Tennis Wales boss Peter Drew is hoping a record £250m investment into developing grass-roots tennis in the UK over the next decade could end the search for a potential Welsh winner at Wimbledon.

The two-week long Championships at SW19 reached its climax last weekend with the women’s and men’s finals leaving tennis firmly in the minds of sport mad youngsters across the nation.

And now The Lawn Tennis Association has launched its ‘Transforming British Tennis Together’ initiative to try to entice more and more people to play the game by improving facilities.

Speaking at the Welsh launch of the LTA scheme at the recently improved, floodlit courts at Heath Park, in Cardiff, Drew said Tennis Wales would be doing all it can to gain maximum, country-wide benefit for the investment.

“This is the biggest investment into the grass-roots of the game in the history of tennis in the UK. It is a really exciting opportunity and at Tennis Wales we intend to use this to develop our facilities to help us achieve our objectives of really growing the game in Wales,” said Drew.

“If we can develop grass-roots tennis in Wales, and double the number of our players, then the chances of us producing the next Andy Murray or Johanna Konta will be much higher. That’s what we are looking for in the future.

“Tennis in Wales is in a good state at the moment and we have more or less doubled the number of children in schools tennis, which was one of our biggest objectives. We want to build the game up from the grass-roots and that’s why better facilities at the public parks are so important.

“The clubs remain the back-bone of the sport, but we know that if we can attract more people to the game at schools and local level that will help us to really grow the numbers. That’s where most people first get exposed to the game.

“We have got some of the best juniors we have had for a long time and two of them (James Storey and Morgan Cross) have just gone to the Bahamas with Team Wales for the Commonwealth Youth Games. James has gone having just won an international tournament in Scotland.”

Children from Allensbank Junior School in Cardiff playing on the new courts at Heath Park.

The £250m transformation of Britain’s tennis courts, £125m of which will be coming directly from the LTA coffers, comes at a time of huge momentum in elite British tennis and unprecedented levels of interest in the sport.

The LTA plans to unlock a further £125 million through match funding from community networks with a shared vision for growing the game. Local communities and clubs across Wales are being urged to register their interest in the funding from today (For more information visit www.lta.org.uk/TBTT).

“We are going to go on a large tour of Wales and do presentations in as many of the local authority areas as possible to raise awareness and spread the message to potential partners across the country,” added Drew.

“They can then put together a bid for funding and we aim to get as many projects as possible going forward to the LTA so we can get as big a slice of the investment pie as possible for Wales.”

Research has revealed that around a third of possible playing hours in the UK are lost due to rain and darkness. Despite being one of the wettest parts of the country, only 3.9% of courts in Wales are covered, whilst only a quarter of courts across the Principality are floodlit.

The latest Sport Wales School Sports survey of 116,000 school children found that over a third (34.57%) wanted to play more tennis. Overall, only 3.6% of people in Wales play tennis every month, so improving facilities and access are key to meeting demand and increasing participation.

The courts at Heath Park, which recently underwent a £150,000 make-over, became the first community facility in Wales to install a new on-line booking and key-pad entry system that is seen as the new way forward to making it easier for people to get on court and play. This has already resulted in a huge increase in bookings and usage.

“Understanding and overcoming the barriers to people taking part in sport is vital to increasing participation. Providing creative local solutions and working in partnership with local organisations and communities is key to this,” said Kathryn Thomas, Senior Officer at Sport Wales, a major partner in the scheme.

“This is what ‘Transforming British Tennis Together’ is all about and we look forward to continuing our work with Tennis Wales, The LTA, local authorities and other local organisations to strengthen community opportunities in the future.”

The LTA aims to deliver 1,500 newly covered indoor courts, more than 8,000 newly floodlit courts and nearly 3,000 court entry systems across the country over the next decade.

 

NOTES

‘Transforming British Tennis Together’ will see the LTA work in partnership with local communities across Wales to:

• Double the number of covered and floodlit courts to increase available playing hours when it’s raining and when the sun has gone down
• Install online booking and entry systems so everyone can book a tennis court easily from their mobile phone, computer or tablet
• Refurbish courts, clubhouses and other social spaces to ensure players have a great experience every time they visit
• Support other innovative and creative ideas that meet local demand