The LTA release a new commitment to championing women and girls' tennis at HSBC Championships at event in collaboration with Women’s Sport Collective
• 3 MINUTE READ
Tennis has always been a pioneer for women’s sport and women in sport. On court and off court, it has set the agenda for almost 150 years.
In June 2022, the LTA published its She Rallies ambition, setting out the goal of making tennis and padel in Great Britain gender equal sports.
Delivering this ambition is an important part of the LTA’s overall vision - ‘Tennis Opened Up’.
As we celebrate the HSBC Championships and the historic return of professional women’s tennis to The Queen’s Club after over 50 years, the LTA has today released the next phase of the plan at an event in collaboration with Sue Anstiss and the Women's Sport Collective.
The event brought together around 60 of the most senior and influential leaders from across sport to discuss the progress made so far in this area, and to share ideas about how to go further and faster in increasing the visibility of women's sport and women in sport, driving greater participation by women and girls, and increasing female representation in the workforce.
The event was sponsored by FAGE, the official Supporter of LTA Women and Girls, and She Rallies to help drive female participation in tennis. This is in addition to their wider LTA partnership, as the official yoghurt partner of British Tennis.
Jo Anne Downing, LTA Programme Strategy Manager, said: “This next phase of our She Rallies plan builds on the foundations we have laid over the last three years and aligns with our business strategy and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion plan – ensuring that inclusion remains embedded in the way we grow and develop tennis and padel for women and girls across Great Britain."
It was inspiring to see so many people working together to achieve genuine gender equality in sports. I’m confident that together, we can go even further in turning that vision into reality and driving meaningful, lasting change.
Since the launch of its She Rallies plan, the LTA has made positive progress towards its ambition across all areas of the game.
Last week the LTA announced a significant uplift in women’s prize money levels for 2025 and a commitment to equalising the prize money at its men’s and women’s events at the HSBC Championships (at The Queen’s Club) and the Lexus Eastbourne Open, no later than 2029.
As a result, the events will be providing not just the same experience for fans and players, but a move to true equal prize money over time for the players involved.
Through initiatives such as Prime Video LTA Youth Girls, following Emma Raducanu’s US Open victory, the LTA has also broken-down barriers for young girls, supporting 10,000 new girls to try tennis for the first time. Tennis remains one of the most gender balanced sports for children and adult female participation is higher across all frequencies of play than it was three years ago.
The LTA has trained more women to take up roles in tennis and padel, helping to build a workforce that better represents the players on court. At the same time, it has supported all coaches to create more inclusive environments, ensuring that women and girls feel truly welcomed in all aspects of the game.
At the elite level, it has continued to elevate the visibility of women’s tennis, hosting world-class events such as the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Glasgow and ensuring all its grass court events host both men’s and women’s tennis. These changes help inspire more women and girls to pick up a racket and play.
The LTA believes that sport can be one of the most powerful platforms for promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls.
However, despite the progress made, and tennis’ position as a leader on gender equity in sport, there is still further to go to meet the ambition to make tennis and padel truly gender balanced in every respect.
Fewer women than men play the game; there are fewer women than men in the on-court workforce; and women in tennis are sometimes less visible in leadership roles, broadcast and social media.
The LTA also knows that women are more likely to have caring responsibilities, they are more likely to be subjected to negative stereotypes, and they are more likely to be inactive resulting in poorer health outcomes. These are just some of the challenges which women are more likely to face, and they are not specific to tennis, which is why work must be driven across the sport sector to tackle them.
This next phase of the LTA’s She Rallies plan will continue to drive meaningful change and progress towards this ambition, demonstrating its commitment to gender parity in the sport.
To achieve this the focus remains on delivering impactful initiatives that create lasting systemic change.
The LTA will continue to focus on its three key themes.
- Visibility – continue to improve the profile of women’s tennis and padel, on and off the court, including in leadership roles, ensuring women are valued and celebrated across all levels of the game.
- Participation - continue to reduce the gender gap across all frequencies of play for adults and juniors.
- Workforce - inspire and enable a growing workforce of women, and educate allies, to empower women in all roles across our sport.
She Rallies Ambition
Read our updated She Rallies plan for 2025-2029 below.
