LTA Pledgeball League is back for 2024
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Our partnership with Pledgeball, the research-backed charity dedicated to rallying the sports community to tackle climate change, is back for 2024.
The climate crisis and changes to the environment are impacting tennis at all levels, and it's up to everyone in the sport to play their part to secure a lasting future for tennis in Britain.
In 2023, thousands of pro-environmental pledges were made by people at tennis venues across Britain to make small changes in their lives – taking shorter showers, using reusable water bottles, and taking public transport to name a few – to collectively make a big difference to tennis’ impact on the environment.
This year, we are aiming for even more tennis players at LTA registered venues to submit pledges on behalf of their venue via the Pledgeball website. Four rounds will run from June to September, giving you even more opportunities to pledge and make a difference.
If your venue comes out on top in any of the league’s four rounds, they will receive a £500 grant from the LTA to be used for a sustainability project on-site. This could be to support installing court-side water fountains, a bike rack or energy efficient lighting - anything that helps make your venue greener!
Not only that, but everyone who makes a pledge will be entered into the draw to win a pair of tickets to the WTA 500 event held at The Queen’s Club in 2025!
Check back here at the end of each round of the league to find out who’s come out on top:
Congratulations to Sutton Churches Tennis Club from South London, who saw a late surge lead them to victory in Round 1 of the 2024 LTA Pledgeball League.
Sutton Churches' total pledging for June saw them commit to saving over 51 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent of taking 11 cars off the road!
As a result of their win in Round 1, Sutton Churches will receive a £500 grant to put towards a project to make their club even more sustainable.
After her club's win, Carolyn Jones from Sutton Churches said, "After winning in last year's league, everyone at Sutton Churches was keen to do well again this year, so we're delighted to have finished top in Round 1. It's great that members of our club are so committed to making a positive difference, and the £500 grant from the LTA will provide a real boost to efforts to make more sustainable change around the club."
After a hotly contested July round, Ilminster Bowling and Tennis Club in Somerset topped the round two league table of the LTA Pledgeball League, and secured a £500 grant to spend on sustainability projects.
Ilminster's members' total pledging in July equated to saving more than 27 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the course of a year. For context, this equates to more than 40 return economy return flights from London to New York.
Speaking about the club's win in July's LTA Pledgeball League, club chair Gill Dunn said: "It's a source of great pride that for the second year in a row, Ilminster has won a round of the LTA Pledgeball League and see this as a positive reflection on how sustainability is already a big part of our club's long-term culture. Being a small club in a small town in the Somerset countryside, our facilities are really important for the local community, and the potential impact of things like flooding on tennis in Ilminster could be devastating for the club. As such, seeing our members pledge to make changes to their daily lives that can have a positive environmental impact is fantastic to see.
Sutton Churches Tennis Club from South London claimed their second league win of the summer in August as they topped the thrid round of the LTA Pledgeball League for summer 2024.
After topping June's league table by pledging to save more than 50 tonnes of carbon emissions, the club and its members went even further in August, with 65.7 tonnes of emissions savings being pledged by the club in total, equating to eliminating the use of more than 41,000 single-use plastic bags.
Carolyn Jones from Sutton Churches TC said, "We are really pleased and proud to finish top of the August LTA Pledgeball leaderboard. The competition has made us much more aware of the small changes we can each make to reduce our CO2 output. Members from right across the club are more engaged and actively involved in climate positive behaviour and thanks to the LTA grant we can do even more to improve the sustainability of our club."
Sutton Churches' continued success in the league can be attributed to its vibrant and proactive community. The club has harnessed the power of social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter to promote the Pledgeball initiative, ensuring consistent communication and high levels of participation among its members. Furthermore, the club has seamlessly integrated sustainability into its core operations, appointing a dedicated Sustainability Lead to drive various eco-friendly projects.
Sutton Churches TC has tried to look at aspects of sustainability away from their courts, including wildflower planting and encouraging biodiversity.
The Redland Green Club, based in the north of Bristol, have come out on top in the fourth and final round of the 2024 LTA Pledgeball League.
Courts at Redland Green's site in Bristol are lit by LED floodlights, one of a number of sustainability measures the club has put in place. (Image credit: Redland Green Club)
What's it all for?
Our ongoing partnership with Pledgeball is just one way we’re delivering our Environmental Sustainability Plan, supporting the tennis community across Britain to have a positive impact, as well as transforming our own operations and events to be more environmentally friendly.
Tennis is increasingly impacted by environmental change around the world, particularly as a result of extreme weather events and increasing temperatures. Whether it be the impact of more extreme temperatures on Britain’s major events, or rising sea levels and severe weather meaning a higher proportion of tennis venues are at risk of regular flooding, it's critical that we all play our part.
We want to work with everyone involved in tennis in Britain to safeguard our sport, the places it's played, and the communities we serve for the future.
Earlier this year as part of our marking of Earth Day, we spoke to two venues who were among the top performing in the 2023 LTA Pledgeball League.
Read our feature to find out what steps they’ve been taking to make their sites more sustainable.
LTA Participation Director and Executive Lead on Sustainability, Olly Scadgell said: “We’re thrilled to be teaming up once again with Pledgeball to help tennis venues and players across Britain make a difference, and protect where our sport is played.
“Helping our sport become more sustainable continues to be one of the LTA’s key goals. Our venue support toolkit continues to provide practical advice and solution for venues on waste and energy usage reduction, while at our summer events, we’ve teamed up with BRITA to significantly reduce the presence of single use plastic bottles.
“The climate crisis and changes to the environment are already impacting tennis at all levels, and it’s up to all of us to secure tennis for future generations.”
Katie Cross, Pledgeball CEO said: “Last summer we had the delight of working with the LTA and some of the incredible venues that are driving environmental sustainability to the top of the agenda. The appetite for ambitious change and the work that is already happening at the venues is incredible.
"We are absolutely delighted to continue this partnership into Year 2 and are very excited to see what we can drive together as more venues join the charge.”
Sustainability
To find out more about the LTA x Pledgeball League, and to access even more resources to help your club become more sustainable, head to our venue support page
