TENNIS

LTA has published its vision document for the next three years (2024-2026). SportsNation looks at the NGB’s plans to grow the sport

LTA, the governing body for tennis in the UK, recently published a three-year strategy document outlining its aims and plans from 2024 to 2026. With a vision statement of “Tennis Opened Up”, its ultimate goal is to “take tennis forward into a new age” and ensure the sport is embraced by many more people.

Serving up a future

The new document, titled “Vision 2024-2026” follows on from the LTA”s five-year strategy published in 2018. At the time, the sport was already facing a number of challenges – some which were further highlighted by the pandemic.

“In 2018, as we looked to develop the LTA’s plans for 2019-2023, tennis was in a challenging position,” the LTA says. “The number of people playing tennis had been declining for around 10 years and tennis was seen by many as an elitist sport – hard to access or play well enough to enjoy.

“While there had been bright lights in British tennis, in particular through the success of Andy Murray, there was too little depth in the British game, and too few role models at the very top to inspire the nation to pick up a racket.”

This in mind, and to ensure its strategy addressed the challenges and strengthened the sport, the LTA conducted extensive research and discussions into how people viewed the game and the LTA. This led to the development of the new vision statement - Tennis Opened Up - around which the NGB could rally the tennis community, to ensure it was working towards a common aim.

“The consultation informed our comprehensive five year plan to deliver a healthier and more inclusive sport,” the LTA says. The last five years (2019-2023) saw real success against that plan. Not only have we seen the decline in participation reverse, we have also seen the ambitious targets we set for increasing participation comfortably exceeded.”

There is also now a historic high of over 700,000 children playing tennis weekly

The data backs up the view that progress has been made. Adult participation in tennis is the highest ever recorded, having grown 44% over the period of the LTA’s 2019-2023 five year plan. More than 5.6 million adults now play annually and more than 2.6 million play monthly.

There is also now a historic high of over 700,000 children playing tennis weekly. The LTA figures show that around 3.6m children play tennis annually, 7% higher than in 2020.

Not only were more people playing tennis more often, but there were also increases across all socio-economic and age groups including both younger people (16-24s) and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

The increases are partly down to a large investment in facilities. LTA has undertaken, withthe support of the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation, the single biggest investment in park tennis courts ever. The £30m investment has brought thousands of existing park tennis courts in poor or unplayable condition back to life for the benefit of communities across the country, as well as making it easier to find, book and get on court.

Scott Lloyd, LTA CEO said: “In 2019 we wanted to strengthen our sport and attract new and diverse audiences and so we developed a common vision - Tennis Opened Up - with a mission to grow tennis by making it relevant, accessible, welcoming and enjoyable.

“This vision and mission sat at the heart of our 2019-2023 strategy and have delivered real success with the ambitious targets we set for increasing participation exceeded.

Welcoming, enjoyable and inspiring

“Whilst there is still more to do, the data we have shows that our strategy is working and we will continue to evolve it over the next three years. The 2024-26 strategy will build on the approach and successes we have seen over the past five years, focussing on those areas we have seen move our sport forward.”

The new strategy will continue on the “Tennis Opened Up” theme and its stated aim is to transform communities through tennis. To do this, it focuses on three areas – making tennis welcoming, enjoyable and inspiring to everyone.

By welcoming, the LTA means reaching new audiences through grassroots programmes, investing in high quality facilities while creating a more diverse tennis workforce. The aim is to make tennis a truly inclusive sport.

Specifically, the plan is to diversify and grow the player base with a focus on lower socio-economic groups, disability and women and girls programmes. As part of this, LTA will look to optimise its customer proposition, Advantage, through its data strategy and multichannel communications to increase digital engagement, participation and commercial revenue.

When it comes to more welcoming facilities, the plan is to focus on parks, covered courts, community indoor tennis centres and padel. The LTA’s Community Indoor Tennis Centre network currently consists of 52 indoor tennis centres with more than 300 indoor and 250 outdoor courts.

“They are true community tennis hubs, accessible for everyone and are a vital resource for tennis to help increase participation in the sport,” the LTA says.

The plans for the “more enjoyable” strand include embedding and growing the LTA Youth programme across all venues and “in the hearts and minds of children, parents, and the tennis workforce”.

Since the launch of the original, five-year strategy in 2019, the LTA has seen the number of registered players and members grow, while the number of British players at the top of the professional game has also increased

A school-based children’s participation programme, the LTA Youth has so far seen more than 18,000 teachers being trained to deliver the programme.

There will also be increased efforts to engage with (and promote) different formats of the sport and ways to play, enabling a more flexible approach to equipment and to support positive experiences for adult players. This is linked to a wider approach of collaboration, which will see the LTA increasingly working with a wide range of partners.

“We will look to develop and enhance our support and engagement with local authorities, Active Partnerships, our member organisations, venues and operators,” the LTA says.

The third aspect of the strategy, “inspiring”, looks to further strengthen a talent pathway which is capable of developing professionals who perform at the highest level – in turn inspiring future generations of players and fans.

We can only do this through investment in a high quality and internationally relevant performance programme,” the LTA says. “We also want to set aspirational standards off the court - making sure tennis is governed and administered to the very highest standards and ensuring we have the financial stability to guarantee the long-term health of the sport.”

Ahead with the plan

Since the launch of the original, five-year strategy in 2019, the LTA has seen the number of registered players and members grow, while the number of British players at the top of the professional game has also increased. The LTA fan community has tripled – and currently has 1.5 million members – while there were more British players in the top 100 of the men’s and women’s game in 2023 than any time since 1978.

But while the LTA says it’s proud of its achievements, it recognises that there is further progress to be made.

We have a lot to do, and we know we can’t do it alone,” the LTA says. “We want every volunteer, every coach, every official, every player and every fan in Britain to work together, so that we can grow the sport we all love. We want to support everyone who cares about our game to work together to turn our vision into reality and open up tennis.

“Tennis brings together communities, families, and the country as a whole. It can be at the heart of our community and a source of social enjoyment. It’s rewarding, has physical and mental health benefits for those who play it, and is a wonderful spectacle for those who watch it.

“Our goal today is the same as it has been for the past five years: to take tennis forward into a new age, and ensure it is embraced by many more people. We are working to change perceptions of tennis, break down barriers, and help more people to enjoy tennis in a way that’s right for them.

“Tennis is for everyone. All ages, all backgrounds, all levels of fitness, all abilities. Anyone can pick up a racket, anyone can be part of the tennis family.”