Caerphilly teenager scoops “Young Person of the Year” award at LTA Tennis Awards

One of 18 national winners, Jonah Jones received the ‘Young Person of the Year’ accolade from the governing body for tennis in Britain on account of his tireless work both on and off the court. Thousands of young people in tennis give back their time every year, with many learning valuable leadership skills to set them up for life through LTA Youth and Tennis Leaders programmes. Last year saw Jonah set up his school’s first after-school tennis club, with his inbuilt drive seeing numbers grow while ensuring a fun on-court experience for all. In a virtual ceremony held on Thursday, Jonah was presented with his award by Gordon Reid MBE, multiple wheelchair tennis Grand Slam champion.

Jonah commented on his award:

"I am exceptionally proud of the achievement that I have made. After only starting in November 2018, as witnessed by my head coach and peers, I have gone from strength to strength finding new ways in approaching new areas of leading. I was overwhelmed by the fact that I did win the award, and I hope that I can continue to provide for the club, school and community through the acts of leadership.”

Ellie Lewis, Coaching & Volunteering Manager at Tennis Wales said:

“Jonah has given a huge amount of time to growing tennis in his school, and in his tennis club. We’re delighted that he has been awarded the Young Person of the Year across Britain for his volunteering, and we can’t wait to see what he goes onto achieve in the future.”

Currently in their fifth year, the LTA Tennis Awards celebrate the achievements made by outstanding tennis volunteers, coaches, officials, venues and players in Britain.

Streamed live on LTA channels and presented by Leon Smith OBE, the national ceremony – which was digital for the first time in the awards’ history – saw the likes of current British No.1s Dan Evans and Johanna Konta pick up the LTA’s Men’s and Women’s ‘Player of the Year’ awards respectively, alongside 16 other deserving national winners.

This year saw more than 2,000 nominations across grassroots categories including Young Person of the Year and Club of the Year.

Nominations were drawn from more than 25,000 volunteers, 4,400 coaches, 940 officials, 20,000 schools, 2,700 clubs and more than 9,700 LTA approved tournaments, demonstrating the extraordinary contributions of individuals and venues who help to open up the sport and bring new fans and players to the game.

“The LTA Tennis Awards are a real celebration of the people that make our sport thrive,” said LTA president, David Rawlinson.

“They celebrate the achievements made by outstanding volunteers, coaches, officials, venues and players, who are all vital in helping us to grow the game.

“To be named a national winner out of over 2,000 public nominations is a fantastic achievement so I’d like to congratulate all of this year’s winners and extend my thanks to each and every one of them for all that they do to help tennis in Britain.”