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South Devon Tennis Centre aims to attract more than 60 girls into the sport this year
More girls playing more tennis more often – that is the Lawn Tennis Association’s mission for 2023 – and the South Devon Tennis Centre is at the forefront of this campaign, wanting to attract more than 60 new girls into the sport in South Hams.
Today being International Women's Day, South Devon Tennis Centre has refocused their aim to encourage more girls into tennis.
When Emma Raducanu won the American Grand Slam last year many young girls were inspired to pick up a racket. The South Devon Tennis Centre located in Ivybridge was inundated with girls taking up their LTA Youth Start Course last September and many of them now play regularly in their coaching programme.
This year Prime Video and the Lawn Tennis Association are working together using the money generated from Prime Video’s transmission of Emma’s match, to spearhead a new campaign. 270 LTA accredited coaches from across the country have been selected and trained to deliver a tennis course specifically designed for girls.
The six week course which includes a free racket and set of balls (for £35) and will be followed by a further six week offer and end with a team competition week.
Two female coaches trained to deliver these courses work at the South Devon Tennis Centre and will be offering the new courses starting on 17 April.
You can now register your daughter’s interest in the course today on International Women’s Day – a time to celebrate women’s achievement throughout history and across nations.
Lesley Crocker, one of South Devon’s accredited coaches who will be delivering the course said: “We are delighted that the LTA and Prime are launching this initiative. I love tennis, it has been a constant positive in my life, and it would be amazing to enable more girls to enjoy the sport as I have.
"Tennis is great for physical and mental health, it is a fun social sport that you can take with you wherever you go for all of your life.
“These new courses recognise that young boys and girls have different social, physical and emotional makeups and that we as coaches need to create an environment where girls can flourish.”
In order to attract more girls to tennis and retain them in the sport, tennis needs more positive role models and young girls needs to see people like them picking up a racket.
75% of all LTA accredited coaches in the UK, are male and sadly weekly tennis players are 70% more likely to be male than female.
However, if we can encourage more girls to pick up a racket in primary school they are three times more likely to play tennis as an adult.
Lesley added: “So our mission here in South Devon is to show young girls that tennis can be for them, that girls can love tennis, play it regularly and benefit from of lifetime of sport.”
To find out more about LTA Youth Girls Tennis Course at South Devon Tennis Centre: Visit: LTA Youth Girls (southdevontenniscentre.co.uk)
Watch South Devon Tennis Centre's inspirational videos of girls playing tennis:
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