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LTA awards development coach of the year Alice Robson
LTA Awards

Ackworth’s Alice Robson named Development Coach of the Year at LTA Tennis Awards

• 4 MINUTE READ

A Yorkshire tennis coach who has had a tremendous impact on growing tennis participation is celebrating after being at the 2020 LTA Tennis Awards.

One of 18 national winners from across the country, Alice Robson of Ackworth Tennis Club secured the accolade for ‘Development Coach of the Year’ for her exceptional contribution to grassroots and development tennis.

Growing a coaching programme from zero to 70, Alice has a passion for getting women and girls on-court and has developed innovative sessions including a Mother and Daughter’s tennis festival, all while mentoring new coaches and engaging more than 1,800 children from schools.

Alice, a former Tennis Ambassador at Leeds Beckett University, was presented her award in the virtual ceremony by none other than Judy Murray OBE, tennis coach and former Fed Cup captain.

Tennis has always been a massive part of my life, being involved has given me so much joy. My motivation to coach and run a programme is to see the impact that tennis has on other people’s lives.

Speaking about her award win, Alice commented:

“Tennis has always been a massive part of my life, being involved has given me so much joy. My motivation to coach and run a programme is to see the impact that tennis has on other people’s lives. To be recognised for something I am so passionate about is incredible, with the added bonus to have won the award above coaches who have done astonishing work.

I am so proud of Ackworth Tennis Club and I am very excited to see what the future brings. We have built a fantastic tennis community which I am sure will continue.”

Currently in their fifth year, the LTA Tennis Awards celebrate the achievements made by outstanding tennis volunteers, coaches, officials, venues and players in Britain. To be in contention for the national award, Alice had already claimed the County award for Yorkshire and the LTA regional award for the North of England.

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 Alice pick up her award alongside 17 other national winners, including current British No.1s Dan Evans and Johanna Konta who were named the LTA Men’s and Women’s ‘Player of the Year’ respectively.

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.”

National Runners Up 

Andy Wilshaw 

Charlie Pick

Charlie is “The showman” who last year drove up membership and coaching participation by hundreds, engaged over 4,000 children in schools and organised The Big Tennis Party which brought free coaching into schools.

LTA Development Coach of the Year 2020 – National Shortlist

  • Alice Robson from Ackworth Tennis Club in Yorkshire
  • Andy Wilshaw from Writtle Tennis Club in Essex
  • Charlie Pick from Chesterfield Lawn Tennis Club in Derbyshire
  • Derek Brown from Strathgryffe Tennis Club in Scotland
  • James Starr from Oxshott Village Sports Club in Surrey
  • Jonathan Morgan from Caerphilly Tennis Club in Wales
  • Phil Loose from Wimborne Tennis Club in Dorset


To see a full list of winners from the LTA Tennis Awards 2020 click here 

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