Best moments in British tennis – March 2024
Want a recap on some of the most memorable moments in British tennis for the month of March? In our brand-new series exclusive for Advantage members we’ll be giving you a rundown of everything that went on in an action-packed month.
From biggest career titles to record-breaking female participation numbers and domination in wheelchair tennis events, March really did have it all.
Boulter bags maiden WTA 500 title
British No.1 Katie Boulter had a month to remember when she lifted her first WTA 500 title, marking her second and biggest accolade to date after clinching the Rothesay Open Nottingham trophy during the 2023 grass court season.
Boulter showcased some of the best tennis of her career across the week, defeating several seeded players, including Beatriz Haddad Maia, Donna Vekic, Emma Navarro and Marta Kostyuk en route to securing the silverware.
In the final, Boulter came back from a set down to defeat Ukraine’s Kostyuk 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 to become only the second Brit to win a WTA 500 title after Johanna Konta in Stanford (2016) and Sydney (2017).
Her achievement in San Diego led Boulter to skyrocket into the WTA top 30 for the first time in her career and concludes the month at a career-high ranking of world No.27.
More women and girls are playing tennis than ever before
In light of International Women’s Day, we published our latest research which showed a record-breaking number of women played tennis in 2023.
Of the 5.6 million adults who were reported to have played tennis last year, 42% of that number were females – a 19% year on year increase in female adult participation.
Encouraging signs were also shown amongst children, with girls representing 49% of the 3.6 million children aged 4-15 who picked up a racket in 2023. A huge driver for success in this space has been the launch of an innovative new programme, Prime Video LTA Youth Girls, which has helped train 500 coaches to understand the social and environmental pressures on girls both in and outside sport and how that may impact the way they coach girls and the design of drills and activities to meet their needs.
While tennis has a long and rich history of leading on gender equality, there is still a way to go and we are committed to tackling the barriers that continue to prevent true gender equity on the court.
British wheelchair stars enjoy golden month
It was an unbelievable month for our British wheelchair stars winning trophies across the globe.
Alfie Hewett was the standout star of the ITF Super Series Cajun Classic event at the beginning of the month, with the Brit completing the double and reclaiming his position at the top of the world rankings.
The world No.1 defeated top seed Tokito Oda 6-4, 6-4 in the final before teaming up with Gordon Reid to seal their second Super Series title of the year against Oda and Takuya Miki 6-2, 6-2.
Meanwhile, Andy Lapthorne claimed the quad doubles crown alongside American David Wagner after they beat Guy Sasson and Ymanitu Silva in a straight set victory.
From there, Lapthorne spearheaded the Great Britain team to World Team Cup qualification alongside 21-year-old Greg Slade. Both players finished the week unbeaten in their rubbers against Sweden, France, Germany and Turkey, while 17-year-old Oliver Cox clocked a win on debut when he teamed up with Gary Cox for the doubles rubber against France.
This qualification means that Great Britain will have men’s, women’s quad and junior teams at the 2024 BNP Paribas World Team Cup World Group in Antalya between 7-12 May.
Finally, Lucy Shuker clinched the Busan Open doubles title with Japan’s Yui Kamiji – marking her second trophy in as many months.
Birmingham based charity empowering women and girls in tennis
Saheli Hub, a charity founded in 1998 to encourage women and girls from underserved communities to get active, has just launched a brand-new programme with thanks to a grant from the LTA Tennis Foundation.
With over 50% of Birmingham’s population being from ethnically-diverse communities, Saheli Hub’s research has shown that women from these communities want to take part in exercise and sport but a lack of accessible and affordable activities is a major barrier.
The funding from the LTA Tennis Foundation will support the Saheli Hub Tennis programme for three years and will aim to enhance the physical and mental well-being of almost 300 women and girls from these communities and unite them through tennis.
Junior stars clinch biggest titles of their careers
March saw junior tennis players Mimi Xu and Oliver Bonding earn their biggest career titles to date.
Xu won her first professional title in the doubles event at the W15 Monastir when she joined forces with Radka Zelnickova. The British, Slovakian duo staged a striking comeback in the final to defeat Elena Milovanovic and Tamira Paszek 2-6, 6-2, 10-6.
Meanwhile, Bonding made history when he became the first British boy to win the J500 Blumenau title, also known as the Banana Bowl, since 2010.
The Banana Bowl is one of the biggest international competitions in the junior calendar, standing just below the Junior Grand Slams. The 16-year-old became only the fourth Brit on record to win a J500 title after he capped off an impressive week with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Naoya Honda.With this marking a huge milestone in their young careers, it’s safe to say the future is looking bright for the upcoming crop of British tennis players.