Evans, Konta and Raducanu Scoop ‘Player of the Year’ Gongs at LTA Tennis Awards
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Dan Evans, Johanna Konta and Emma Raducanu are among 18 outstanding individuals and venues who have been named LTA Tennis Award winners at the LTA's annual ceremony, celebrating the achievements and contributions of individuals and venues from across tennis in Britain.
Streamed live on LTA channels on Thursday, the 30th of July, and presented by LTA Head of Men’s Tennis Leon Smith OBE, the national ceremony saw 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. They were joined on the roll of honour by 17 year old Emma Raducanu who scooped the ‘Girl’s Player of the Year’, and Ben Gusic-Wan who was named Boy’s Player of the Year after winning the 12-and-under boys' singles title at the prestigious Junior Orange Bowl trophy in Miami in December.
Seeing off competition from a shortlist including Harriet Dart, Heather Watson and Jordanne Whiley, Konta picked up the ‘Women’s Player of the Year’ accolade after a stellar year that saw her reach the semi-final of the French Open and the quarter-finals of Wimbledon and the US Open,. The world No.14 also played a starring role in helping Great Britain reach the world group stage of the Fed Cup for the first time since 1993 after memorable home-tie wins in Bath and at the Copper Box.
British No.1 Dan Evans claimed the ‘Men’s Player of the Year’ award ahead of a shortlist featuring Alfie Hewett, Andy Lapthorne and Andy Murray. It follows an incredible 2019 season for Evans with a series of impressive victories seeing him climb from 190 to 42 in the ATP rankings to become British No.1 for the first time, with that progress continuing into 2020 to reach a new career high world ranking of 28.
Both Konta and Evans are in action this week as part of the Battle of the Brits event at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre, and joining them as part of that tournament has been Raducanu. One of a number of up and coming players supported by the LTA’s Pro-Scholarship Programme, Raducanu received the Girl’s Player of the Year award for an outstanding 2019 season which saw her move from 627 to 374 in the WTA rankings.
Currently in their fifth year, the LTA Tennis Awards celebrate the achievements of outstanding tennis volunteers, coaches, officials, venues and players in Britain. This year saw a record number of over 2,000 nominations across all of the grassroots categories including ‘Young Person of the Year’ and ‘Club of the Year’.
Nominations were drawn from over 25,000 volunteers, 4,400 coaches, 940 officials, 20,000 schools, 2,700 clubs and over 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.
Normally staged during Wimbledon, the ceremony was streamed digitally for the first time in the Awards’ history. The winners of this year’s awards were announced by a host of special guest award presenters, including Judy Murray OBE, Minister for Sport, Tourism and Heritage Nigel Huddleston MP, Gordon Reid MBE, BBC Tennis Correspondent Russell Fuller and Incoming Chief Executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club Sally Bolton OBE.
Speaking about this year’s award winners, LTA President David Rawlinson commented:
“The LTA Tennis Awards are a real celebration of the people that make our sport thrive. 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.”
LTA Tennis Awards 2020 National Winners
Player Awards
- Women's Player of the Year- Johanna Konta (Eastbourne)
- Men's Player of the Year- Dan Evans (Birmingham)
- Girl's Player of the Year - Emma Raducanu (Kent)
- Boy's Player of the Year - Ben Gusic-Wan (Kent)
- Women's Senior Player of the Year - Teresa Catlin (Cambridge)
- Men's Senior Player of the Year - Lennie Lawrence (Watford)
Coaching Awards
- Development Coach of the Year - Alice Robson (Yorkshire)
- Performance Coach of the Year - David Felgate (Twickenham)
Competition Awards
- Competition of the Year - Hunstanton Lawn Tennis Tournament (Norfolk)
- Official of the Year - Jenny Sayer (Hampshire)
Venue & Programme Awards
- Club of the Year - Hoole LTC (Chester)
- Disability Award- LUSU Sports (Stockport)
- Communities and Parks Award- Cheslyn Hay Tennis (Walsall)
- School of the Year - Bishop Vesey's Grammar School (Sutton Coldfield)
- University of the Year - University of Bath (Bath)
Volunteer & Individual Contribution Awards
- Young Person of the Year – Jonah Jones (Caerphilly, Wales)
- Cathie Sabin Award - Volunteer of the Year - Don Saul (Yorkshire)
- Lifetime Achievement Award - Bash Kara (Hampshire)
About the LTA Tennis Awards
To find out more information about the LTA Tennis Awards or for information on how to play, coach, volunteer or officiate in tennis, head to www.lta.org.uk. To watch this year’s national ceremony, head to www.lta.org.uk/awards or the LTA’s Youtube channel.
