LTA Tennis Foundation announces new grants awarded to improve lives through tennis
• 3 minute read
LTA Tennis Foundation (LTA TF) has just completed its fifth grant funding round, awarding £1.6m in grants to 22 organisations. This round saw the highest number of applications to date, reflecting the growing demand for organisations seeking to use tennis to make a positive social impact.
As with every funding round, applications must align to the LTA TF’s mission to improve lives through tennis and support the outcomes the charity is seeking to achieve. These include improved physical and mental wellbeing, increased life skills, and expanded social connection. In addition to this, funded programmes must work with groups who are more likely to experience inequalities in access to tennis and padel, such as lower socio-economic groups, disabled people, and women and girls.
New partners through Innovate (test and learn) grants
We are delighted to welcome several new partners into our Innovate test‑and‑learn community, including:
- Global Diabetes Initiatives, who will support members of local Black communities across the country living with, or at risk of developing, diabetes
- Karmabank CIC, funded to deliver tennis opportunities within underserved communities in London
- Coalfields Regeneration Trust, which will activate tennis across 15 underused miners’ welfare parks in South Wales
Ryan Jones, Development Manager, The Coalfields Regeneration Trust, highlighted the significance of this investment: “We are incredibly grateful to the LTA Tennis Foundation for supporting the ‘Game On: Reawakening Tennis in South Wales Coalfield Communities’ project. This funding gives us the chance to bring tennis back to the heart of historic miners’ welfare parks – places built by local people, for local people, to improve health, happiness and community life. By opening up these under-used courts and offering free, welcoming tennis sessions, we can help more people of all ages and backgrounds get active, connect with others and feel proud of their local spaces. We’re really excited to get started and to work with communities to create a lasting, positive impact through tennis across South Wales.”
Similarly, Karmabank CIC emphasised the transformative potential of their newly funded programme. Founder Andrew Standen‑Raz said: “The LTA Tennis Foundation grant will be a vital part of our ongoing commitment to using tennis as a tool for positive change in our community, by encouraging more women to lead in sports, and as a fun and healthy way to improve wellbeing.”
This funding gives us the chance to bring tennis back to the heart of historic miners’ welfare parks – places built by local people, for local people, to improve health, happiness and community life
Scaling impact with multi-year grants
Alongside new innovations, LTA TF remains committed to helping organisations scale and sustain their work through multi‑year funding. Several existing partners received Scale grants in this round, including:
- Greenhouse Sports, which brings tennis into schools within underserved communities across Britain
- The Tim Henman Foundation, who will be expanding their Inclusive Activity Programme which focusses on delivering tennis to underrepresented groups across London and the southeast
- Bright Ideas for Tennis, who will grow the I Play 30 programme delivering inclusive tennis sessions for disabled children and young people throughout Britain
Jamie Feaver, CEO of the Tim Henman Foundation, said: “We are incredibly grateful for the award of a second grant, which will enable us to build on the success of our Inclusive Activity Programme, put rackets into the hands of children with special educational needs and disabilities, and inspire them to engage in tennis and physical activity on a more regular basis.”
Our commitment to open and trusting grant making
Our Grant Making Framework is rooted in openness, honesty, and in 2025 we strengthened that commitment by formally adopting the Institute for Voluntary Action Research’s eight principles for open and trusting grant making. We also became a member of the Association of Charitable Foundations, the UK’s leading network for foundations and independent grant-makers.
Reflecting on the latest grant round, Tom Gibbins, Head of Foundation Development said: “We are delighted to welcome so many new partners to the LTA Tennis Foundation through this latest round of funding, and to continue supporting existing partners as they grow their programmes and deepen their impact. This is our fifth funding round, and the significant increase in applications shows both the need and the appetite to use the power of tennis to improve lives. We’re excited to work alongside our new and returning partners and to see the positive changes these funded programmes will create for people and communities across Britain.”
Full list of grantees
- Bright Ideas for Tennis
- Community Action Derby
- Dan Maskell Tennis Trust
- EA Tennis Group CIC t/a National Tennis Association
- Give it Your Max
- Global Diabetes Initiatives
- Greenhouse Sports
- The Hertfordshire Association for the Care and Rehabilitation of Offenders
- International Community Organisation of Sunderland
- Karmabank CIC
- Kingsbury School Sports Partnership CIC
- Krimmz Girls Youth Club
- Rackets Cubed
- Single Homeless Project
- Sport in Mind
- Stoke City Foundation
- Strike9 C.I.C.
- The Coalfields Regeneration Trust
- The Federation of London Youth Clubs
- The Queen's Club Foundation
- Tim Henman Foundation
