Humans of the Court: Becky's Story
• 3 MINUTE READ
Humans of the Court is a content series on Instagram from the LTA, bringing you real life stories from those who make tennis in Britain what it is.
Whether they be players, coaches or volunteers, young or old, beginners picking a racket for the first time or life-long veterans, the series will showcase those involved in tennis in communities across the country and shine a spotlight on the many faces of the sport. Follow the LTA and the #HumansOfTheCourt hashtag on Instagram to uncover more stories!
For the past six years Becky Davies has worked as a café manager at Grantham Tennis Club – but she only took up the sport this summer.
The 27-year-old struggled to find the time to fit lessons into her busy schedule, but had always hoped that one day she’d give tennis a go.
But following the first national lockdown in England Becky felt that now was the time to pick up a racket – and she hasn’t looked back since.
“I never used to be a huge tennis fan but always said I wanted to give it a try,” she said. “But the hours I worked didn’t make it easy, post lockdown this has changed.
“It was important to me to do something active and get into sport after lockdown, both for my physical health and mental health.
“I just thought, if ‘I’m rubbish what’s the worst that can happen’. Now before I start work I have a lesson with one of the coaches.
“I managed to hit the ball in my first lesson and I had so much fun! One to ones are different, I thought they would be intense but my coach made me feel relaxed. Straight away I said I wanted to do it again and thought to myself ‘why have I not played before?’
“I think tennis helps you emotionally. In lockdown you were in the house and you couldn’t really do anything active. Tennis takes your mind off things and gets your heart pumping.”
It’s not just playing tennis for Becky – she has also benefited from the social side of the sport at her club in Lincolnshire which she calls ‘a little community’.
“The club is so sociable,” she said. “You build relationships with people very easily as you see them so regularly and everyone is very friendly.
“The social side is just as good as the game itself. We’re like a little community here, which I love.
“My advice to people thinking about taking up the sport is just do it. Start as young as possible as it’s a game you can play for life.”
Humans of the Court
Humans of the Court is part of the LTA’s Play Your Way campaign. Follow the #HumansOfTheCourt hashtag to uncover more stories. Find out how to get on court at https://www.lta.org.uk/playyourway or by following @the_LTA on Twitter and @theLTA1 on Facebook.
