4s remain top of Division 6A after they beat Odyssey 4s at Bancroft Gardens on Monday night. Another 3-0 victory, winning 28 games to 11, means Hitchin not only have a 2-set lead over second-placed Watton 3s but also have a superior games total, which could be a decisive tiebreaker come the end of the season.

Hitchin 6s' promotion charge gathered pace with their fourth win in succession. A combination of Matthew Ellinger's power serving, captain Holly Hourihan's dominant net play and Paul Taylor's deft slices proved too much for Dellcott 4s as Hitchin won 2-1 at home. They remain third in Division 8A, one set behind Knebworth 7s. Hitchin play at Knebworth in two weeks, a fixture which increasingly looks as if it could decide who is promoted at the end of the season.

Hitchin 2s suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat by Division 3A leaders Kimpton. The match could easily have been won by either team, with two of the sets ending 7-6. 

Hitchin 3s lost 2-1 to Legends 2s and captain Suji Owen accepts their ambition for the season is now to avoid relegation from Division 3B. "A win next week should secure our future," Owen said. Hitchin are 6 sets clear of second-from-bottom Watton. Two teams will likely be relegated.