Women’s Sport Week: The female figures of British Tennis
• 4 MINUTE READ
Women’s Sport Week kicks off today ahead of a packed summer of elite women’s sport. Our very own Aegon Classic Birmingham just so happens to falls within the week, so now is as good a time as any for British Tennis to celebrate some of the leading ladies in the game today.
Whether we’re talking top 10 players who win some of the biggest prizes in tennis, or coaching leaders who are leading the charge to get more women and girls playing the game, the women of British Tennis are inspiring more people to get on court through their incredible achievements.
Check out some of the names we’re paying tribute to below and if you know an inspirational woman doing great things in tennis, be sure to let us know by tweeting us @BritishTennis and telling her story.
Johanna Konta
British No.1 Johanna Konta is flying high in the world of tennis right now. Her breakthrough in 2015 saw her reach the fourth round of the US Open and since then, she has soared up the rankings and now sits as the World No.7.
This year alone, she was crowned champion at the Sydney International, stormed to the semi-finals of the Australian Open and became the first British woman to ever win the Miami Open.
Last week at the Aegon Open Nottingham, she scooped up her 300th win and made her very first grass-court final. Now seeded fourth in Birmingham, she’ll be looking to go one better…
Anne Keothavong
Former British No.1 Anne Keothavong became the first women since Jo Durie to break into the world’s top 50 and is the second most successful Fed Cup singles player after Virginia Wade.
Now a Fed Cup Captain and Senior National Women’s Coach, Anne spends endless hours supporting the female pros in British Tennis to help them reach their full potential.
Her expertise lends itself well to her commentary role in BT Sport’s tennis coverage team, where she sits alongside fellow former British No.1 Sam Smith and 18-time Grand Slam champion, Martina Navratilova – talk about a woman who can multi-task!
Jordanne Whiley MBE
World No.8 Jordanne Whiley wrote her name into the history books in 2014 after becoming the first British tennis player in history to complete a calendar year Grand Slam with Japan’s Yui Kamiji.
Since then, she’s scooped up an additional four doubles Grand Slam titles and has been crowned singles champion at the US Open. In recognition of her achievements, she was awarded an MBE for services to wheelchair tennis.
She has represented Great Britain twice in the Paralympic Games, claiming the bronze medal for women’s doubles with World No.7 Lucy Shuker on both occasions.
Judy Murray OBE
Next up is Judy Murray, who was very recently awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to tennis, women in sport and charity.
Judy served as Great Britain’s Fed Cup coach from 2011 to 2016, helping the team on two occasions step out of the Europe/Africa Zone Group and into the play-off stages.
Her passion for introducing more young women to tennis is unparalleled, initiating Miss-Hits in 2014 to encourage girls aged 5-8 to play tennis in a lively, fun environment.
In recent months, Judy has been leading She Rallies, a participation push set to inspire the next generation of female coaches to in turn increase participation amongst women and girls across the nation.
Cathie Sabin OBE
In 2013, Cathie became the first ever female president of the LTA. In her three years of presidency, Cathie threw everything she had into supporting the people she cared so passionately for; young people and volunteers. As a result, the former PE teacher was appointed an OBE for her services to the sport.
Last year, Cathie launched the Aegon British Tennis Awards to recognise and celebrate the incredible work of the 25,000 volunteers in tennis across the nation. The Awards were a massive success, and in its second year led to more than 1,100 nominations from across volunteering.
