Tennis for Kids smashes 20,000 target, extra courses released
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Tennis for Kids has proved a smash hit for a second year in a row with all 20,000 spaces now filled by kids looking to try out tennis for the first time.
To celebrate reaching this milestone, the Lawn Tennis Association has announced it will be opening up extra Tennis for Kids courses, with nearly 4,000 more places available for kids to get started in the sport.
Tennis for Kids, in partnership with Highland Spring, is the LTA’s biggest ever participation initiative and last year inspired over 13,000 children aged five to eight to pick up a racket for the first time.
Originally launched to mark Great Britain’s historic 2015 Davis Cup victory, the scheme offers kids a free six-week course to introduce them to tennis, with a free racket given to every child.
After the success of last year’s Tennis for Kids scheme, the LTA aimed to go even bigger and better for 2017, with an ambitious target set of 20,000 kids booked onto courses across the country.
Now just a month after the national launch date of April 4, Tennis for Kids 2017 has proven such a success that the LTA wanted to keep the ball rolling by introducing as many extra young faces to the game as possible.
Johanna Konta, Britain's No. 1 and World No. 7, commented, “My first memory is being involved in an after school programme when I was growing up. We’d spend a couple of hours just learning how to bounce the ball on the racket, little things like that but it was a lot of fun!”
“Tennis for Kids gets kids involved; it gets them outside, or inside, but just generally active! Also, it’s for free, and you get a free racket which I think is very exciting, so, there’s no excuse not to get involved.”
Alastair Marks, LTA Director of Participation, said: “We are thrilled to see how popular Tennis for Kids has been for a second year running. Demand for places has been sky high so it’s great we can make more available for parents still hoping to book their kids onto courses.
“It’s a testament to the hard work of our coaches that so many kids will have the chance to experience our great sport this summer. At the LTA, nothing is more important to us than inspiring a future generation to take up tennis and get involved in a sport that they can continue to enjoy throughout their lives.”
Les Montgomery, Chief Executive, Highland Spring, said: “Smashing targets on the Tennis for Kids initiative at this stage is a massive accomplishment – it means we can continue our work with the LTA to offer even more children the opportunity to pick up a racket, have some fun and adopt healthy hydration habits at the same time.”
Sign up to Tennis for Kids!
To take advantage of the extra Tennis for Kids spaces, click here to sign up your kid for free tennis at your closest venue.
