SPORT IN FOCUS TENNIS

As 2026 marks the final year of the LTA’s three year strategy, SportsNation looks at how the NGB has delivered on the goals and aims outlined in the Tennis Opened Up document

hen the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) launched its three-year, 2024-2026 strategy, it did so from a position of strength. Participation was at record levels, major investment programmes were underway and the governing body had articulated a clear vision: to make tennis “relevant, accessible, welcoming and enjoyable” for more people across Britain.

Two years later, with the strategy approaching its conclusion, the evidence suggests the LTA has delivered strongly against many of its key objectives. Participation has continued to grow, public facilities have been transformed at an unprecedented scale, inclusion programmes have expanded and padel has emerged as one of the biggest participation success stories in British sport.

Record participation

At the heart of the strategy was a commitment to grow participation across all demographics.

The latest figures suggest that objective is being achieved. According to the LTA’s 2025 Annual Report, adult annual tennis participation has risen to 5.8 million players, the highest figure ever recorded. Children’s participation also reached a record level, with more than four million children playing tennis annually. Regular play among young people is rising particularly strongly, with monthly participation increasing by 15% to 1.8 million and weekly participation increasing by 26% to 800,000 players.

These figures build on the post-pandemic momentum that underpinned the 2024-2026 strategy and suggest tennis has successfully retained many players who first engaged with the sport during that period. Importantly, the growth is not confined to traditional club environments. Much of the increase has come through community programmes, public park facilities and more flexible participation opportunities.

Regular play among young people is rising particularly strongly, with monthly participation increasing by 15% to 1.8 million

A transformative investment in facilities

Perhaps the most visible achievement of the strategy has been the LTA’s investment in public courts. The governing body’s Park Tennis Project, delivered in partnership with the UK Government and the LTA Tennis Foundation, has become the largest public tennis facility investment programme ever undertaken in Britain.

By mid-2025, more than 3,000 public park tennis courts had been refurbished across England,

Scotland and Wales through investment exceeding £45m. The project has also introduced digital booking systems, gate-access technology and a network of free organised sessions through Barclays Free Park Tennis, making courts easier to access and more sustainable to operate.

Importantly, more than half of the renovated courts were located in areas of highest social deprivation. This aligns closely with one of the strategy’s central ambitions: reducing barriers to participation and reaching audiences who may never have considered tennis before.

The impact has been immediate. The LTA reports that the programme has helped generate more than 500,000 additional park tennis players, when compared with 2022 participation levels. Around a quarter of users booking refurbished courts had not previously played tennis.

Reaching underserved communities

The Tennis Opened Up strategy placed significant emphasis on ensuring tennis reflects the communities it serves. One of its flagship programmes is LTA SERVES, which uses tennis as a vehicle for social development in underserved communities. The programme helps young people across Great Britain get active and experience the physical, social and mental benefits of tennis.

“It’s all about having fun with friends, keeping mentally and physically fit all the while learning new skills beyond the tennis court,” the LTA says. “Through the power of tennis, we want to help more children and young people build their self-confidence, community cohesion and knowledge around health and wellbeing.

We want to help more children and young people build their self-confidence, community cohesion and knowledge around health and wellbeing

“We empower and equip over 1500 Tennis Activators throughout Britain. We offer volunteers, leaders and youth workers the training and skills they need to run fun and engaging tennis sessions for children and young people in their communities.”

The programme now operates in around 1,000 venues and supports more than 35,000 young people to participate regularly.

Meanwhile, the governing body’s Open Court programme continues to expand opportunities for disabled people and those with long-term health conditions. The initiative now reaches a record number of venues and enables nearly 25,000 participants to play tennis regularly.

Alongside these programmes, the LTA has continued to implement its “Belonging in Tennis” inclusion strategy, focusing on women and girls, ethnically diverse communities, disabled people and lower socio-economic groups. “Through our Ethnically Diverse Communities Plan, we continue to work with partners who understand the cultural, social and practical barriers that can limit access,” the LTA says.

Reaching new communities

An example of the impact the LTA’s “Served” programme is having on communities saw more than 100 Muslim women and girls take part in Ramadan and Eid tennis events – with many picking up a racket for the very first time. Delivered by a group of community partners and supported by the LTA, the sessions took place across England.

The largest event took place at Lee Valley Tennis Centre, hosted by Hijabi Serves and She Can Serve. The session welcomed women and girls of all ages, including mums and children. It created a space designed specifically to reflect the needs and preferences of Muslim participants, including women only delivery and culturally relevant environments.

Bakhtaver Mohammed, Hijabi Serves Founder, said: “Through Hijabi Serves, we’re intentionally building spaces that centre access, belonging and representation. It’s encouraging to see that work supported at an institutional level, and we look forward to continuing this collaboration to open up tennis to more Muslim women and girls.”

New models for participation

One of the more innovative aspects of the strategy has been the move away from viewing tennis solely through the lens of club membership. Instead, the LTA has invested heavily in flexible participation opportunities.

An example of these is the Barclays Free Park Tennis sessions, which provide free weekly opportunities for people of all ages to play, with equipment supplied and volunteers helping participants get started. Local Tennis Leagues create informal competitive opportunities for players who may not wish to join a club. Digital booking systems have made casual play easier than ever before.

In addition, the LTA Serves programme has a “no court, no problem” approach. It has been created so sessions can be delivered in community centres, youth clubs, faith venues and other places. This reflects broader changes in consumer behaviour, recognising that many participants want flexibility and accessibility, rather than traditional membership structures.

The padel factor

While it is a separate sport, no review of the LTA’s strategy would be complete without acknowledging the impact of padel – as the LTA also acts as the governing body for the booming sport. Padel participation more than doubled during 2025, rising to 860,000 players, with the LTA reporting that the figure has since surpassed one million. At the same time, the number of courts has increased to around 2,000 nationwide.

The growth has been remarkable. In 2023, the sport attracted around 129,000 players. By 2024, participation had reached 400,000. Twelve months later it had more than doubled again.

The LTA’s Advantage membership programme grew by 25% during 2025, reaching 2.5 million members

The LTA has embraced padel as a complementary racket sport, rather than a competitor to tennis, viewing it as a way of attracting new audiences and broadening participation across the wider racket sports landscape.

Continued investment

The strategy also committed to improving facility infrastructure beyond public parks. Through the LTA Tennis Foundation, the governing body has supported the development of new covered courts and floodlit courts across tennis facilities. These projects are helping clubs expand year-round participation opportunities while growing membership and community outreach programmes. One of the programmes making a wide-spread impact is the LTA’s Quick Access Loan Scheme.

In 2024 alone, the investment in new facilities through the Quick Access Loan Scheme saw £3.5m spent across 31 projects, increasing court facilities and driving participation growth. Clubs and venues taking up the Quick Access Loan agreement have to make a commitment to the development of a community outreach programme – supporting the Tennis Opened Up vision.

In 2025 the scheme committed a further investment of £2 million across a variety of projects, including 14 covered tennis and padel courts and 34 floodlit tennis and padel courts.

A prime example of what the Quick Access Loan has achieved can be seen in Edinburgh. The Grange Club, a leading sports facility based in Stockbridge, just a short walk from the city centre, now has two covered indoor tennis courts, along with two covered padel courts, after expansion on the existing site.

The LTA and LTA Tennis Foundation have also been working closely with partners in Scotland to offer more chances to play the game all year round. The Transforming Scottish Indoor Tennis Fund will see a significant investment into Scottish tennis facilities over the course of the next 10 years, with £15m committed by this partnership, for the development of indoor tennis centres in Scotland.

Tom Gibbins, Head of Programme and Property Strategy and Foundation Development at the LTA, said: “Our investment in high-quality tennis and padel facilities is transforming communities across Britain. By creating modern, accessible places to play, from covered courts and floodlit facilities to revitalised park sites and new indoor centres, we’re opening doors for thousands of people to get active, connect with others, and enjoy these sports year-round.

“These facilities are not just improving how people play; they’re strengthening local programmes, inspiring new players of all ages, and ensuring that tennis and padel truly are open to everyone.”

Growing the audience

Another important measure of success for the strategy has been audience engagement. The LTA’s Advantage membership programme grew by 25% during 2025, reaching 2.5 million members.

For the governing body, this growth is strategically important. It provides a direct relationship with participants, enabling more targeted communication, improved understanding of player behaviour and greater opportunities to promote participation initiatives.

The strategy also sought to strengthen the visibility of elite tennis and the return of women’s professional tennis to Queen’s Club in

Our goal today is to take tennis forward into a new age, and ensure it is embraced by many more people

2025 proved particularly successful, attracting more than 62,000 spectators and helping raise the profile of the women’s game. According to the LTA, television audiences and digital engagement also increased significantly.

A strategy delivering results

When the LTA published its 2024-2026 strategy, it promised to open up tennis to more people than ever before. As the strategy nears its conclusion, the evidence suggests meaningful progress towards that goal.

Record participation, major investment in facilities, significant advances in inclusion, a thriving parks programme and the explosive growth of padel all point to a governing body successfully translating strategic ambitions into practical outcomes. Challenges remain, particularly around sustaining long-term growth and ensuring participation gains are shared equally across all communities. Yet by almost every major measure, the LTA can point to a strategy that has delivered tangible results – both on and off the court.

TENNIS BY NUMBERS

adult annual tennis players

Park Tennis Project investment

children playing annually

refurbished park courts

children playing weekly

additional park players

children playing monthly

participants through LTA SERVES

Advantage members

Open Court participants

“Our goal today is to take tennis forward into a new age, and ensure it is embraced by many more people,” the LTA said. “We’re here to transform communities through tennis. To do this, we’re focusing on making tennis welcoming, enjoyable and inspiring to everyone.”

5.8 million

£45 million

4 million+

3,000+

800,000

500,000+

1.8 million

35,000+

2.5 million

25,000