LTA Tennis Foundation funding opens up tennis to more disabled people
• 4 MINUTE READ
The LTA Tennis Foundation is the LTA’s official charity, with a mission to improve lives through tennis. As a grant and loan giving charity, their ambition is that every child, young person and adult can have access to the unique and life-changing benefits that tennis offers.
With 16.1 million disabled people in the UK, accounting for nearly one in four people, ensuring disabled people and those with long term health conditions have access to our sport is at the heart of the LTA Tennis Foundation’s work.
Since launching its Grant Making Framework, the LTA Tennis Foundation has invested £2.6m into projects that include work with disabled people, representing 70% of all funds awarded.
Disabled adults are almost twice as likely as non-disabled people to be physically inactive (Sport England Active Lives Survey), yet Activity Alliance has found that three-quarters of disabled people would like to be more active.
37 organisations benefiting disabled people have received LTA Tennis Foundation funding. These grants support a wide range of initiatives, from grassroots programmes to national partnerships, all aimed at creating inclusive opportunities so that anyone can pick up a racket and experience the benefits of our sport.
Spotlight on impact
Access Sport – Acez Tennis
Access Sport is a national charity with a vision that no one should be excluded from the transformational benefits of community sport. Their mission is to make inclusion the norm by tackling the access barriers faced by disadvantaged and disabled young people.
With support from the LTA Tennis Foundation, Access Sport launched Acez Tennis, empowering local clubs, parks, and venues to deliver disability-inclusive activities for young people aged 5 to 25.
Jonny Fenner, Access Sport Tennis Development Manager said: “This partnership with the LTA Tennis Foundation has opened up so many opportunities for Access Sport. With their support, we have started to build a national network of tennis clubs committed to inclusion. It’s amazing to see the appetite for Acez, and I look forward to growing the programme and reaching more and more disabled young people.” -
Get Set 4 Tennis - Serve & Thrive
Get Set 4 Tennis is a non-profit community organisation delivering inclusive coaching to over 1,100 people each week across three counties. Their sessions include wheelchair tennis, sensory tennis, seated tennis, and walking tennis, alongside mainstream coaching.
Thanks to LTA Tennis Foundation funding, Get Set 4 Tennis now offers a coach education programme for young people over the age of 16 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), giving them the chance to gain qualifications and explore careers in tennis coaching.
Lisa Wildman, Director, Get Set 4 Tennis said: “This grant allows us to deliver a dedicated coach education programme for young people over the age of 16 with SEND, opening doors to qualifications, confidence, and future careers in sport. It’s helping us build a more inclusive tennis community where every young person, regardless of ability, has the opportunity to thrive.”
Get Set 4 Tennis is having a big impact on the lives of many disabled people, including Luay, a 19-year-old who is autistic and has recently completed his Tennis Leaders Award and LTA Level 1 Coaching qualification with their support. Watch the video below, which showcases when Luay headed to the HSBC Championships to talk all things coaching with British No.3 Jacob Fearnley.
The LTA Tennis Foundation grant is helping us build a more inclusive tennis community where every young person, regardless of ability, has the opportunity to thrive
LTA Open Court
Partnered with and jointly funded by Sport England and the LTA Tennis Foundation, LTA Open Court provides disability specific sessions for tennis and padel – including learning disability, wheelchair, visually impaired, deaf, para standing, sensory and walking tennis and padel formats.
In 2025, LTA Open Court saw record success with over 18,000 monthly players with a disability or long-term health condition playing in over 775 tennis venues across Britain.
In 2025 alone, the LTA Tennis Foundation funded LTA Open Court to deliver:
- 123 adaptive tennis equipment bags
- 180 VI tennis balls
Neil Bates, Hereford & Worcestershire LTA Open Court Lead said: "The opportunities the LTA Open Court programme gives to those who might struggle to get involved in any sport, not just tennis, are fantastic. Tennis is so adaptive, allowing those individuals with even the most complex challenges to get involved, take part and have some fun, which is what sport should be about! The equipment pack massively supports these sessions as the contents are well thought out, robustly designed and can be used very effectively to stimulate the various senses, in turn getting some great reactions. Everything you need to run a session, and make sure everyone is included"
Why this matters
Sport has the power to transform lives. By funding inclusive programmes, the LTA Tennis Foundation is helping thousands of disabled people experience the physical, mental, and social benefits of tennis.
How you can help open tennis up
The LTA Tennis Foundation launched a campaign on Giving Tuesday, to ask people to help them achive their mission of improving lives through tennis.
You can support that by donating today.
