RothesayInternational2022

OFFICIAL 

PROGRAMME 

18-25 JUNE 2022

Purpose-built to protect pensions

We’re delighted to 

welcome you to 

the LTA’s Rothesay 

International 

Eastbourne for what promises to 

be another fantastic week of tennis 

here on the south coast. 

With the British grass court season 

upon us once again, it’s brilliant 

to welcome full capacity crowds 

back to our LTA major events 

this summer, with excitement in 

our sport growing after a year of 

success for our elite players. 

Our five-year mission to promote 

our ‘tennis opened up’ agenda has 

made progress on so many levels, 

with our drive to ensure tennis 

is relevant and accessible to all 

enhanced by the success enjoyed 

by our elite players in the last year. 

Emma Raducanu’s inspiring win 

at the US Open last September 

captured the imagination of 

the nation, with the continued 

success of Joe Salisbury, Britain’s 

ATP world No.1 doubles player, 

and Alfie Hewett, ITF men’s 

wheelchair world No.1, together 

with his doubles partner Gordon 

Reid, adding to the momentum. 

Continued success for players at 

all levels has ensured the profile 

of the British game remains at an 

encouraging high and this period of 

the season allows us to highlight the 

positivity around tennis in Britain. 

The grass courts are always a 

delightful sight of the British 

summer, and we are all looking 

forward to witnessing some topclass 

action here in Eastbourne 

once again. For the first time this 

year, that includes us hosting an 

ITF wheelchair tennis ranking 

tournament, with some of the 

world’s best women together 

with some of our up-andcoming 

British juniors testing 

themselves on the grass. 

Whether this is your first time 

here or you have been a regular 

visitor over the years, we hope you 

enjoy being part of our LTA grass 

court tournaments as we continue 

to spread the ‘tennis opened up’ 

message throughout this summer. 

Scott Lloyd 

CEO, LTA 

I 

am delighted to welcome you 

to the Rothesay International. 

We are very excited to 

bring people together to 

enjoy the Rothesay Summer 

Series: the Rothesay Open 

(Nottingham), Rothesay Classic 

(Birmingham) and Rothesay 

International (Eastbourne). The 

grass court tennis season is one of 

the great traditions of the British 

summer. These events provide 

an opportunity for top British 

players and emerging talents to 

compete against the best players 

from around the world and are a 

showcase of international tennis in 

Britain. 

As a business purpose-built 

to protect the pensions of our 

policyholders across the UK, 

Rothesay is proud to play a role in 

supporting the future of British 

tennis through both the Summer 

Series and our wider work as the 

exclusive pensions partner to the 

LTA, the national governing body of 

tennis for Great Britain. 

The LTA’s passion for innovation and 

excellence is shared by Rothesay. It 

is these values which have led us to 

become the UK’s largest specialist 

pensions insurer and a significant 

investor in some of our country’s 

most important assets such as 

social housing, infrastructure and 

real estate. 

We provide long-term security 

for over 830,000 pension 

policyholders and we look forward 

to working with the LTA to help 

to open up tennis to older people. 

We are committed to exploring 

exciting and innovative ways of 

both connecting tennis fans to our 

business and promoting access to 

tennis in local communities across 

the country. 

Finally, I would like to take this 

opportunity to thank the LTA, the 

players and all the event staff for 

making the Rothesay International 

a success and such an important 

part of the British grass court 

summer. 

Thank you for joining us today. I 

hope that you have a great time! 

Addy Loudiadis 

CEO, Rothesay 

Rothesay International 18-25 June 2022 3

ATP 

IGA SWIATEK 

AD 

ONS JABEUR 

PAULA BADOSA 

THE RACE IS ON 

Only the best will compete at the 2022 WTA Finals 

WTATENNIS.COM/RACE

As Chairman of the ATP, 

I would like to welcome 

you to the 2022 

Rothesay International. 

It’s exciting to welcome once 

again many of the world’s best 

players to Eastbourne. This ATP 

250 event plays a key part in 

the grass court season, a truly 

unique and special time of year 

for tennis. Importantly, it also 

offers fans the opportunity to 

witness ATP and WTA tennis on 

the same stage. Having a strong 

men’s and women’s game is 

one of the biggest strengths of 

our sport and it’s always special 

when we can bring that shared 

storytelling closer together at 

combined events. 

I would like to thank Tournament 

Director Gavin Fletcher and his 

dedicated team for their hard 

work, attention to detail, and 

for continually raising the bar in 

event delivery, year after year. 

We wish everyone involved a 

successful tournament and an 

exciting week of tennis. Fans 

can no doubt look forward 

to some incredible action as 

players compete hard to build 

momentum on the grass and for 

an important summer of events 

ahead. 

As we progress into the second 

half of the 2022 ATP Tour 

season, it’s difficult not to be 

encouraged by the upside 

potential of our sport. Tennis 

boasts iconic players, both men 

and women. From the ATP Cup 

in January to the season-ending 

Nitto ATP Finals in November 

the breadth and quality of 

content on offer throughout the 

season is simply phenomenal. 

On the court, all-time greats 

continue to write new chapters 

in their legacies. Hot on their 

heels is an impressive next 

generation of superstars from 

all over the world, eager to build 

on their impressive ascents and 

make their mark on the game. 

The ATP, as one the few truly 

global sporting properties in the 

world, continues to grow. 

I would also like to thank the 

fans, whose passion for tennis 

inspires the players on court and 

inspires us to continue driving 

the game forward. We thank you 

for your support and invite you 

to follow the ATP Tour at www. 

ATPTour.com and via social 

media. 

Best wishes, 

Andrea Gaudenzi 

ATP Chair 

On behalf of the WTA, it is my pleasure to welcome you 

to the Rothesay International Eastbourne. 

The 2022 tennis season is once again providing action, 

passion and inspiration through the performances of 

our amazing athletes at WTA tournaments all over the world. 

The WTA boasts an incredibly diverse array of players and 

personalities, many of which you will see here at the Rothesay 

International Eastbourne, from established global super stars 

to emerging new talent ready to make their mark on the sport. 

The Rothesay International Eastbourne would not be possible 

without the hard work and support of their dedicated 

tournament team - from sponsors, local suppliers, staff 

and volunteers – and I would like to thank them all for their 

collaboration and continued commitment to women’s tennis. 

Finally, I would like to thank you, our loyal fans, for all you 

do in making the WTA the leading global sports league for 

women. Thank you for your wonderful support either from the 

stands at our events, watching on TV or following the WTA 

Tour through our digital platforms. 

I hope you enjoy your time watching the Rothesay 

International Eastbourne and we look forward to continuing 

the WTA story with you. 

All the best, 

Steve Simon 

WTA Chair/CEO 

On behalf of the ITF, it gives me great pleasure to 

welcome you to what is part of another exciting 

summer for international wheelchair tennis. 

This is the first time that three of the LTA’s grass 

court tournaments have each featured a UNIQLO Wheelchair 

Tennis Tour ranking event. Some of the world’s top men’s 

wheelchair players return to the cinch Championships in 

London, the Rothesay Classic Birmingham hosts the first 

grass court ranking event for quad division players outside of 

Wimbledon and here at the Rothesay International Eastbourne 

we welcome some of the world best women’s wheelchair 

players for the first time. 

Since the launch of the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour in 1992, 

the ITF has been at the forefront of promoting and developing 

wheelchair tennis opportunities across the world. The 

UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour boasts 160 tournaments in 

more than 40 countries showcasing a diverse array of talented 

athletes to inspire an ever-expanding fan base. 

None of these tournaments would be possible without the 

hard work and support of their dedicated organisational 

teams, sponsors and volunteers and I would like to thank them 

all for their commitment to the continued development of 

wheelchair tennis and its place within the wider tennis family. 

I hope you enjoy your time watching our wheelchair tennis 

stars this summer and we look forward to continued 

collaborations and innovations that allow more and more fans 

the opportunity to enjoy the sport and its amazing athletes. 

David Haggerty 

ITF President 


OTHESAY INTERNATIONAL ROTHESAY INTE 

6 Rothesay International 18-25 June 2022

CONTENTS 

9 JELENA OSTAPENKO 

13 OLIVIA NICHOLLS AND 

ALICIA BARNETT 

16 PRIDE IN TENNIS 

19 ONES TO WATCH 

30 SERENA WILLIAMS 

32 SETTING NEW PERFORMANCE 

STANDARDS 

35 JACK DRAPER 

38 SERVING A WHOLE NEW 

AUDIENCE 

40 LUCY SHUKER 

42 BREAKING BARRIERS 

44 JOHANNA KONTA 

51 PARK LIFE 

54 CALLING THE SHOTS 

56 NATIONAL TENNIS CENTRE 

58 EMMA RADUCANU 

64 PAUL JUBB 

67 GONE VIRAL 

71 THE RISE OF PADEL 

74 SONAY KARTAL 

76 MARTINA NAVRATILOVA 

78 COLOUR HOLDERS 

80 ESAH HAYAT 

82 COACHING THE COACHES 

86 THE NEXT GENERATION 

88 ALL EYES ON GLASGOW 

90 LTA AWARD WINNERS 

93 TENNIS IN NUMBERS 

97 BRITISH OPEN WHEELCHAIR 

CHAMPIONSHIPS 

98 MOMENT IN TIME 

103 WALL OF CHAMPIONS 

109 LTA SUSTAINABILITY 

110 MOMENT IN TIME 

MANAGING EDITORS: Kevin Palmer and Andy Dodd PROJECT DIRECTOR: Amy Hitchinson 

CONTRIBUTORS: Ben Wiseman, Amy Flatman, Marshall Thomas, Angus Clements, Liv Moore, Laetitia Redbond, Ann 

Mills, Jo Walsh, Kim Whitty, Anthony Smith, Nick Judd, Tom Fenton and Rich Edwards. Photography by Getty Images 

The official publication has been produced on behalf of the LTA by Igntion Sports Media 

DESIGN: Alex Guildford and James Ginieres PRINT: S&G Print Group 


Words by Kevin Palmer 

RETURNING 

TO FORM 

For Jelena Ostapenko, the past 

12 months have represented a 

welcome return to form after a 

tricky two-year period 

Currently ranked 13th in the 

world after winning the Dubai 

Championships earlier this year, she’s 

well-positioned to try and defend her 

Eastbourne title, which has so often 

proven to be a catalyst for future 

success in eras gone by. 

As a former Wimbledon Junior winner, 

and semi-finalist in the women’s 

singles, the Latvian has certainly 

outlined her credentials on grass ever 

since making her professional debut 

in 2014. Currently playing some of 

her best tennis since winning the 2017 

French Open title, this could turn out 

to be a memorable summer indeed for 

Ostapenko. 

Born in Riga, the 24-year-old is 

unquestionably one of Latvia’s biggest 

sporting stars. Bestowed with the 

honour of being the Baltic nation’s flag 

bearer at the 2020 Olympic Games, 

the pressure has steadily built ever 

since her impressive junior Wimbledon 

title. After sealing that tournament 

win in 2014, Ostapenko would go on 

to make her WTA Tour debut at the 

Tashkent Open just months later. 

As much as her junior career turned 

heads, Ostapenko’s first full year 



as a professional was the point at 

which she really marked herself out 

as a possible star of the future. After 

winning the Ladies Neva Cup in Saint 

Petersburg, she would reach the 

second round of Wimbledon, defeating 

ninth-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro 

in the process. It was a statement 

win, one that helped move her up to 

79th in the WTA world rankings. 

In 2016, Ostapenko further underlined 

her credentials on grass, beating both 

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and former 

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova en 

route to the Aegon Classic Quarter- 

Finals. She followed this up with a fine 

showing at Wimbledon, only this time 

in the mixed doubles. Ostapenko and 

partner Oliver Marach reached the 

semi-finals at The Championships – 

where they lost out to Britain’s Heather 

Watson and Henri Kontinen. 

The first three years of her professional 

career were certainly promising, but it was 

in 2017 that the Latvian’s potential would 

truly be realised. Aged just 19, she would 

defeat some of the world’s best players, 

including former world number ones in 

Caroline Wozniacki and Simona Halep – 

to seal the 2017 Women’s French Open 

title. Entering the tournament ranked 

47th in the world, the result represented 

a huge upset, as up until that point, the 

furthest she had gone in any Grand Slam 

was the third round. 

Ostapenko’s win wasn’t merely a shock, it 

was truly historic. She became the firstever 

Latvian to win a Grand Slam singles 

trophy, and the first unseeded woman 

to win the French Open since 1933. 

Incredibly, she was also the first teenager 

in a decade to reach the final in Paris. 

What the victory demonstrated more 

than anything was her mental resolve, 

and ability to fight back from adversity. 

During the final against Halep in 

Paris, Ostapenko found herself a set 

down, with the Romanian racing into a 

three-game lead in the second. For a 

19-year-old unseeded player to come 

back and win in such circumstances was 

truly remarkable. As an underdog story, 

it can only be matched in the modern 

era by that of Emma Raducanu at last 

year’s US Open. 

While she couldn’t quite repeat such 

heroics at Wimbledon that year, getting 

knocked out by Venus Williams at the 

quarter-final stage, her performances 

were already enough to see her break 

into the world’s top 10 for the very first 

time. A second WTA title at the Korea 

Open would follow in September that 

year, bringing the curtain down on a 

truly outstanding breakthrough season. 

The following two years would be 

marked by some frustrating results for 

Ostapenko, although she did continue 

to find success on British turf. Victories 

over Vitalia Diatchenko and Aliaksandra 

Sasnovich helped her reach the semifinals 

of the singles tournament at 

Wimbledon in 2018. 

Ostapenko was eliminated in the first 

round at SW19 one year later, but 

a remarkable run to the final of the 

mixed doubles tournament did provide 

some solace. She’d round out 2019 by 

winning her first title in two years at 

the Luxembourg Open, defeating Julia 

Gorges in the final. 

Out of Ostapenko’s five professional 

tournament wins, only one to date 

has been won on a grass court – the 

AGGRESSIVE 

IS MY STYLE 

OF GAME 

2021 Eastbourne International title. 

On the south coast, the 24-yearold 

was in inspired form last year, 

capturing the trophy despite being 

a wildcard entry. Her straight-sets 

victory over Anett Kontaveit in the 

final laid down a significant marker, 

one that has helped her reclaim a 

top 15 spot in the world rankings. 

Silverware at Wimbledon may not 

have followed that summer, but her 

aptitude on the grass should give 

plenty of encouragement to the 

young player. Heading into the 2022 

Eastbourne International, the world 

No.11 already has a WTA 500 title 

to her name this year after winning 

the Dubai Championships, where 

she successfully saw off four Grand 

Slam winners in the process. A strong 

defence of her title in the English 

seaside town could just be the catalyst 

for a breakthrough Wimbledon 

tournament later this summer. 

Out on the court, Ostapenko 

certainly isn’t afraid to take risks. 

Often described as a player of risky, 

aggressive tennis, she has the capacity 

to overwhelm opponents with her 

tenacity and sheer will to win – which 

she demonstrated best at last year’s 

Eastbourne International. 

“Aggressive is my style of game,” she 

previously stated in an interview. After 

her extraordinary French Open win, 

ESPN’s Simon Cambers wrote that 

“Fear just does not seem to come 

into [Ostapenko’s] vocabulary. Her 

groundstrokes are simply massive, flat 

swipes of the ball that left Halep... 

grasping at shadows.” 

Little seems to phase the former 

Grand Slam winner from Riga, 

who is already eight years into her 

professional career despite still being 

in her early 20s. Five years on from 

her heroic French Open victory, the 

experience she has attained puts her in 

a prime position to challenge for titles 

regularly moving forwards. Quite how 

the summer pans out for Ostapenko 

remains to be seen, but it will all begin 

with the Eastbourne International – 

where she has the chance to retain 

a title for the very first time. 



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THE FUTURE 

IS BRIGHT FOR 

BARNETT & 

NICHOLLS 

Dedication, drive and passion fuelling their success 

It’s been a breakthrough year 

for British doubles partners 

Alicia Barnett and Olivia 

Nicholls, but it’s been made 

possible through years of hard 

work and dedication as part 

of an increasingly travelled 

route through university. 

Now they are aiming to 

build on their success. 

Like a number of others among the 

current crop of British players such 

as Cameron Norrie, Joe Salisbury, 

Maia Lumsden and Johnny O’Mara, 

both Barnett and Nicholls took 

the university route to develop 

their tennis before going full time 

on the international tours. 

Barnett graduated from Northwestern 

University in the States where she 

was women’s tennis team captain. She 

then returned to be part of the Team 

Bath setup at the University of Bath, 

taking up the increasingly common 

route of players returning from the 

States to the British university system, 

training or studying for a Masters while 

benefiting from the comprehensive 

competition opportunities in Britain 

offered by the expanded LTA 

Performance Competition Calendar. 

Nicholls, meanwhile studied at 

Loughborough University, becoming 

BUCS National Champion in singles and 

doubles, before taking on the role of pro 

player coach at Loughborough as part of 

the TASS (Talented Athlete Scholarship 

Scheme) supported by the LTA for the 

top talented young athletes competing 

on university tennis programmes. 

Both Barnett and Nicholls were 

members of the Great Britain 

University Tennis Team which won 

a bronze medal at the BNP Paribas 

Master’U tournament in 2016, with 

Nicholls going on to win a bronze medal 

in the doubles at the World University 

Games in Taipai the following year. 

Above: Barnett & 

Nicholls as part of the 

GB University Team 

that finished 3rd at 

the BNP Paribas 

Master U event back 

in 2016 

That potential the pair showed and 

developed while at University is now 

being realised on the pro circuit. 

Back in March, the duo reached the 

final of the Lyon Open in their first 

WTA Tour event, showcasing their 

immense promise as a partnership 

ahead of what could be a lifechanging 

grass-court season. 

Now Gloucestershire’s Barnett and 

Norfolk’s Nicholls, aged 28 and 27 

respectively, are both closing in on 

top 100 doubles rankings after some 

impressive early-season results. 



Their first WTA 250 final appearance 

was followed up by a tournament 

win in the W60 Bellinzona title 

in Switzerland and after making 

doubles their main focus last year, the 

dynamic duo now have Wimbledon 

– and what would be a first major 

appearance – firmly in their sights. 

WHAT WERE YOUR AMBITIONS 

FOR THIS YEAR? 

Alicia: We didn’t have a big target 

back in January. It was just a case of 

taking one match at a time and focus 

on improving. What’s really exciting is 

both of us have a lot we can work on 

and build on. Olivia and I have come 

a long way and worked really hard to 

get here. I feel like if you just look at 

our results, every tournament we go 

into we do damage, we feel confident 

as a team to keep pushing on to every 

level. In our first WTA Tour 250 event 

we made the final and now we want 

more and more. Obviously, our goal 

is to play major championships and 

WTA 1000 events, so we are aiming to 

get into the top 50 of the rankings. 

WHEN DID YOU GUYS MEET, 

IS THIS FRIENDSHIP A LONG- 

TERM FRIENDSHIP? 

Olivia: It is a long-term friendship. 

We both graduated from university 

around the same time and played a 

few ITF 15k tournaments together a 

while back. I think when our schedules 

started to match up more and Alicia 

made the decision to focus more on 

doubles, we were playing week in week 

out, competing every week together, 

and then we were able to get the 

momentum going. Since then, we’ve 

kind of committed to it, probably 

this time last year actually, we’ve 

made big progress since then really. 

THE RUN TO THE FINAL AT 

THE LYON OPEN WAS A KEY 

MOMENT IN YOUR STORY. 

TELL US ABOUT THAT RUN. 

Olivia: To begin with we weren’t in 

the draw, we were an alternate team. 

And we planned to go to a ITF 25k 

Above: Olivia Nicholls 

Below: Alicia Barnett 

tournament as a backup if we didn’t 

get in. But we made the decision to 

play there, sign in and put our names 

in the hat. We got in and because it 

was our first WTA and expectations 

weren’t too high we won a round 

and felt great, and just kept going 

really and managed to get to the 

final. It was a really good week. 

AFTER A RUN LIKE THAT, 

IT HAS TO RAISE THE 

BAR OF EXPECTATIONS 

FOR BOTH OF YOU? 

Alicia: Yeah definitely. It’s funny 

because we were looking at our rankings 

and results a few days ago and it’s 

amazing how quickly it can change. 

My first title in doubles was with Liv 

in 2017 was a ITF 15k in Madrid. And 

then this time last year, we found a 

screenshot of our rankings and we were 

both 360/370, and we’re now both 

pushing to get into the top 100, so 

we’ve come a long way in that time. 

HOW TOUGH IS IT TO 

MAKE A LIVING FROM 

THE DOUBLES GAME? 

Alicia: It’s really tough, especially 

at the ITF 15k and 25ks. For the 

most part, unless you’re winning the 

tournament you’re making a loss, 

because obviously, you’re splitting the 

prize money between two people. Liv 

and I are very good at doing things on 

a budget because we have to manage 

our finances. We want to take this 


Above: Barnett & 

Nicholls as part of the 

GB University Team 

that finished 3rd at 

the BNP Paribas 

Master U event back 

in 2016 

money we get from that tournament, 

especially if we win a round or two, 

for the rest of the year – as it will be 

a big help. Ultimately Wimbledon 

is what you dream of and what you 

play the rest of the year for. 

seriously and go a long way with 

doubles. Obviously, we wouldn’t ever 

do something on the cheap if it affected 

our performance, but now playing in the 

bigger WTA’s tournaments is different 

because they look after you really 

well. I guess it’s kind of like rewarding 

us for the hustle we had last year. 

HOW DO THE LTA HELP 

YOU WITH YOUR EFFORTS 

TO REACH THE TOP? 

Alicia: We’re really lucky that the LTA 

has a tournament bonus scheme, and 

that’s helped us massively because 

sometimes it doubles up prize money. If 

you get to semis you’ll get a bit of help, 

and yeah that really helped, especially 

after Covid. Sometimes the money 

we get from the LTA bonus scheme 

makes the tournament financially 

viable, so we are grateful for that help. 

DO YOU THINK ABOUT 

PLAYING AT WIMBLEDON? 

Olivia: We’ve not played Wimbledon 

before, I played qualifying in 2018 

but hopefully, if we do get in this year, 

Wimbledon is a big help financially. 

It will probably be a case of using the 

OUR MALE DOUBLES PLAYERS 

NOW HAVE A HIGH PROFILE 

AFTER ALL THEIR SUCCESS, 

SO DO YOU WANT TO LEAD 

THE WAY PROMOTING THE 

WOMEN’S DOUBLES GAME? 

Alicia: Britain is renowned for really 

good doubles, obviously the guys had 

a big impact on that. Liv and I are 

really lucky that we’ve got Tom Kiesel, 

Ian MacDonald, Claire Curran, Craig 

Veal that are all in our corner. They 

know doubles, they’ve really had a 

massive impact on that. So I think in 

this country there’s been a big shift 

towards women’s doubles, and the fact 

that we have so many girls coming up 

and starting to break top 100s is really 

exciting, and the really nice thing is 

we’ve all got each other’s backs. We 

want each other to do well, when one of 

us does well, it pushes the rest of us. 



Across the whole of June, we will be marking 

Pride Month by raising awareness and showing our 

support for LGBTQ+ communities in tennis - with 

a special focus on 'Friday Pride Days' as a platform 

to raise visibility. The activity is an opportunity 

to celebrate inclusion in tennis and show that 

it's a sport where everyone can feel accepted 

and welcomed. 

It is an integral part of the inclusion strategy for tennis in 

Britain published by the LTA last year, with an ambition for 

tennis to lead the way on inclusion and diversity in sport and 

an ultimate goal of ensuring the people playing, working and 

volunteering in, and watching tennis reflect the diversity of the 

nation’s communities. 

The Pride Month celebrations build on the launch at the LTA’s 

National Tennis Centre earlier this year of Pride in Tennis, 

the LGBTQ+ network for Tennis in Britain. Here, we speak to 

founder of Pride in Tennis Ian Pearson Brown who reveals his 

battle with loneliness, and the vital role tennis has played in 

helping him. 

My name is Ian Pearson Brown, my 

pronouns are he/him, and I work in 

tennis as a full-time coach in the 

Northeast of England. 

I’m proud of my Geordie routes, and the 

fact that I’ve worked in the industry for 

22 years, helping to develop and grow 

tennis, my first sport, and my first love. 

I am also the founder of Pride in Tennis, 

which is the LGBTQ+ inclusive network 

in partnership with the LTA’s inclusion 

and diversity strategy. 

As a child growing up in the Northeast 

in the late 80s and early 90s, I was that 

typical sports mad Geordie kid. P.E. 

was my favourite subject at school; I’d 

always be that kid on the yard at break 

time with a ball of some description – 

whether it be a football or tennis ball – 

and that was me growing up. 

When I was 13 and I realised I was gay, 

and my world turned upside down - 

I didn’t think you could be involved in 

sport and be gay. That created a lot of 

mental health problems for me – only at 

a later age did I have the confidence to 

come out that I was gay in the sporting 

environment. 

As I had taken up tennis as my full-time 

profession, I always worried about how 

I may be perceived. I was openly gay 

teaching children, and I bought into a 

lot of the stigmas and stereotypes that 

were in my environment around that 

time, so the conflict of that caused me 

stress, anxiety, and depression. 

In fact, my mental health improved 

significantly when I did come out - all 

the issues that I thought I would have 

just didn’t materialise, and the more 

people I told, the better I felt. 

When I came out in sport and I realised 

that, actually, it can be an environment 

where people can thrive as their 

authentic selves, I felt the need to give 

something back to a sport that I felt had 

saved my life through the dark times. 

That’s why I founded Pride in Tennis as a 


network, and I am now working with the 

LTA to try and help the next generation 

of athletes, coaches, players, and fans 

realise that you can be your authentic 

self in tennis and there should be no 

problem with that! 

Realising I was gay at 13; three months 

later I made my first suicide attempt. 

That was how much of an impact it had 

on me. When it dawned on me that 

I was gay, I felt that my body was at odds 

with my brain, with my mind, and my 

environment. I thought I can’t be gay; 

I do sports, I’m from the Northeast, 

I have these types of friends around me, 

and I do these types of activities. 

As a young kid, I thought that if you 

were gay – particularly in the 80’s 

– you were somebody who was very 

dirty, very nasty, horrible, or you were 

some sort of flamboyant character on 

the TV like Julian Clary, Elton John, 

or Freddie Mercury and I guess I was 

buying into a lot of the stereotypes 

of the age. I just couldn’t square that 

circle within myself, so it tore me apart. 

I internalised everything; I didn’t share 

that information with anyone, and 

that’s where the loneliness developed. 

I had a lot of people around me who 

I connected with on a superficial 

level, but in terms of mental health, 

I just assumed I was the only one with 

this problem and nobody would ever 

understand it, so why bother? So, 

I isolated myself in that time, and didn’t 

want to be a part of the world anymore. 

I still carry the mental health scars 

today from that 13/14-year-old very 

confused child. At an impressionable 

age like that – when you have that level 

of mental health trauma – I don’t think 

it ever leaves you, so I still suffer with 

anxiety and depression to this day. 

I’m still on medication, I still 

occasionally attend therapy sessions, 

but that is nothing to do with my 

sexuality now. Here today, I am a proud 

gay man and happily married to my 

husband. So, from that perspective, the 

scars I carry today derive from suffering 

with mental trauma from a young age 

and experiencing a difficult coming out 

as a young gay athlete. 

Top left: 

Rainbow 

colours on 

court 

Top right: 

Ian Pearson 

Brown (front 

centre) at the 

Pride in Tennis 

network launch 

event at the 

National Tennis 

Centre 

Above: 

Ian Pearson 

Brown on court 

as a coach in 

the North East 

The first person I ever told was my 

girlfriend as I felt she should know, with 

the bottom line being no, really, it’s not 

you, it’s me. I felt at the time – coming 

back to that element of loneliness – 

I was never going to have a long-term 

relationship. I felt I had to choose 

between sport and being gay. Initially, 

I chose sport and threw myself into it 

as a player, as a career coach, and as a 

volunteer at my local tennis venues. 

It was only when I came out to my family, 

my friends, and then eventually in my 

own workplace, that I actually started 

to connect with other people that were 

gay. It was then that I happened to 

meet my husband who has been the 

most supportive person in the world, 

and undoubtedly changed my life for 

the better. 

That was a huge turning point for me – 

being able to be open with myself and be 

comfortable with my sexuality enough 

to be holding hands with another man 

down my local high street. Things like 

that, from a generational point of view, 

that may seem quite normal now, but 

when I was younger it certainly wasn’t 

the case. That’s why now I try to do as 

much visibility work as I can. That’s the 

reason why we do Pride and try and 

do things like LGBTQ history month, 

and Pride month, and Pride marches, 

to show young people that you can be 

your authentic self and you don’t have to 

create barriers in your own mind. 

The advice I would give anyone struggling 

or experiencing a similar journey to that 

of my own: you are not the only one. 

You’re not the only person who is having 

these feelings and worries about being 

different, and this doesn’t just have to 

link in with sexuality or gender identity; 

you can be different in many ways. 

Getting onboard with the LTA’s inclusion 

strategy, Open Court disability tennis 

programme, our Pride in Tennis groups; 

supporting things like that can help a 

lot of people in improving their mental 

health, and occasionally – in my case – it 

can save lives. 

Tennis undoubtedly contributed to me 

saving my life. I don’t know where I would 

have been without that bubble of joy that 

I had at the tennis club when I was able 

to play on court freely, and just go and 

release all my pent-up stress by going 

down to the court and hitting a couple 

of shots in the fresh air with my friends. 

So, by opening tennis up to people from 

different backgrounds, we could improve 

everybody’s mental health. 

SCAN WITH YOUR 

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Are they in good form? 

The 24-year-old won her fifth WTA title at the Dubai 

Championships earlier this year, beating Veronika 

Kuermetova in the final. However, she has been unable 

to replicate that form on clay after getting knocked 

out in the first round of the Madrid Open and the 

second round of the French Open. 

What’s their playing style? 

“Aggressive is my style of game,” she previously 

stated in an interview. A confident baseline player, 

she possesses highly-effective flat forehands and 

backhands, although the former is generally regarded 

as her strongest weapon. 

Any previous? 

Ostapenko is the reigning Eastbourne International 

champion. The Latvian won the title in 2021 thanks 

to a straight-sets victory over Anett Kontaveit in the 

final. 

What do they/others say? 

After winning the 2021 Eastbourne title: “I think it’s 

just the beginning. If I keep playing the way I played 

this tournament, I think I can be back in the top 10 

and play well. I just have to keep that in my mind and 

work even harder.” 

Career highlight so far 

Winning the 2017 French Open, after beating former 

world No.1 Simone Halep in the final. 

JELENA OSTAPENKO 


The former world No.2 started the year by reaching the 

quarter-finals of the Australian Open, where she lost 

out to Madison Keys. However, injuries would derail 

her clay court season, forcing withdrawals in Stuttgart, 

Madrid and Rome. Most recently, she was beaten in the 

first round at Roland Garros by wildcard Diane Parry. 


The 26-year-old is often regarded as an aggressive 

player with an all-court game. Possessing 

a strong serve, powerful groundstrokes and effective 

net play, – she is far from one dimensional – or 

predictable for that matter. Her strongest shot is her 

two-handed backhand. 

Any previous? 

The Czech player has never featured at the 

Eastbourne International before, instead choosing to 

play at the Birmingham Classic as a Wimbledon warmup 

in 2018. 

What do they/others say? Lindsay Davenport on 

Krejcikova after her 2021 French Open Semi-Final 

win: “Krejcikova could be the strongest, most mentally 

tough player I have ever witnessed.” 


Her Roland Garros victory in 2021 is unquestionably 

the high point of her career. The former world doubles 

No.1 sealed the title with a three-set victory over 

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Paris. 

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA 



The new world No.2 won her sixth career title in 

February, defeating top seed Maria Sakkari in the 

final of the St Petersburg trophy. She then lost in the 

final of the 2022 Qatar Open to new French Open 

champion Iga Swiatek. Kontaveit was unable to get 

beyond the first round in either of this year’s majors, 

however. 


Kontaveit is an aggressive baseline player, who utilizes 

a variety of strokes to force opponents to hit awkward 

returns; this enables her to strike fast winners or draw 

quick errors. 

Any previous? 

The Estonian finished as runner up at last year’s 

tournament, losing in the final to Jelena Ostapenko in 

straight sets. 


Kontaveit on why she is in such good form in early 

2022: “I mean, even now when I’m down break points, 

I’m like, ‘I got this, I got this,’ like everything’s okay. I 

don’t panic so much as I think I used to.” 


Reaching the final of 2021 WTA Finals after breaking 

into the world’s top 10 earlier in the year. The 26-yearold 

would ultimately lose in straight sets to Garbine 

Muguruza. 

ANETT KONTAVEIT 


The 26-year-old managed to reach the final of the 

2022 Indian Wells Masters back in March, where she 

would lose in straight sets to world No.1, Iga Swiatek. 

In doing so, she became the first Greek woman to 

break the top five of the WTA rankings, although 

disappointment would soon follow in the form of a 

second-round exit from Roland Garros. 


Sakkari is always looking to play bold, aggressive 

tennis, to try and push her opponent onto the back 

foot. Blessed with a heavy forehand, she also possesses 

mental toughness and a very strong service game. 

Any previous? 

Sakkari first played at the Eastbourne International in 

2017, losing in the first round to Svetlana Kuznetsova. 

She improved on this one year later, losing to home 

favourite Johanna Konta in the second round. 


Sakkari in 2020: “Because I have played a lot of Grand 

Slams now, I feel that I am becoming dangerous. I went 

through the first two difficult rounds… And I feel better 

about myself. I feel like I find solutions on the court, 

regardless of the opponent or how I feel.” 


Her only WTA title to date came in 2019 at the 

Morocco Open. There, she came back from a set 

down to beat Brit Johanna Konta in the final. 

MARIA SAKKARI 


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The 28-year-old has struggled for form in the two 

majors so far this year, getting knocked out in the first 

round at Roland Garros, and the second round at the 

Australian Open. However, she did earn her 300th 

career WTA win in the first round of her home Madrid 

Open in spring. 


She is regarded as an all-court player whose game 

revolves around her powerful groundstrokes. 

Agnieszka Radwańska described Muguruza’s playing 

style as being “very explosive, especially from every 

shot. So forehand, backhand, serve, return, everything 

is coming to you so fast.” 

Any previous? 

Muguruza’s Eastbourne debut came in 2015, a year 

she would go on to reach the third round. She was then 

eliminated in the second round in 2017 by Barbora 

Strycova, her last appearance at the tournament to date. 


On winning Wimbledon in 2017: “I was emotional 

because when I lost to Serena in 2015 I didn’t know if I’d 

get another chance as grass is unpredictable. So to beat 

Venus and win it two years later? I was like: ‘Whew!’” 


Winning the 2016 French Open at Roland Garros. 

The former world No.1 beat Serena Williams in 

straight sets. 

GARBINE MUGURUZA 


The young American recently finished as runner-up 

at Roland Garros, losing in straight sets to world No.1 

Iga Swiatek in the final. Prior to that, she reached the 

quarter-finals of the Qatar Open after registering an 

impressive win over sixth seed, Paula Badosa. 


Combining excellent shot selection with natural 

athleticism, Gauff enjoys a great deal of success when 

she is controlling the tempo. Mature beyond her 18 

years, she has also garnered praise for her mental 

toughness and tennis IQ. 

Any previous? 

The world No.13 first played at Eastbourne in 2021. 

She reached the second round after a win over 

seventh seed Elise Mertens, but would ultimately fall 

to Anastasija Sevastova. 


Gauff during her recent French Open run to the final: 

“I just want to enjoy, I used to focus too much on 

results, and I think that this Slam I am having the most 

fun I ever did in a tournament.” 


Reaching the final of the 2022 French Open, 

beating compatriot Slone Stephens, and Elise Mertens 

en route. 

COCO GAUFF 




Badosa began the year by winning the Sydney Tennis 

Classic – her third career title – by defeating Barbora 

Krejcikova in the final. The 24-year-old would then 

reach the fourth round of the Australian Open, 

and the semi-fnals at Indian Wells in March. Most 

recently, she was forced to retire from the third round 

of the French Open with an injury. 


Badosa’s most impressive trait is her powerful serve, 

which has been recorded as high as 122mph. Her 

groundstrokes are also impressive, with the doublehanded 

backhand producing the majority of winners. 

Any previous? 

The world No.3 played at last year’s Eastbourne 

International but was eliminated in the first round by 

second seed, Elina Svitolina. 


On Maria Sharapova comparisons: “I took it in my 

stride. Maybe at the time when I was younger, I found 

it harder because of the pressure and expectations 

that come with comparing yourself to a great player.” 

Not long ago, she responded to comparisons on the 

Russian and stated: “I wish I could be as amazing as 

her…it’s always a good comparison.” 


Winning the 2021 Indian Wells Masters, her first WTA 

1000 title. In the final, she just edged out two-time 

champion Victoria Azarenka. 

PAULA BADOSA 


The 32-year-old has endured a tough start to 2022, 

with first-round exits at the Adelaide International 

and Australian Open. Her best showing so far this 

year came at the Miami Open, where she reached the 

quarter-finals. Last month, Kvitova was eliminated 

from Roland Garros in the second round. 


The Czech’s pin-point serves are arguably her greatest 

weapon, which she tends to push as wide as possible. 

She is also known for her timing, choosing to take the 

ball early which helps with her favourite shot – the 

down-the-line winner. 

Any previous? 

While she is yet to win the Eastbourne international, 

Kvitova did finish as runner up in 2011 to Marion 

Bartoli in three sets. Later that year, she reached a 

career-high WTA ranking of 2nd. 


Kvitova on 2016 knife attack that nearly ended her 

career: “I remember there was a time when people 

told me that I would never ever play tennis again. My 

immediate response was simply: ‘I want to play and I 

will just show that I can play again.’” 


Winning Wimbledon for the first time against Maria 

Sharapova in 2011. She added a second Wimbledon 

title in 2014, this time beating Eugenie Bouchard. 

PETRA KVITOVA 



The current world No.7 missed the first few months of 

2022 due to a hand injury. She earned her first win of 

the season at April’s Charleston Open, but struggled 

back in Europe, losing in the first round of the Madrid 

Open, and the second round of the French Open to 

the unseeded Leolia Jeanjean. 


Aggression is a hallmark of the 30-year-old’s game, 

highlighted by her forceful groundstrokes and 

fearlessness at the net. Pliskova’s serve is arguably her 

strongest attribute, which, at speeds of up to 119 mph, 

yields her a lot of aces. 

Any previous? 

Pliskova is a two-time champion at Eastbourne. Her first 

victory in 2017 came courtesy of a straight-sets victory 

over former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki in the final, 

while her second came against Angelique Kerber two 

years later. She also finished as runner up in 2016. 


After losing last year’s Wimbledon singles final: “I’m 

just going to try to be back stronger. Of course, 

there’s going to be a next chance, I think plenty of 

them. I’m not going to give up on that. So let’s see 

what it’s going to be.” 


Becoming world No.1 in 2017, a year after reaching 

the final of the US Open - her first majors final. 

KAROLINA PLISKOVA 


Since defeat in last year’s Queens Championship 

Final, the 26-year-old has gone on to win his first 

Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells. Most recently, he 

reached the third round of the French Open in May, 

where he lost to Karen Khachanov in four sets. 


Norrie’s powers of recovery and speed across the 

ground make him an excellent counterpuncher. With 

a slightly unorthodox technique, he is able to generate 

heavy topspin off his forehand. 

Any previous? 

Norrie first qualified for the Eastbourne International 

as a wildcard in 2017, getting beaten in the second 

round by Gael Monfils. His best result to date was 

reaching the quarter-finals in 2018 where he lost to 

Lukas Lacko. 


Andy Murray: “I think he’s a great example for not just 

British players but all tennis players to look at and go, 

if you put the effort in day in, day out and properly 

dedicate yourself to the sport, have an attitude like he 

does, it can take you a long, long way.” 


Winning his first - and thus far only - Masters 1000 

title last October at Indian Wells. 

CAMERON NORRIE 



MEN’S EASTBOURNE 

INTERNATIONAL ATP 250 

JANNIK SINNER 

Are they in good form? The Italian reached 

the quarter-finals of the Australian Open 

for the first time this year, getting to the 

same stage of the Miami Open the following 

month. Sinner also reached the last eight 

of the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he lost 

to second-seed Alexander Zverev. In June, 

Sinner was knocked out of the French Open 

by seventh-seed Andrey Rublev. 

What’s their playing style? The world 

No.12 has been likened to Roger Federer 

for his calm and composed demeanour. 

Federer himself has praised Sinner for the 

balance in his game, remarking: “What I 

like about him is that he almost has the 

same speed of shooting from the forehand 

and backhand.” 

Any previous? Sinner will make his 

Eastbourne debut this summer, with last 

year’s Wimbledon tournament being his only 

experience of playing in the UK as a pro. 

What do they/others say? Rafael Nadal: 

“Sinner is a very, very young talent with 

a lot of power, great shots.” - Novak 

Djokovic: “Sinner is definitely, I would say, 

the leader of the guys younger than Zverev 

and Tsitsipas, who I think by many experts’ 

opinions [is] the next ‘top’ top player.” 

Career highlight so far: In winning the 

2020 Sofia Open, and 2021 Great Ocean 

Road Open, the 20-year-old became the 

youngest man to win back-to-back ATP 

titles since Rafael Nadal in 2005. 

TAYLOR FRITZ 

Are they in good form? The American 

sealed his biggest-ever title win in March 

of this year, winning the 2022 Indian Wells 

Masters in California. What made that 

victory all the sweeter was the fact that 

he beat the legendary Rafael Nadal in the 

final - and in straight sets. 

What’s their playing style? The 24-yearold’s 

ace card is very much his serve, which 

can reach speeds of up to 149 mph. He 

has an almost equally strong forehand and 

backhand - with the unique ability to hit 

sharp cross-court shots. 

Any previous? Following a first-round 

elimination the year prior, Fritz won the 

Eastbourne 250 title in 2019, thanks to a 

straight-sets victory over countryman Sam 

Querrey in the final. He pulled out of last 

year’s tournament due to injury. 

What do they/others say? Fritz on his 

strong mentality: “One of my strongest 

assets is my ability to be calm under 

pressure. I really think it’s one of those 

things you’re just born with…like the gene 

of just being good under pressure. And I 

feel like I’ve always had that.” 

Career highlight so far: Becoming the first 

American to win the Indian Wells Masters 

in over a decade earlier this year. 

DIEGO SCHWARTZMAN 

Are they in good form? Schwartzman 

was upset in the first round of this year’s 

Australian Open by wildcard Christopher 

O’Connell. He then suffered successive 

final losses at his home Argentina Open, and 

the Rio Open in Brazil. Most recently, he 

was defeated in the fourth round at Roland 

Garros by world No.1 Novak Djokovic. 

What’s their playing style? The 29-yearold 

is an excellent baseline player thanks to 

his strong groundstrokes and ability to go 

on the offensive. However, he is also able 

to counterpunch when required, thanks to 

his speed across the ground and ability to 

hit winners from defensive positions. 

Any previous? He has played at the 

Eastbourne International twice before, in 

2017 and 2018. On both occasions, he was 

eliminated in the first round. 

What do they/others say? Schwartzman: 

“I was never a top junior — the only junior 

Grand Slam I played was the 2010 US 

Open qualifying, where I lost in the first 

round. I messaged my family that day that I 

didn’t know what I was doing there. But I don’t 

think about all of those tough times much 

anymore. And once I became a professional, I 

never doubted myself, no matter the odds.” 

Career highlight so far: Defeating then 

world No.3 Dominic Thiem to make the 

semi-final of the 2020 French Open. This 

saw him break into the world’s top 10 for 

the first time. 


MEN’S EASTBOURNE 

INTERNATIONAL ATP 250 

REILLY OPELKA 

Are they in good form? The man from 

Michigan won the inaugural Dallas Open 

in February, where he defeated fellow 

American John Isner in straight sets. A 

second ATP 250 title would follow at the 

US Men’s Clay Court Championships, 

before a shock first-round exit at Roland 

Garros in June. 

What’s their playing style? Standing 

at 6’11 (2.11m) Opelka’s most potent 

weapon is, rather unsurprisingly, his serve. 

Able to pound in aces at speeds of up to 

147mph, it’s a huge advantage that means 

he’s rarely broken. But he also possesses 

finesse at the net, regularly serving and 

volleying to great effect. 

Any previous? The current world No.17 will 

make his debut at Eastbourne this summer. 

What do they/others say? Former 

American tennis star James Blake: 

“He moves pretty well for a guy who’s 

7-foot tall!” 

Career highlight so far: Reaching the 

Final of the 2021 Canadian Open - his 

first Masters 1000 final. There, he would 

lose in straight sets to world No.2 Daniil 

Medvedev. 

DAN EVANS 

Are they in good form? Evans enjoyed a 

decent start to 2022 by reaching the semifinals 

of the Sydney International, only 

to be eliminated in the third round of the 

Australian Open by youngster Felix Auger- 

Alissaime. In June, he was knocked out of 

Roland Garros in the second round. 

What’s their playing style? The man 

from Birmingham is regarded an as an 

all-court player, one who is most adept at 

counterpunching and moving his opponent 

around a lot. Tactically astute, he is also 

capable of disrupting the rhythm of his 

opposite number. 

Any previous? Evans reached the quarterfinals 

in 2019, the only year in which he has 

previously entered the tournament. He 

was eventually beaten by fellow British star 

Kyle Edmund in three sets. 

What do they/others say? Andy Murray 

on Evans: “I like watching him. He plays 

really well, moves well. He’s got a different 

style to a lot of guys on the tour. He seems 

very focused on his tennis just now and is 

working hard, competing extremely hard 

every single week.” 

Career highlight so far: Winning his first 

– and thus far only – ATP Tour title at the 

Murray River Open in 2021. Later that 

year, he also recorded his first-ever victory 

over a world No.1, edging past Novak 

Djokovic to reach the semi-final at the 

Monte-Carlo Masters. 

ALEX DE MINAUR 

Are they in good form? The 23-year-old 

reached the fourth round of his home 

major, the Australian Open, for the very 

first time this year. From there, he reached 

the semi-finals at Barcelona – edging past 

Cameron Norrie before eventual defeat 

to Carlos Alcaraz. In June, he was knocked 

out of the French Open in the first round. 

What’s their playing style? De Minaur has 

some of the best court movement of any 

player inside the top 50 – which has earned 

him the nickname “Speed Demon.” Well 

suited to playing on the baseline, he is a 

natural counterpuncher, able to seal points 

late in a rally thanks to his strong forehand. 

Any previous? The Australian won his first 

grass court title at last year’s Eastbourne 

International, earning a straight-sets 

victory over Lorenzo Sonego in the final. 

What do they/others say? “My long-term 

goal is to get as high as possible in the 

rankings and to improve my game each 

day. If I am able to do that, my ranking 

should get better and better.” 

Career highlight so far: Winning the 2020 

Cincinnati doubles title alongside Spaniard 

Pablo Carreno Busta. They defeated a 

British pairing of Jamie Murray and Neal 

Skupski in straight sets. 


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This 25-year-old multiple major champion has been 

winning titles at the highest level of the game since 

her first win in 2017. 


One of the most prolific women’s players in the 

history of wheelchair tennis, De Groot has one of 

the biggest forehands and serves in the game. Add 

exceptional movement and court craft to her arsenal 

and you have a player that frequently takes the upper 

hand early in any rally. She’s world No.1 and winner of 

the Golden Slam in 2021 for a reason. 

Any previous? 

She has collected 61 ITF singles titles, 56 ITF doubles 

titles and is the current world No.1. Quite simplye, De 

Groot is the best in the business right now. 


De Groot on winning Paralympic gold last year: “It 

was very special. Looking back at it, when I stood on 

the podium and the medals were brought in, I saw 

the medal on the plate and I was like ‘Oh, it’s mine. 

That’s officially mine.’ I am very proud to be a double 

Paralympic champion.” 


Three-time ITF World Champion, 13-time Grand 

Slam singles champion (four-time Australian Open, 

two-time French Open, three-time Wimbledon, fourtime 

US Open). She is also a double Paralympic gold 

medalist from the 2020 Tokyo Games. 

DIEDE DE GROOT 


The 43-year-old British No.2 was a winner at the 

Can Uner Open in April with partner Lucy Shuker. 

Cornelia is a former British Army Women’s Tennis 

Captain who dreamt of playing at Wimbledon as 

a young girl. In 2014 she sustained an injury while 

playing tennis and took up wheelchair tennis in 2017, 

representing Team UK at the Invictus Games in 

Toronto, where she was a doubles bronze medallist. 


Oosthuizen has a big first serve and an aggressive 

game style that should be suited to grass. The former 

British Army women’s tennis captain hits the ball 

flatter than many players and is one to watch in her 

first competitive outing on grass. 

Any previous? 

She represented Great Britain in wheelchair tennis for 

the first time at the 2019 World Team Cup, winning 

another bronze medal. Now she is targetting success 

in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris. 


Cornelia Oosthuizen: “When I was nearly 10 years 

into my Army career I was injured in my right foot 

and lower leg. Six months later I was diagnosed with 

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), a chronic 

neurological pain condition for which there is no 

known cure yet. Luckily, the LTA ran taster sessions 

for players new to wheelchair tennis and I went along 

to a few of these. That’s the start of this story.” 


2019 Nairobi Open champion, 2021 Vilnius Open, 

Znojmo Cup and Opem Internacional Fundacion 

Once champio. She has also won 4 ITF singles titles, 8 

ITF doubles titles. 

CORNELIA OOSTHUIZEN 



Words by Kevin Palmer 

IN A SINGLE INSTAGRAM POST, 

SERENA WILLIAMS 

SET THE TENNIS WORLD ALIGHT 

After months of speculation and what proved to be misguided rumours suggesting this 

sporting icon was contemplating a return to action, she confirmed her comeback was 

happening here at the Rothesay International Eastbourne last Tuesday lunchtime. 

After being granted a wildcard 

to play the women’s singles 

at Wimbledon next week, the 

40-year-old former seven-time 

champion at the All England Club thrust 

herself back into a tennis landscape that 

has changed since her last appearance 

on the court almost a year ago. 

That came at Wimbledon last year, 

with her tearful exit following an 

injury casting huge doubts over her 

future and, until it was confirmed she 

would play doubles with Tunisia’s Ons 

Jabeur here at Devonshire Park, the 

tennis world didn’t know if we had seen 

Williams play her final competitive shot 

on court. 

Yet such is the enduring aura of this 

23-time major champion that all eyes 

will be trained on her every move as she 

makes her comeback on grass courts 

over the next couple of weeks. 

“I am excited to return to the 

Rothesay International Eastbourne in 

England and to be back on the grass 

– a surface that has been so good 

to me throughout my career,” said 

Williams, as she confirmed her return. 

“Eastbourne has a unique charm that 

you don’t see anywhere else on Tour 

and I’m looking forward to playing in 

front of the fans again.” 

Williams will be making her first 

appearance at Eastbourne since 2011, 

when she lost to Vera Zvonareva in a 

draining match at Devonshire Park. 

Her best run here in the singles event 

came in 2008, when she made it 

through to the quarter-finals, only to 

be beaten by Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. 

They are not memories that will be 

topping Serena’s list of achievements 

when she eventually hangs up her 

rackets, with this remarkable champion 

SERENA IS A FORCE 

OF NATURE, YOU CAN’T 

PREDICT WHAT SHE’S 

GOING TO DO, BUT THE 

THING ABOUT THE TRULY 

GREAT CHAMPIONS IS 

THEY ALWAYS BELIEVE 

THERE IS ONE LAST 

MOMENT OF GLORY 

OUT THERE 

CHRIS EVERT 

already assured of a unique place in 

tennis folklore. 

In the opinion of tennis legend 

Chris Evert, the winner of the first 

Eastbourne International event in 1974 

and two additional singles titles here 

in 1976 and 1979, the younger of the 

two tennis-playing Williams sisters has 

earned the right to be recognised as the 

greatest player the game has seen. 

“Serena has done things we never 

thought could be done,” declared 

18-time major winner Evert, speaking 

to Tennis365.com. “Serena is a force 

of nature, you can’t predict what she’s 

going to do, but the thing about the 

truly great champions is they always 

believe there is one last moment of 

glory out there. I know I felt like that 

and I’m sure she has gone through a lot 

of emotions in this stage of her career. 

“After all she has achieved in the sport, 

she will have been asking herself at 

this stage; how much do I really want 

this? How much am I willing to work 

for this? Let’s be honest, things are 

tougher when you are a mom and you 

have celebrated your 40th birthday. 

And it’s not just off the court that her 


life has changed in recent years. Her 

opponents have gotten stronger and 

they’re not intimidated by playing 

Serena anymore. 

“So she has had to work twice as hard 

to get wins because of her age, but to 

see the passion and the commitment 

that she has had at this stage of her 

career has been very inspiring. I give 

her so much credit for still being in the 

game, for still trying, for still believing in 

herself, but it’s just going to take I think 

a little more hard work, because of her 

age and because of the competition. 

“I would say it’s pretty much like Andy 

Murray in his attempt to come back 

and compete after all he has been 

through with injuries. If these great 

champions want to carry on playing, 

they should do so for as long as they 

want and we should celebrate that 

they are still in our game. She’s been 

the greatest player the game has seen 

on the women’s side and deserves our 

respect. She’s earned our respect and 

she’s earned the right to play as long 

she wants to play. 

“On a grass court, I’ll always give 

Serena a chance against anyone. That 

serve she has is the best we have seen 

in the history of the game and, if 

she can get herself into a position to 

challenge at Wimbledon for one last 

time, it would be amazing to see.” 

The tribute from tennis great Evert 

highlights the esteem with which 

Williams is held by all in the game and, 

while her tearful exit from Wimbledon 

last year had all the hallmarks of a 

fond farewell, it would be foolish to 

write off one of the few icons who only 

requires the use of her forename to be 

universally recognised. 

Serena is back... and, as is always the 

case with this sporting icon, the world 

will be watching. 

Records held by Williams: 

Williams has won a record 13 singles titles in major tournaments on hard court. 

She holds the Open Era record for most women’s singles titles at the Australian (7) and 

shares with Chris Evert the Open Era record for most titles won at the US Open (6). 

Serena also holds the records for the most women’s singles matches won at majors (365) 

and most singles majors won since turning 30 years old (10). 

Williams is the only tennis player, male or female, to win three of the four major titles at 

least 6 times. She is also a five-time winner of the WTA Tour Championships in singles. 

Serena has won more major singles titles than any other player in the open era (23). 

Williams will be in action in the doubles here at the Rothsay International Eastbourne this 

week, and she has won 14 major women’s doubles titles, all with her sister Venus. The pair 

are unbeaten in Grand Slam doubles finals. 

Age 40 

Major titles: 23 

Wimbledon titles: 7 



SETTING NEW 

PERFORMANCE 

STANDARDS 

In conversation with LTA Performance Director, Michael Bourne 

Michael Bourne was appointed as the 

LTA’s new Performance Director in 

July 2020 and here, he outlines his 

vision for supporting the best talent in 

British tennis. 

CAN YOU OUTLINE THE VISION OF THE LTA’S 

PERFORMANCE STRATEGY? 

We want to become one of the most respected nations in the 

world for player development. In order to do that, our focus 

is on ensuring we identify the best talent we have in the UK, 

partner them with world-class coaching, make sure they have 

brilliant training environments, give them the right exposure to 

competition and the performance support that allows them to 

grow and develop. 

WITH THAT IN MIND, 

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE 

INTRODUCTION OF MORE 

TOURNAMENTS IN BRITAIN 

THIS YEAR WITH THE LTA’S 

ENHANCED PERFORMANCE 

COMPETITIONS CALENDAR? 

That initiative is a big win for us because 

it allows our players to get great 

development opportunities and progress 

their rankings domestically. It allows 

WE ARE TRYING TO BUILD SUSTAINABLE 

SUCCESS AND THAT IS TOUGH IN A SPORT 

LIKE TENNIS, BUT WE ARE GETTING THERE. 

WE KNOW WHAT WE’RE GOING AFTER AND 

WE’RE STARTING TO SEE THOSE GREEN 

SHOOTS OF SUCCESS 

MICHAEL BOURNE 

some of our more senior pros to earn as 

well as gain ranking points domestically 

and it runs from 10 & under right 

through to the elite. So overall, we’re 

really happy in regard to how that’s 

helping to facilitate the idea of getting 

competition exposure. 

IN A YEAR THAT HAS SEEN 

BRITAIN PRODUCE A GRAND 

SLAM SINGLES CHAMPION, 

THE WORLD NO.1 IN DOUBLES 

AND THE WORLD NO.1 IN 

WHEELCHAIR TENNIS, WOULD 

YOU SAY WE ARE ON THE 

RIGHT TRACK WITH THE LTA’S 

PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME? 

We have had a good year, but I don’t 

think we should get ahead of ourselves. 

We’ve had successes and we’ve had 

players progress, for sure. We still have 

a long way to go to hit our goals and this 

is only year four of a 10-year strategy. 

Whilst we’re currently on track with our 


THE LTA’S PLAYER 

PATHWAY 

work over the coming year, we should always strive for more. 

This is not just about hitting our targets. We are trying to build 

sustainable success and that is tough in a sport like tennis, but 

we are getting there. We know what we’re going after and we’re 

starting to see those green shoots of success. 

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO HAVE INSPIRATIONAL 

FIGURES LIKE EMMA RADUCANU AND ANDY 

MURRAY INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION TO 

PLAY TENNIS? 

A big part of our player pathway is you’ve got to see it to believe 

it. On the singles Top 100 we’ve got Emma Raducanu and Cam 

Norrie, Dan Evans and Andy Murray. We are also so strong in 

Mens Doubles with Joe Salisbury at No.1 in the rankings and 

Neal Skupski leading the ATP Race for 2022. Then we have 

Alfie Hewett reaching No.1 in the wheelchair rankings and it is 

great for young players to look up to them and try and emulate 

them. We want players coming through at each age and stage, 

from any background, to be able to see somebody they can 

relate to on that journey. Also, all our senior players are really 

good in terms of supporting the juniors and giving them advice 

on how to get to that elite level. 

HOW WOULD YOU REFLECT ON YOUR FIRST YEAR 

WITH THE LTA? 

I joined the organisation because I was really inspired by what 

the LTA was trying to do, both on the performance side and the 

Tennis Opened Up vision, led by chief executive, Scott Lloyd. 

We as a performance team can play a big part of that, by the 

inspiration our elite players can provide. If we can do our bit and 

players have got places to train and there are good routes for the 

youngsters to come into our system, then we will have a thriving 

ecosystem for players to come through for years to come. 

The LTA’s Player Pathway is dedicated to nurturing 

the most promising players toward the elite levels 

of the game. Learn more about the support 

available from the LTA for professional players 

to take the next steps in their tennis careers. 

PLAYER PATHWAY 

REGIONAL PERFORMANCE: 

Support performance-minded players to become nationally 

competitive by age 10 and prepared to effectively transition to 

the National Performance stage of the Player Pathway 

NATIONAL PERFORMANCE: 

Support players aged 10+ who are capable of becoming 

competitive in Europe and transitioning effectively to the 

International Junior stage of the Player Pathway by 14 

INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR: 

Supporting our highest potential juniors to become 

internationally competitive by 18 and well prepared to graduate 

onto the Pro Transition stage of the Player Pathway 

PRO TRANSITION: 

Support our highest potential young players to become elite level 

professionals and Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup squad players 

PRO: 

Support our top British professional players to perform at the elite level 

and as part of Billie Jean King and Davis Cup squads with excellence 

WHEELCHAIR PERFORMANCE 

PATHWAY (WCPP) 

POTENTIAL: 

Inspire, attract and support performance-minded players to 

become nationally competitive and prepared to effectively 

transition to the Progression stage of the Pathway’ 

PROGRESSION: 

Support our highest potential juniors and adults to become 

internationally competitive and well prepared to graduate 

onto the Pro Transition stage of the Pathway 

PRO TRANSITION: 

Support our highest potential players to have success 

on the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour, become elite level 

professionals and World Team Cup squad members 

PRO: 

Support our top British professional players to achieve success at the 

Grand Slams and Paralympics, and to perform with excellence 


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HOME 

FROM 

HOME 

As Jack Draper stepped out on Centre 

Court at last year’s cinch Championships, 

he needed to pinch himself to confirm 

he was not living through a fantasy. 

For as long as he could remember, 

Draper has been attending the 

Championships at The Queen’s Club, 

cheering on Andy Murray and the other 

great champions who have lifted the 

famous silver trophy that is up for grabs 

again this week. 

Then, on June 14th a year ago, it was 

Jack’s turn to be announced as the 

next player to play on one of the most 

famous grass courts in the world. 

There has long been an expectation that 

this gifted, big-hitter could make a big 

impact in the game after his run to the 

final of Junior Wimbledon in 2018, yet 

making the step from the junior ranks 

to the seniors is always a challenge and 

many stumble at that final fence. 

Facing No.3 seed and ATP top 20 

ranked opponent Jannik Sinner was a 

huge task for Draper, but his 7-6 7-6 

win highlighted not only his potential 

as a player, but also highlighted a 

temperament that was robust enough to 

withstand the challenge of taking on one 

of the game’s best. 

As he then backed up his win against 

Sinner by beating the dangerous 

Alexander Bublik and then putting up a 

solid showing against Cameron Norrie 

in the quarter-finals, Draper reflects on 

his run at the cinch Championships as a 

breakthrough moment in his career. 

“I thought I had no chance of beating 

Jannik or Bublik,” admitted Draper, 

reflecting on a week when he collected 

his first wins on the ATP Tour. 

“I’ve been watching these guys on TV 

for the last few years and suddenly I’m 

out there at Queen’s Club competing 

with them and picking up a couple of 

wins in such a prestigious event was 

amazing for me. 

“I watched Andy Murray playing there 

when I was growing up and went to 

watch the tennis there all the time as 

a spectator. To play there and get a 

couple of wins against top players was a 

bit surreal. 

“I didn’t think I would go on and win 

those matches. It was important for 

me to show to everyone else what I was 

capable of as well as myself and that 

from now on and I can really progress 

forward and I did that.” 

Draper went on to take a set from 

defending champion Novak Djokovic in 

the opening round at Wimbledon a week 



I THINK THE MAIN THING IS THE 

PROFESSIONALISM OF THESE 

TOP GUYS ON THE TOUR 

after his cinch Championship adventure, 

with his progress in the year since 

fuelling hope that the now 20-year-old 

from Sutton can enjoy more success on 

grass courts this summer. 

Three wins in ATP Challenger Tour 

events in 2020 propelled Draper’s 

ranking and he cemented his reputation 

as one of the most promising players 

in the game by collecting his first ATP 

Masters 1000 win against Giles Simon 

at the Miami Masters in March, before 

he beat world No.28 Lorenzo Sonego 

from Italy on the Madrid Masters clay 

courts in May. 

“I think a lot of my progress is definitely 

down to physical development. I’ve had 

to work really hard on it,” he continues. 

“I think mentally I’m in a much better 

place than I was. 

“I think after Wimbledon last year, 

I was at a stage where I felt like I could 

really push on. Then I had a bit of an 

unfortunate fall with my ankle. I was out 

for another six weeks with a ruptured 

ligament there. It took me until the end 

of the year to actually recover from 

that, be in a place where I could try to 

push myself physically. 

“I had a bit of a change in set-up with my 

team last year. I split with my old coach 

Ryan Jones, who was a great mentor, 

incredible figure in my tennis. I started 

working with James Trotman. My 

physical training stayed the same. I was 

with Ian Prangley and Charlie Faulkner. 

“I think just the environment I’m in now 

is a lot better and I’m able to have a 

clearer objective of where I’m going with 

my tennis. It seems to be paying off so 

I’m going to keep at it. 

“I think the main thing is the 

professionalism of these top guys on the 

tour. The way they handle themselves, 

the way they hold themselves day in, 

day out, as a sports person, I admire that 

about the players. I think I can learn a 

lot from that. I’m still young. I’ve still got 

a lot to learn, but I feel like I’m ready 

to compete.” 

Now Draper is targeting more success 

at The Queen’s Club, with the backing 

he is receiving from the LTA helping to 

propel his progress. 

“The LTA Pro Scholarship Programme 

has been a monumental part of my 

tennis career so far and the same goes 

for the rest of the players who are also 

supported,” he continues. “It really 

is going help us to unlock our tennis 

capabilities. I think I can really go a long 

way in the game and I’m glad the LTA 

are supporting me.” 

Small steps forward have become more 

sizeable leaps for Jack Draper in the last 

year and now he will be aiming for even 

more as he eyes up a place in the top 

100 of the ATP rankings. 


SMARTPHONE! 

WATCH: 

Jack Draper 

on his year so far 

GETTING TO KNOW 

JACK DRAPER 

Draper started playing at his local Sutton Tennis & 

Squash club as a child, competing with his brother 

under the tutelage of mother and tennis coach 

Nicky. He attributes much of his competitive 

nature and attacking game-style to these early days 

of trying to get the better of his brother. Draper’s 

father, Roger, was LTA Chief Executive from 2006 

to 2013. 

A big-hitting left-hander, Draper made enjoyed 

success at junior level, winning three ITF Futures 

titles in 2018 before reaching the final of the 

Wimbledon Boys’ competition later that year – a 

run which included a 4 hour 23 minute 7-6(5) 

6-7(8) 19-17 semi-final win over Colombia’s Nicolas 

Mejia. He eventually lost to Taiwanese top seed 

Tseng Chun-hsin in three sets 6-1 6-7(7) 6-4 on 

Court 1. Draper achieved a career-high ITF Junior 

Ranking of No.7 at the end of 2018. He has won 

four ITF $25k titles since turning pro, and hopes to 

build on recent success on the ATP Tour. 

In 2022 he became the youngest Brit to win three 

ATP Challenger titles in just two months and rose 

into the top 150 for the first time in his career. 

He is coached LTA National Coach James Trotman 

at the National Tennis Centre as part of his support 

through the LTA’s Pro Scholarship Programme, 

which provides medical, coaching and financial 

support to Britain’s highest potential young players. 

QUICK-FIRE FACTS: 

NICKNAME: JD 

PLACE OF BIRTH: Sutton 

LIVES: London 

TRAINS: LTA’s National Tennis Centre 

FAVOURITE TOURNAMENT: Wimbledon 

DID YOU KNOW: 

Jack’s mother Nicky was a coach at a local club in 

Sutton and brought Jack along to his first training 

session at the age of six. 

Above: In action at Queen’s last year 

Top left: Pushing Novak Djokovic at Wimbedon 



SERVING 

A WHOLE NEW 

AUDIENCE 

Ground breaking programmes reaching out to the masses 

British icons Andy Murray, 

Emma Raducanu, Joe 

Salisbury, Alfie Hewett and 

our other elite players make 

all the headlines in the national tennis 

media, but there are also unsung heroes 

at grassroots level who are helping to 

ensure we are capitalising on the surge 

in interest in our sport. 

SERVES is the LTA’s leading sport 

for development programme, it 

takes tennis into the heart of local 

communities, and to children and 

young people who may have never 

picked up a racket or thought tennis 

was a sport for them. To date LTA 

SERVES has reached over 35,000 

children and young people from some 

of the most deprived communities and 

has big ambitions to open tennis up 

to even more. 

Across England, Scotland and Wales 

over 1,000 trusted community leaders 

have been trained to confidently deliver 

tennis sessions as part of the SERVES 

programme, to the children and young 

people that attend community venues 

(youth clubs, community centres 

and faith venues) regularly. Tennis 

Activators take centre stage and are 

the glue that brings it all together. 

Nari Sohal from SWAT (Sikh Welfare 

Awareness Team) Youth Club in Slough 

is one of those passionately delivering 

tennis to the masses. 

“Our youth club was newly opened, and 

we were looking for fresh activities to 

put on, and tennis was something we 

might not have thought about until the 

LTA approached us,” said Nari. 

“It was free to get involved, which 

was amazing because many of the 

children and young people have never 

played before and can’t afford to join 

tennis clubs. We were given rackets, 

pop-up mini nets, resources for social 

change activities, and access to Tennis 

Activator training. 

“We play indoors at our youth club, and 

we have outdoor facilities. SERVES 

has shown us that tennis can be played 

anywhere, you don’t just have to play on 

a tennis court. 

“Implementing tennis into our 

activities, and being able to deliver as 

part of camps has helped us to create 

a sense of belonging to children and 

young people who have never had 

the opportunity to play or never saw 

anyone like them playing. 

“We have seen a big surge in interest 

in our tennis sessions since Emma 

Raducanu’s US Open win last summer, 

there was a buzz, and the children look 

up to role models that they can see a bit 

of themselves in. So many children are 

now playing tennis at our Youth Club, 

and they may never have got involved if 

it wasn’t for SERVES. 

“The LTA has given us the opportunity 

to take our group to Wimbledon. For 

so many children, going to a worldclass 

event like Wimbledon is simply 

OUR YOUTH CLUB WAS 

NEWLY OPENED, AND 

WE WERE LOOKING FOR 

FRESH ACTIVITIES TO PUT 

ON, AND TENNIS WAS 

SOMETHING WE MIGHT 

NOT HAVE THOUGHT 

ABOUT UNTIL THE LTA 

APPROACHED US 

NARI SOHAL, TEAM LEAD - SWAT YOUTH CLUB 


• Provides FREE access to tennis, removing 

barriers like cost and travel 

• Targets children and young people (aged 

5-18) working with community organisations 

in England, Scotland, and Wales, ensuring 

tennis can be delivered in any space 

or venue they have available, and in a 

way that is right for their community 

• Trains up those aged 16+ to feel 

confident and empowered to facilitate 

their tennis sessions 

• Takes tennis to more places, children, 

and young people 

GET INVOLVED: 

• If you’re from a community 

organisation or venue 

(youth clubs or groups, 

community centres or 

venues, or faith venues 

or organisations) you can 

register your interest in 

signing up by completing 

the online form 

a dream come true. It really is a lifechanging 

experience, one that they will 

never forget”. 

SERVES Tennis Activators are given 

equipment and guidance by the LTA, as 

they deliver tennis to new audiences, 

with the range of activities on offer 

ensuring this is not just a programme 

for those looking to reach a high level 

of tennis excellence, it’s supporting 

inequalities in the sport and paving 

the way to get more children and 

young people involved in tennis 

for the longer term no matter 

their background. 

“There are so many fun 

activities you can do. We have 

managed to deliver tennis to 

a wide range of people in our 

community. The SERVES 

programme isn’t just 

about hitting a ball back 

and forward, it supports 

children to become 

more confident and 

to make better and 

healthier life 

choices, 

which 

can be 

more 

difficult 

when you live in communities where 

crime rates and obesity levels are 

generally higher,” added Sohal. 

“We offer fun activities for anyone 

who is looking to do some fitness, have 

some fun, meet new people and enjoy 

a new sport. 

“I loved tennis as a kid, but my brothers 

would never play with me and it meant I 

had to hit a ball against a wall on my own. 

I loved that, but if we had a programme 

like LTA SERVES around when I was 

young, it would have been perfect for 

me on so many levels and I would have 

been able to have progressed further. 

You meet new people, get familiar with 

a new sport and hopefully start your 

journey in tennis. 

“It’s fantastic to see more children from 

a diversity of backgrounds, and those 

from more working-class families get 

involved in tennis, it really is a sport 

for everyone.” 


SMARTPHONE! 

Scan here to read more 

about the LTA SERVES 

programme 



LUCY 

SHUKER 

Twenty years after Lucy Shuker took up wheelchair 

tennis it appears there is no stopping the British No.1 


This season she’s returned to her careerbest 

singles world ranking of No.5, 

almost 10 years since first attaining the 

landmark, while she began 2022 by 

reaching her ninth career Grand Slam doubles 

final at the Australian Open. 

“It’s quite unbelievable to think it has been 20 

years. It has been an absolute journey, with 

some of my highest highs and lowest lows. 

I’m sure every athlete can resonate,” says 

Shuker, the winner of over 116 international 

titles across singles and doubles. “It has only 

been recently that those who’ve worked with 

me for a long time, and my friends and family, 

have encouraged me to take a step back and 

acknowledge what I’ve been able to achieve 

in my career. And yes, I feel very proud of all 

of it.” 

The Qatar-born four-time Paralympian will 

feature in a landmark summer for wheelchair 

tennis that will see world ranking events being 

held for the first time alongside three of the 

LTA’s summer grass court tournaments, with 

the cinch Championships at The Queen’s 

Club hosting a men’s wheelchair event for 

the fourth year, the Rothesay International 

Eastbourne hosting a women’s wheelchair 

event for the first time and the Rothesay 

Classic Birmingham hosting the first grass 

court ranking event for quad players outside 

of Wimbledon. Just two days after Wimbledon 

ends, the world’s best players return to 

hard courts as Nottingham Tennis Centre 

hosts the British Open Wheelchair Tennis 

Championships. 

“It is no secret that I have always been 

competing with less function than all of the 

other girls at the top of the game,” continues 

Shuker, who was injured in a motorcycle 

accident shortly after her 21st birthday that 

would result in her becoming a T4 paraplegic. 

“It has always felt like a challenge to me, but 

one that I’ve always enjoyed taking on. When 

you do get those victories they are so much 

sweeter. I’ve been proud to have done it my 

way, to have been the one proving people 

wrong and showing that it is possible. If my 

career can inspire just one person to play 

wheelchair tennis, especially someone with a 

spinal cord injury, and for the sport to change 

their life the way it has changed mine then that 

would be very humbling.” 

Shuker turned 42 at the end of May and not 

only does the level of her spinal break mean 

she has less function than her fellow top 

players, she is also the oldest player in the 

women’s top 10. At the recent French Open 

she was the only player in the women’s draw 

that also played in the first Roland Garros 

wheelchair event in 2007. 

“To be able to be a role model for disability 

sport, and for wheelchair tennis, is of course 

a huge honour. I absolutely love encouraging 

people to play a sport that I love so dearly 

and that has given me so many incredible 

FACTFILE: LUCY SHUKER 

AGE: 42 

LIVES: 

THREE LEGGED CROSS, DORSET 

CAREER TITLES: 

30 (SINGLES); 

76 (DOUBLES) 

opportunities and memories,” says Shuker, 

who made history at London 2012 when she 

and Jordanne Whiley became the first female 

wheelchair tennis players for Great Britain 

to win a Paralympic medal. In Tokyo last year 

they upgraded two successive doubles bronze 

medals to a historic silver medal. 

“Each of the Paralympic medals comes with 

their own story and each one I am incredibly 

proud of for very different reasons. It hasn’t 

been easy, there have been lots of hurdles 

along the way. You have to find a way to be 

kind to yourself and to be relentless in the 

pursuit of your dreams.” 

With Whiley having retired after Tokyo, 

Shuker continues to shine bright for British 

wheelchair tennis at the top of the women’s 

game. 

While she continues to relentlessly pursue her 

dreams, Shuker’s wheelchair tennis success 

is partially founded in her earlier sporting 

pursuits and her success with a racket. Before 

her accident she played county badminton for 

Hampshire and her ability to drop shot her 

opponents and her touch at the net is more 

than a passing nod to her former sport. 

“I have also been incredibly fortunate along the 

way to have met some great people who have 

taught me so much and helped me to become 

both a better player and a better person,” she 

says. “I would say to anyone who is beginning 

this journey, to be proud of what you do and 

how you conduct yourself, be open to being 

challenged and to ensure that you create a 

team around you that shares your dreams and 

PARALYMPIC MEDALS: 

3 (SILVER – WOMEN’S DOUBLES, 

TOKYO 2020; BRONZE – WOMEN’S 

DOUBLES RIO 2016; BRONZE – 

WOMEN’S DOUBLES LONDON 2012) 

DOUBLES MASTERS TITLES: 1 (2016) 

values and are loyal in helping you to strive 

towards your dreams. 

“Never ever stop dreaming and believing. A 

(Paralympic) gold medal and a Gram Slam 

title is what I continue to train for and work 

towards, every moment that I step on court. 

Irrespective of whether I achieve those things, 

I know I have given it my everything.” 

In January, Shuker arguably came closer 

than ever before to earning a Grand Slam 

title, with only a deciding match tie-break 

in the Women’s Doubles Final at the 

Australian Open coming between Shuker, 

Japanese partner Yui Kamiji and that elusive 

achievement. 

“Specifically in wheelchair tennis, inclusion in 

Grand Slams and more recently increases in 

draw sizes are a great step forward for future 

generations of players,” says Shuker. “The 

depth in our sport is increasing all the time 

and it is becoming more and more professional 

every year with more investment from players 

and national governing bodies. Interest from 

the media and sponsors and, of course, social 

media continues to elevate opportunities for 

tournaments, players and fans. 

“I hope to be able to continue to support 

important advancements and changes and 

see the impact for the next generation. I feel 

very proud to be in a position where I can help 

to break down barriers and stereotypes for 

disability sport and that is something I hope 

to continue with long after my playing career 

finishes.” 



BREAKING 

BARRIERS 

How tennis has blazed a trail for women’s sport 

This year is arguably the 

biggest ever for women’s 

sport, and tennis, as always, 

will be a central part of that. 

In an era when we’re seeing 

women’s sport increasingly getting 

a greater but not yet fair share of 

the headlines and coverage, and 

every week there being positive 

signs contributing to what is hoped 

will be the unstoppable rise of 

women’s sport, it’s worth reflecting 

on the agenda-setting role tennis 

has played for well over a century. 

Sport can be one of the most 

powerful platforms for promoting 

gender equality and empowering 

women and girls, and tennis has 

led the way for that. From Britain’s 

Charlotte Cooper winning the firstever 

women’s 

gold medal in 

any sport at 

the 1900 Paris 

Olympics, to the 

likes Billie Jean 

King, Martina 

Navratilova 

and Venus 

Williams, there 

have been a 

host of women’s tennis trailblazers 

and changemakers – truly iconic 

names not just in tennis, but in the 

development of women’s sport. 

Their legacy is that tennis is now 

often regarded as the most genderequal 

sport and the benchmark 

many other women’s sports are 

aiming for, while it is also one of the 

few sports that can attract more 

female fans than male – a position 

that’s been almost 150 years 

in the making. 

Ever since the late 1800’s, women 

have been competing alongside 

men at tennis’ major events, with 

Birmingham’s Maud Watson 

claiming the first-ever Ladies’ 

Singles title at Wimbledon in 1884, 

winning a silver rose bowl valued 

at 20 guineas. That same trophy 

is now called the ‘Maud Watson 

Trophy’ and is the one held aloft by 

the winner of the LTA’s Rothesay 

Classic event in Birmingham each 

year, having been donated to the 

Edgbaston Priory Club by Watson. 

While things were not quite 

equal (the first men’s event at 

Wimbledon had been seven years 

earlier, and the men’s trophy was 

worth 30 guineas), the concept 

of women competing alongside 


men on the sport’s biggest stages 

that was established back then has 

been integral to the development 

of tennis as arguably the leading 

women’s sport on the planet that it 

is today. It’s helped drive visibility, 

and in turn set tennis apart in terms 

of earning potential for leading 

sportswomen, and is a concept 

that has been gradually adopted by 

other sports over the intervening 

decades, particularly more recently 

as efforts are made to close the 

women’s sport visibility gap. 

Tennis is also the original mixed 

sport. The addition of mixed relay 

events in sports such as athletics, 

swimming and triathlon at Tokyo 

2020 was much heralded, and 

rightly so as yet another step 

forward towards gender equality 

in sport. Yet in tennis, men and 

women have been competing on 

the same side of the net now for 

well over a 100 years, with mixed 

doubles played from Grand Slams 

to the grassroots. 

Despite the established presence 

of women alongside men in tennis, 

there remained inequality. In 

1970, against the backdrop of the 

women’s liberation movement, nine 

players, known as the ‘Original 

Nine’, took a stand to create the 

first women’s tennis circuit. They 

were concerned not just about 

disparate prize money, but also that 

fewer tournaments were available 

for women to play. It would 

eventually lead to the formation 

of the WTA, and was yet another 

pivotal moment in the history of 

women’s sport. 

As a demonstration of the progress 

that had been achieved, in 1982, 

Martina Navratilova became the 

richest tennis player on the planet, 

male or female. The Noughties 

then saw tennis reach a milestone 

moment for sport, with all four 

major tournaments paying men and 

women identical prize money – a 

stance the US Open had been the 

first to adopt in the 1970’s. 

It was as a result of this platform 

of continued progress that Emma 

Raducanu’s sensational US Open 

win last year didn’t just rewrite 

the record books on the court, 

but also set new records off the 

court. The match generated 

what is the highest TV audience 

for any women’s tennis match in 

Britain in at least the last 30 years. 

Alongside becoming the most 

streamed tennis match on Amazon 

Prime Video ever, 12.5 million 

people also tuned in to Channel 

4 for the coverage, seeing them 

claim a 40% share of the total TV 

audience including half of 16 to 34 

year olds and a 50:50 gender split 

among viewers. 

However, despite all of this, there 

remain many areas where further 

progress is needed, with one key 

area being visibility. Earlier this 

year, the LTA issued a call to boost 

the visibility of women’s sport by 

removing the inherent gender 

bias that exists within the results 

people see in search engine results 

about sport. 

It follows a report commissioned 

by the LTA that starkly highlighted 

the extent to which male-focused 

content and information dominates 

results provided for generic search 

terms about tennis players. 

Reduced visibility of women’s sport 

is a situation that contributes to a 

perception that sport is more for 

men than for women, and which in 

turn can lead to lower participation 

in sport by women, as well as 

impacting on the earning potential 

of sportswomen. 

The report found that for generic 

search queries about tennis players 

such as those regarding rankings or 

player performance (for example 

“best tennis players”, “best tennis 

players in the world”, or “who 

is the number 1 tennis player”), 

the results are shockingly heavily 

skewed towards showing male 

information rather than female. 

So, while there remains more 

progress to be made, names like 

Billie Jean, Martina, Venus, Serena 

and Emma have given women’s 

tennis a platform to inspire girls to 

believe in their dreams and show 

that tennis is a sport that has no 

limits, whoever you are. Barriers, 

after all, are there to be broken. 

From left to right: Charlotte Cooper 

in action at Wimbledon; Maud 

Watson, the first ever Ladies’ Singles 

champion at Wimbledon; Billie Jean 

King pictured in 1968; Venus Williams 

with fans in Birmingham back in 

2019; Emma Raducanu receives her 

trophy from Billie Jean King after 

her 2021 US Open Tennis triumph 



KONTA 

CALLS 

TIME 

As the final month of 2021 

dawned, a great British tennis 

career came to an end 




Johanna Konta’s tennis journey came to an end with a brief 

announcement on her social media platforms and this understated 

champion would not have had it any other way. 

Never one to court the spotlight or seek out attention, Konta’s 

retirement from tennis at the age of 30 took many by surprise, but she 

believed she had reached the end of her sporting journey as a player. 

A champion at the LTA’s Nottingham Open last summer, this grass court 

summer will feel very different for Konta as she looks in on the action as 

a fan and expectant mother, with her new life already well underway. 

Here, we look back on a playing career that saw her inspire and delight a 

generation of tennis fans, with Konta leaving a long list of unforgettable 

moments that are etched into memories of British tennis fans. 

BREAKING THROUGH 

ON THE WORLD STAGE 

Konta had long shown promise, but it 

was a break-out second half of 2015 

rising a hundred places in the rankings, 

when she first served notice of belonging 

on the biggest stages. That October, 

she assumed the mantle of British No.1 

for the first time, a position she would 

hold for just shy of six straight years, 

thus beginning a run of records not seen 

since the days of Virginia Wade in British 

women’s tennis. 

In January the following year she 

reached the semi-finals of the Australian 

Open, becoming the first British female 

to make that stage of a major since 

Wade at Wimbledon 1978. In July 2016 

she captured her first WTA title at 

Stanford in the United States defeating 

Venus Williams in a three-set final. 

That was the best tournament victory 

by a female Brit since Jo Durie won in 

Sydney, 33 years earlier. Konta also 

represented Great Britain at the Rio 

Olympic Games that summer, reaching 

the quarter-finals. 

After finishing runner up in the China 

Open in October, she became the first 

British woman to be ranked in the WTA 

World Top 10 since Durie in August 

1984. This would also mark the first 

time ever in rankings history that Britain 

had a man (Andy Murray) and a woman 

inside the Top 10 at the same time. 

REACHING A CAREER 

HIGH OF WORLD NO.4 

In 2017 the Eastbourne resident 

continued her rise with her second WTA 

title at Sydney in January and soon 

after won the biggest tournament of 

her career at the Miami Open in April, 

successively defeating Simona Halep, 

Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki 

on her way to the winner’s prize. This 

form propelled her onto a memorable 

run to the last four at Wimbledon, the 

first home female player to do that 

since Wade’s centenary win in 1977, 

taking her to a career-high of No.4 

in the world. 

The following year, Johanna secured 

an historic win over Serena Williams in 

San Jose, handing Williams the heaviest 

defeat of her career, losing 6-1 6-0 in 51 

minutes. Konta won the last 12 games of 

the match without reply to secure what 

would be one of 10 wins over current or 

former world No.1 players. 


WHAT THEY 

SAY ABOUT 

JOHANNA 

KONTA... 

Scott Lloyd, Chief Executive of the LTA, said: 

“On behalf of the LTA and everyone involved in 

British Tennis I want to express my appreciation to 

Johanna for her hugely impressive career. To reach 

the semi-finals of three slams and spend more 

time as British No.1 than any other woman since 

the WTA rankings began, shows the level of her 

achievements. We wish her well in the future, and 

hope that she will continue to play a role in British 

tennis in the years to come.” 

Iain Bates, LTA Head of Women’s Tennis, said: 

“Johanna is a tremendous inspiration for so many 

in British Tennis and everyone at the LTA and 

involved in the sport is immensely proud of what 

she has achieved. It has been a great privilege for 

me personally to watch her evolve into the player 

she became. She leaves a legacy of perseverance, 

determination and professionalism that will be 

carried forward by the current and next group 

of players.” 

Great Britain Billie Jean King Cup Captain Anne 

Keothavong added: 

“What Johanna accomplished on the court was 

incredible, but her professional aptitude is what 

set her apart. As a Billie Jean King Cup player 

representing her country, she laid it all out there, 

led by example and who can forget her marathon 

performances in 2019 during our first home ties 

in more than a quarter of a century. More than 

anything she is a kind and caring person, and we 

wish her all the best in the next chapter of her life.” 

Opposite page: Top: Representing Great Britain; 

Centre: Celebrating with British fans in Nottingham; 

Bottom: Winning the Miami Open in 2017 

Right: Celebrating at Wimbledon 

WHAT JOHANNA 

ACCOMPLISHED 

ON THE COURT WAS 

INCREDIBLE, BUT 

HER PROFESSIONAL 

APTITUDE IS WHAT 

SET HER APART 

ANNE KEOTHAVONG 



BREAKING 

THROUGH ON CLAY 

In 2019 Konta showed her best form 

on clay and at the majors. Having never 

before won a main draw match at the 

French Open, went on a charge to the 

semi-final at Roland Garros, the best 

since Durie’s feat in 1983. This was off 

the back of a strong clay court swing 

that saw her finish runner-up at both 

the Estoril and Italian Opens. 

Johanna rounded off her year reaching 

the quarter-finals of the US Open 

to become the only WTA player that 

season to reach the last eight or better 

at the year’s final three majors. 

CHAMPION 

ON THE GRASS 

AT NOTTINGHAM 

In her career she demonstrated her 

versatility on all surfaces by reaching 

the quarterfinals or better at all 

major tournaments including the 

Olympic Games. 

However, it would be on grass where 

Konta would claim the final title of her 

career in winning the Nottingham Open 

last summer, her fourth WTA singles 

title. In doing so she become the first 

British woman to win a Tour event on 

home soil since Sue Barker did so at 

Brighton 1981. She finished her career 

by completing 5 years and 11 months 

consecutively as British No.1, the 

longest period any individual has held 

that achievement since the start of the 

WTA rankings in November 1975. 


SMARTPHONE! 

WATCH: 

Johanna Konta - 

Matches & Moments 

Above: In full flow at Eastbourne; Right: Konta’s 

last title on the grass at Nottingham 



R A F A E L N A D A L 

I N T E R N A Z I O N A L I B N L D ’ I T A L I A 


EVERY SHOT 

EVERY EMOTION 


ATPTOUR.COM 

@ATPTour 

THIS IS 

TENNIS 




PARK 

LIFE 

When Arum Akom first made 

the short journey from his 

home in Camberwell to Burgess 

Park tennis courts as a young 

child, he had no idea just how 

big a part the sport and those 

courts would play in his life. 

Nor could he have envisaged 

the role he himself would go 

on to play in helping others in 

his community to progress in 

tennis and enjoy the benefits 

of the sport. 

“I grew up on these courts,” says Arum 

“It’s like a family here. 

“My earliest memory of tennis was 

coming to this club,” recalls Arum, who 

followed his older brother in picking 

up a racket. “I only live two or three 

minutes from here – I just came along 

and wanted to learn how to play. I then 

started just coming down and doing 

squad classes with the other kids – I did 

that on a regular basis and then started 

playing consistently.” 

Arum, now in his twenties, is a student 

at the University of East London and 

LTA Level 3 Accredited Coach who was 

a national runner-up at this year’s LTA 

Tennis Awards in recognition of his work 

Right: 

Arum Akom 



to promote diversity within the sport 

through working with disadvantaged 

children. He has delivered sessions for 

talented local juniors on the same park 

courts where he himself first picked 

up a racket, and is passionate about 

increasing the numbers of young black 

players and making positive changes in 

the community. 

Park tennis courts are one of the most 

crucial parts of the tennis infrastructure 

in Britain. Owned by Local Authorities, 

they are vital community assets that can 

help widen the impact of the physical 

and mental health benefits that being 

active through tennis can bring. As 

Arum’s story highlights, the access 

they provide to the sport can positively 

change and shape lives. 

In particular, park courts are the place 

where many who play tennis at least 

once during the year choose to pick up 

a racket and get on court, and they help 

make the sport feel open and accessible 

to new audience groups. 

There are currently 1.7 million adults and 

many more children who play tennis in a 

local park every year, with a significant 

proportion being from lower socioeconomic 

groups. Female participation 

is also heavily driven by park tennis 

facilities, with park tennis courts the 

most popular venue for women to play 

after they have left education. 

Not far away from the park courts 

where Arum developed his passion, 

Melissa Sack is a regular player 

at Ladywell Fields park courts in 

Lewisham, and enjoyed returning 

to the court after the COVID-19 

lockdowns. “I started playing tennis 

at this park three years ago,” she said. 

“It’s been great for my health and 

social life. Having a public park court 

in walking distance from my house is so 

valuable for me.” 

Also on the Ladywell Fields courts was 

teenager Maya Dodds, who added: 

“When I first started coming to tennis 

sessions I wasn’t very confident at all, 

THE PERCEPTION OF TENNIS 

IS THAT IT’S JUST FOR RICH 

PEOPLE, COMING HERE YOU 

CAN SEE IT’S FOR ANYONE 

MAYA DODDS 

but tennis has given me a lot more belief 

in myself and I’m now leading sessions 

here. The perception of tennis is that 

it’s just for rich people, coming here you 

can see it’s for anyone.” 

However, in many areas of the country 

park courts have become dilapidated. 

Currently across England, Wales and 

Scotland around 45% of park courts 

are categorised as being in poor, 

very poor or unplayable condition, 

preventing many from picking up a 

racket and getting active. Critically, half 

of unplayable venues are in the most 

socially deprived areas of the country. 

That’s why, over the next two years, the 

LTA is leading the delivery of a multimillion 

pound investment programme 

into public park tennis facilities across 

Britain as part of a project that is being 

seen as transformational for the sport. 

The move will see the UK Government 

commit a total of £22m together with 

an investment from the LTA of £8.5m 

via the LTA Tennis Foundation, and will 

result in thousands of public park tennis 

courts in poor or unplayable condition 

brought back to life for the benefit of 

their local community. 

The ambition is to drive participation 

across park tennis sites, as well as 

ensuring the future sustainability of 

these facilities. Crucially, in addition to 

paying for the refurbishment of public 

park courts, the new investment will 

also pay for the implementation of 

sustainable operating models for the 

facilities, with specialist programmes 

and support to ensure courts are both 

affordable and utilised. 

The approach has already been 

successfully trialled over the past 

three years, including in cities such as 

Manchester and Sheffield. 

For example in St Mary’s Park in Bury 

where the local authority and LTA 

went into partnership to renovate 

the courts in 2017 and introduce new 

tennis programmes, bookings have 

since quadrupled and there are now 

nine times as many registered users as 

before the work began. If that success 

can be replicated across other sites, the 

national investment into parks facilities 

over the next two years truly will be 

transformational for tennis. 


SMARTPHONE! 

WATCH: 

The human 

value of park courts 



CALLING 

THE SHOTS 

Tennis is recognised as having 

been a pioneer for women, but 

one area often overlooked is 

officials. In the 1980’s, mum-offive 

Georgina Clark led the way 

by becoming the first woman to 

umpire a Wimbledon Final. 

Fast forward to 2022 and this summer 

will see the likes of Jane Harvey working 

as Referee at the LTA’s Rothesay 

Open Nottingham and Ilkley Trophy 

as well as Chair Umpire Evaluator 

at The Championships, Wimbledon, 

with Denise Parnell acting as Referee 

at the cinch Championships at The 

Queen’s Club and as Assistant Referee 

at Wimbledon. 

However, when it comes to modern 

day female officials in sport, one 

name stands above them all – 

Alison Hughes MBE. 

While there have been British 

champions and household names on the 

court, one of the most successful and 

respected British figures in tennis sits 

just off the court – indeed, no Brit has 

been to more Grand Slam singles finals, 

Billie Jean King Cup finals or Olympics 

than Hughes. 

Born in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and now 

based in Dorset, Hughes (née Lang) is 

among the most influential figures in 

the modern game and regarded as one 

of the greatest chair umpires to have 

officiated in the sport. 

Last year at the Australian Open, 

Hughes umpired her 22nd Grand 

Slam final between Naomi Osaka and 

Jennifer Brady, adding to an illustrious 

resume that also features multiple Billie 

Jean King Cup Finals and Davis Cup 

Finals, including the 2021 events in 

Prague and Madrid. Last year at Tokyo 

2020 she became the first woman to 

I SAT IN THE UMPIRE’S CHAIR AFTER THE 

COIN TOSS AND REALISED ONE OF MY 

BIGGEST DREAMS HAD FINALLY COME TRUE 

ALISON HUGHES 

oversee an Olympics Men’s Singles 

Final. Prior to that she already had the 

Women’s Singles Finals at the 2004 

Olympic Games in Athens and Beijing 

2008 and the Men’s Doubles Final at 

Rio 2016 under her belt. Perhaps most 

impressively though, she is one of only 

two people, male or female, to have 

chair umpired singles finals at all four 

Grand Slam events. 

Having grown up around tennis, 

Hughes started playing as a child before 

taking up coaching. She represented 

her county, Northumberland, at 

U18 level as her love for the game 

continued to grow. 

In 1991, Hughes made a decision that 

changed the rest of her life. In a bid 

to develop her tennis knowledge, she 

joined the Association of British Tennis 

Officials and LTA Officiating. 

She completed a day’s training to 

learn the basics of becoming a line 

umpire and immediately caught the 

bug. Soon enough, she had finished a 

year’s worth of on-court experience 

and started working at world-renowned 

competitions such as Wimbledon, 

making her debut in 1993. 

Roll on to 2003 after a decade of 

working, training and exams and she 

Above: 

Alison Hughes is 

presented with an 

award following the 

Women’s Singles 

Final at the 2021 

Australian Open 


ecame a Gold Badge Chair Umpire 

– the highest qualification you can 

obtain – before joining the ITF and 

Grand Slam Team. 

The following year all the hard work 

paid off as Hughes was named chair 

umpire for the Women’s Singles Final 

at Wimbledon. Labelled as one of the 

biggest upsets in Wimbledon history, 

Hughes played her part in Maria 

Sharapova’s triumphant 6-1, 6-4 

victory over Serena Williams. 

In an interview with Metro in 2019, 

Hughes said, “I sat in the umpire’s 

chair after the coin toss and realised 

one of my biggest dreams had 

finally come true. 

“I felt so proud to have been chosen 

for it and did my best to concentrate 

on not tripping over as I collected 

my medal from the Duke of Kent 

after the match.” 

In 2014 Hughes became a Chief 

Umpire, and the following year she 

chair umpired her sixth Wimbledon 

Women’s Singles Final as Serena 

Williams lifted her sixth of seven 

titles. Two years later she also 

officiated the last Grand Slam final 

between the Williams sisters at the 

Australian Open. 

In 2018 Hughes was promoted to 

Gold Badge Chief Umpire, and that 

September became only the second 

woman to chair umpire the US Open 

Men’s Singles Final between Novak 

Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro. 

In doing so, she joined a list of what 

was only three women to have chair 

umpired a Men’s Grand Slam final 

alongside Sandra de Jenken and Eva 

Asderaki-Moore. Marija Cicak (2021 

Wimbledon Men’s Singles Final) and 

Aurelie Tourte (2021 Roland Garros 

Men’s Singles Final) have since 

joined that list. 

Hughes has been a regular occupant 

of the best seat in the house for some 

of the most high-profile moments. 

Her contribution to the sport was 

recognised with an MBE for Services 

to Tennis in The Queen’s Birthday 

Honours last June. When the news was 

announced, Hughes commented: “I 

am very honoured, proud and excited 

to have received an MBE – it is a huge 

privilege. I never thought that doing a 

job that I love would bring me such an 

amazing award.” 

Hughes is now Assistant Chief Umpire at 

The Championships, Wimbledon – a role 

she will perform again this summer. She 

has been at the fabric of the professional 

game for over 30 years and is a pioneer 

for all aspiring female umpires, referees 

and officials across any sport. 

Beyond her own career, Hughes has 

voluntarily dedicated many hours to 

helping officials develop, including by 

providing support, advice and mentoring 

to the LTA’s Development Group, 

passing on her knowledge and experience 

to the next generation of young tennis 

umpires and officials. 

A testament to the game, British 

tennis, and herself, Alison Hughes’ 

legacy is undoubtedly one that will 

continue to grow and live on for 

generations to come. 


SMARTPHONE! 

Scan here to find 

out more about 

tennis officiating 



The National Tennis 

Centre in Roehampton has 

become a home for British 

tennis to be proud of. 

Gary Stewart, LTA Head of Operations, 

takes us on a tour of the centre in 

south-west London. Fifteen years on 

from its opening, the LTA’s National 

Tennis Centre has been transformed 

in recent years as a training and 

competition base, with new state-ofthe-art 

courts and facilities making 

it one of the leading national training 

centres in the world. 

“The National Tennis Centre, or NTC 

for short, is both the LTA’s HQ and 

also the training base for Britain’s 

elite players. 

It was opened in 2007 by Her Majesty 

the Queen and in recent years has seen 

a number of upgrades and investment 

in order to bring it up to the highest 

international standards. Alongside the 

significant capital investment we have 

put in in recent years, the center’s 

operation was also brought back inhouse 

in 2018 and is now run by the 

LTA’s own operations team, with tennis 

at the core of everything we do. 

As the home of British tennis the 

centre has an important role to play 

GOLD 

STANDARD 


in giving our players the best possible 

facilities to allow them to train and 

prepare for competition. 

We have 20 world class tennis courts on 

all Grand Slam surfaces to the highest 

specification. This includes six indoor 

hard courts and six recently re-laid 

outdoor hard courts that play in a similar 

fashion to the US Open and Australian 

Open courts. There are four clay courts 

(including two under a double skin air 

bubblecover) which use the same Italian 

clay as used at the Monte Carlo Masters 

and, of course, four grass courts, with 

similar characteristics as those used at 

the All England Lawn Tennis Club that 

are very popular at this time of the year. 

This way, whatever the time of year or 

upcoming event there will always be 

an appropriate surface for our British 

players to practice on. 

There is also a dedicated player lounge, 

changing facilities, performance gym 

(containing state-of-the-art athlete 

strength and conditioning equipment), 

ice baths, medical suite and on-site café. 

The elite players using the centre 

have access to performance analysis, 

fitness, psychology and rehab, strength 

and conditioning, medical support 

and nutrition support. For players or 

support staff who wish to stay overnight, 

there are 22 overnight ensuite 

residential bedrooms. 

We’re always looking to improve the 

facilities and we’ve recently added speed 

guns on the indoor courts, to allow 

players to monitor their serve speed. 

We’re also increasingly using the centre 

as a competition base. We hosted Great 

Britain’s behind-closed-doors Billie Jean 

King Cup tie against Mexico during the 

pandemic and more recently the Great 

Britain 16U and 18U Junior Nationals 

this April. We have also installed mobile 

scoreboards and new spectator seating 

ahead of us hosting a women’s ITF World 

Tennis Tour 25K event in July. 

We are also keen to use our facilities to 

help promote padel, one of the fastest 

growing sports in this country. We 

have three high-quality padel courts on 

site. These are used for competitions, 

padel coach education classes, test and 

learn session on new products and are 

available to the local community to 

book on a pay-and-play basis. We also 

act as a training base for Great Britain’s 

padel team. We expect more and more 

tennis centres around the country to 

integrate padel into their operations 

in the coming years, so it is important 

we can pass on our knowledge of 

what works. 

Beyond the professional game we have 

a strong relationship with the local 

community and currently provide LTA 

Youth classes to 250 local children on 

site. We are taking more classes into 

local schools to expand our reach and 

our goal is to give 1000 local children 

the opportunity to pick up a racket and 

receive coaching. 

We also use the NTC’s facilities to 

experiment and innovate with new 

products that tennis coaches and 

venues may find useful in growing the 

game. So we have a specially designed 

cardio tennis court as well as an 

interactive hitting wall on site. We are 

keen to expand this area of our work 

so we can be a test bed for the tennis 

community, as we try to open tennis up 

to more people. 

For those who are tennis fans and want 

to experience the centre’s facilities for 

themselves we offer our LTA Advantage 

Play+ and Advantage Compete, giving 

members the opportunity to play and 

stay at the NTC. 

In November 2021, the centre was 

awarded the ITF’s Gold Level status in 

recognition of the high quality of its 

facilities. It’s only the third centre in the 

world to receive this accolade, joining 

the French Tennis Federation’s national 

training centre in Paris and the USTA 

National Campus in Florida. 

It was a proud moment for me and 

my team, but we know that if we want 

to carry on offering the best possible 

support to British players then we need 

to keep investing in the centre and keep 

improving everything we do.” 




A YEAR 

IN THE 

LIFE OF 

EMMA 

RADUCANU 

Inspiring a whole new generation to pick up a racket 



96 days – the time between Emma Raducanu’s debut WTA match at the 

Nottingham Open and lifting the US Open women’s singles title. 

It’s fair to say that the 19-year-old British star has been on an 

unbelievable journey since taking her first steps onto the Centre 

Court at Nottingham to compete against her Billie Jean King Cup 

teammate, Harriet Dart. 

A year on from her first tour match, and having announced her intention 

to return to play the Rothesay Open Nottingham as well as the Rothesay 

Classic Birmingham, we look back at her incredible first year as a pro. 

FINDING HER FEET 

ON THE GRASS 

We start back in June 2021 in 

Nottingham, where the highly 

promising Raducanu - a young LTA 

Pro-Scholarship Programme talent - 

received a wild card from the LTA into 

the main draw at the Nottingham Open 

to play in her first WTA event. 

Drawn against fellow Brit Harriet Dart 

in the opening round, the young star 

battled hard in front of the British fans 

before bowing out 6-3, 6-4. A tough loss 

to take, but a promising display that gave 

fans a glimpse of what she was capable of. 

She stayed in Nottingham to compete in 

the LTA’s Nottingham Trophy the week 

after, where she fought her way past 

Storm Sanders and Timea Babos. Her 

run took her to the quarter-finals before 

eventually losing to Tsvetana Pironkova 

– next stop, Wimbledon. 

A STAR IN THE MAKING 

A Wimbledon wild card gave Raducanu 

the chance to show her talent on the 

biggest stage tennis has to offer – and it 

was there that she announced herself on 

the world stage. 

She caught the eye of many of the 

British public with a straight-sets win over 

Vitalia Diatchenko in the first round, 

and followed it up with an incredibly 

impressive 6-2, 6-4 win over then world 

No.42 Marketa Vondrousova. 

The third round took Raducanu onto 

Wimbledon’s famous Court 1 for the 

first time in her career to take on Sorana 

Cirstea. With all the hype and pressure 

building before the match, she didn’t 

shy away from the task, winning again in 

straight sets to reach the fourth round. 

The 18-year-old retired in the following 

round against Ajla Tomljanovic but by 

that point, she’d become a household 

name. It was only her first Grand Slam, 

but more was yet to come… 



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WHAT THEY SAY 

ABOUT EMMA 

Tim Henman (former British No.1) 

“What Emma achieved at the US Open last year 

was staggering. I loved being on the side of the 

court and watching the way she played. It was 

absolutely incredible. You look at her journey 

through the three weeks and the 10 matches 

without dropping a set and I felt very privileged to 

be courtside. Now we all need to be a bit patient 

with Emma and let her develop because her world 

has been turned upside down in the last year.” 

Justine Henin (former WTA World No.1) 

“Everything has gone very, very fast for Emma 

and there was always going to be a lot of 

digesting to do afterward. Of course, she’s in 

the spotlight now, and that’s something she’s 

going to have to deal with. When you win a 

Grand Slam, especially when you come out of 

nowhere surprising everyone, it raises a lot of 

interrogations. 

“Emma still needs to get used to the whole 

situation. Her life has changed completely and 

I have no doubt that she will have success in the 

future, but this is a year that she has to get used 

to being a Grand Slam champion and people 

looking at her, expecting a lot of her. It is all a 

matter of experience and learning, but clearly 

she has amazing talent.” 

Richard Krajicek (1996 Wimbledon champion) 

“I think she is going to be a consistent top-five 

player, a consistent Grand Slam semi-finalist, 

maybe win a few more. She has so many years 

ahead of her and I think it will take a bit of time 

to settle down, but once she gets going again and 

I think she wants to be a top five player, become 

No.1 win a Grand Slam. Of course, this might not 

happen, but she has achieved something amazing. 

“There I speak from experience. I won one 

Grand Slam and maybe I had chances to win 

more, but even when you are 50-years-old like 

me, it is great to have won a Grand Slam. She 

showed also at Wimbledon last year that she is 

going to have this kind of result or close to it in 

the near future, so I think this is very good for 

the popularity of the game.” 

Mats Wilander (8-time Grand Slam champion) 

“I won my first major when I was very young, at 

17-year-old. I knew I had beaten the best players 

in the world along the way and my confidence 

level got really high. That was because I’d done 

something before I won the French Open as 

well. For Emma, it was different. She got to the 

fourth round of Wimbledon, she won the US 

Open and suddenly she has to adapt to a new 

reality. I am convinced she has the talent to 

have an amazing career, but we all have to give 

her some time.” 

RE-WRITING THE 

HISTORY BOOKS 

In the months that followed, Raducanu 

kept up her brilliant form from SW19, 

reaching her first WTA Challenger final 

in Chicago, before heading to the US 

Open only a day later. 

A quick turnaround for the young Brit 

saw her straight into qualifying where she 

dominated a talented field, losing only 16 

games across three matches. 

On her Flushing Meadows main draw 

debut, she brushed aside Stefanie Vogele 

of Belgium and from there, the wins just 

kept rolling. 

Next Zhang Shuai, then Sara Sorribes 

Tormo (who she beat 6-0, 6-1) and then 

home favourite Shelby Rogers – the 

then world No.150 was into her first slam 

quarter-final. 

Raducanu then breezed past 11th seed 

and Olympic gold medallist Belinda 

Bencic 6-3, 6-4 and backed it up with 

an even more impressive win over 

17th seed Maria Sakkari, who had looked 

unbeatable all week. 

And there she was – the US Open final – 

the first British woman to reach a major 

final in 44 years. Her last challenge was 

fellow teen-star Leylah Fernandez, and 

with the stage set Raducanu etched her 

name in tennis history. 

She beat Fernandez 6-4, 6-4 in one of 

the biggest moments in sporting history, 

becoming the first qualifier, the youngest 

Brit and the first woman to win a slam 

without dropping a set since 2014. 

In the aftermath of her brilliant 

achievement, Raducanu returned 

home to meet with a whole host of 

kids from the LTA Youth programme 

at the LTA’s Homecoming event – 

supported by fellow US Open champions 

Joe Salisbury, Alfie Hewett and 

Gordon Reid. 

LEADING HER 

COUNTRY AT THE 

BILLIE JEAN KING CUP 

As to be expected after such a huge 

win, Raducanu’s form fluctuated slightly 

in the months to follow – however a 

quarter-final appearance in Translyvania 

and a strong victory at the start of the 

Australian Open showed that she was 

gearing up to return to form. Her next 

biggest challenge would come at the 

Billie Jean King Cup. 

Leading out the nation for the first 

time – to become LTA Colour Holder 

No.317 – Raducanu defeated home 

favourite Tereza Martincova 7-5, 7-5 in 

her maiden tour-level match on clay in 

the Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against 

Czech Republic. 

The Brits narrowly lost the tie 3-2, 

but Raducanu showed she could be a 

force on the clay – before going on to 

beat top opponents in Stuttgart and 

then in Madrid. 

A story like no other, Raducanu’s first 

year on tour has been nothing short of a 

fairytale, with the latest chapter set to 

be written this summer… 


SMARTPHONE! 

Read more: 

The Remarkable Rise 

of Emma Raducanu 



INSPIRING 

THE NEXT 

GENERATION 

LTA Youth Ambassador Paul Jubb 

on his biggest dream 

Every champion instantly 

becomes a sporting role model 

and British tennis has been 

serving them up at a rapid rate 

over the last year. 

Roll the clock back to the summer 

of 2021 and Emma Raducanu was 

dreaming of a breakthrough at the 

highest level of the game and Cameron 

Norrie was still striving to land his first 

ATP Masters title, while doubles star 

Joe Salisbury and wheelchair hero Alfie 

Hewett were still striving to claim the 

world No.1 spot. 

Yet all four of those British heroes 

achieved their goals and more in a 

triumphant year, with Raducanu’s US 

Open win, Norrie’s climb into the top 10 

of the ATP rankings and Salisbury and 

Hewett’s ascent to the pinnacle of their 

respective rankings inspiring others to 

believe anything is possible. 

That is certainly the mentality Paul Jubb 

is displaying as he eyes some groundbreaking 

wins over the course of this 

grass court season. 

At the age of 22, York-born Jubb 

secured his first ATP Challenger win 

as he highlighted his prowess on clay 

in Bolivia in March and he admits the 

inspiration provided by his British 

compatriots has given him an extra 

motivation to join the success story. 

“There are so many good things 

happening in British tennis at the 

moment and when one of the British 

players does well, you want to try and 

add to the success story,” begins Jubb. 

THERE ARE SO 

MANY GOOD THINGS 

HAPPENING IN BRITISH 

TENNIS AT THE MOMENT 

AND WHEN ONE OF THE 

BRITISH PLAYERS DOES 

WELL, YOU WANT TO 

TRY AND ADD TO THE 

SUCCESS STORY 

PAUL JUBB 

Below: Paul Jubb 

trains at the 

LTA’s National 

Tennis Centre 

“All the young guys coming through 

at the moment are a great bunch and 

we are all so close with each other. We 

message and push each other on to 

succeed and there is a great feeling 

among the guys that has to be positive 

for what we are all trying to achieve. 

“This is an individual sport, but it feels 

like all the British players are in this 

together. We all train together at the 

LTA’s National Tennis Centre and we are 

all here to make each other better. 

“The culture of success we have at the 

moment in British tennis is really nice 

and we are all so excited about this time 

of the year and the grass court season. 

“I’m sure all the Brits would agree with 

me when I say this is our favourite 

time of the year and we all have a great 

chance to succeed and try to enjoy 

it as well.” 

Raducanu’s success at Wimbledon and 

the US Open last year highlighted how 

quickly a tennis career can lift off, and 

Jubb admits his ambitions to be a role 


The LTA Youth Programme is designed 

to introduce children as young as four to 

tennis. Fun, dynamic sessions will help 

kids get to grips with the basics of the 

game, improve their co-ordination and 

make some new pals along the way. 

BLUE STAGE TENNIS LESSONS FOR AGES 4-6 

This is an introduction to tennis. Here, we’ll help kids improve their balance, agility and coordination 

while teaching them about the sport we love. At this stage it’s not about winning 

or losing, it’s just getting to grips with the basics. 

RED STAGE TENNIS LESSONS FOR AGES 6-8 


SMARTPHONE! 

model for players aiming to follow in 

his footsteps is one of the reasons why 

he became an LTA Youth Ambassador 

alongside Emma Raducanu and 

Lucy Shuker. 

“I’d love to be in a position where I could 

inspire kids to play tennis,” continues 

Jubb. “I need to win more matches 

to do that, but I’ve always felt it was 

important to think about the way you 

handle yourself so that people look 

up to you and maybe follow in your 

footsteps. You want to present yourself 

and tennis in a good light and I’ve always 

tried to do that. 

“It would be nice to think that young 

kids would see me or one of the other 

British players on TV this summer and 

decide to give tennis a try and that’s 

what happened to me when I started. 

“Tennis was just a fun sport for me 

when I was learning the game and it was 

only when I was about 14 that I decided 

I could try and make a career out of 

the sport. Thankfully it has gone well 

for me so far, but I want to achieve 

so much more. 

“It is an exciting time for the sport in 

this country and it also feels like tennis 

is reaching out beyond the traditional 

fans and players we have had in Britain 

down the years. We are seeing so 

many more people from different 

communities getting involved in our 

sport and that has to be a good thing.” 

Inspiration is one of the great legacies 

all champions leave when their 

achievements are quantified and Jubb is 

hoping to join the growing collection of 

British heroes who have been fulfilling 

that role in recent months. 

This will look a bit more like the tennis you know. You’ll see overarm serves, rallies and 

volleys. Coaches will help children to further develop their co-ordination, balance and speed. 

We’ll introduce relaxed competition here too. 

ORANGE STAGE TENNIS LESSONS FOR AGES 8-9 

Time to throw in some tactics, problem-solving, and guides to sportsmanship and leadership. 

At this stage children will know all of the rules and will be serving and returning in matches. 

GREEN STAGE TENNIS LESSONS FOR AGES 9-10 

This is the big one. It’s time for kids to play on full size courts. Now it’s all about growing their 

game by fine tuning and refining the techniques they’ve learned so far. 

YELLOW STAGE TENNIS LESSONS FOR AGES 10+ 

Time to find your game. Playing on a full size court with the same size balls the pros use, kids 

will continue to explore different styles on the court, and start to choose their own. 

LTA YOUTH SCHOOLS 

Designed specially for schools and to support the curriculum, 

our programme brings together inclusive PE lesson plans, 

personal development resources, teacher training and much 

more. It’s all been designed by teachers, for teachers, and it’s 

all free. 

Take part and complete online training to receive a £250 

reward voucher for your school – Scan here to find out more. 


SMARTPHONE! 


YouTube, Instagram and TikTok are 

growing platforms for tennis clips, 

training videos and coaching guides, 

with Ashley Neaves leading the way 

with his Tennis Mentor channels. 

Neaves was LTA British Tennis Coach 

of the Year in 2017, with the respect 

he commands in the tennis community 

boosted by his impressive YouTube and 

Instagram channels promoting the game 

to a huge follower base. 

Head coach at The Avenue Lawn Tennis 

Club in Havant, Hampshire, Neaves 

used the unwanted spare time he was 

presented with during the Covid-19 

lockdown to boost the flow of content 

on his social media channels in his guise 

as The Tennis Mentor, with his oneminute 

coaching tip videos proving to 

be a big hit. 

With well over 30,000 followers on 

Instagram and a growing audience on 

his polished YouTube platform, Neaves 

says he is keen to spread the message of 

the game around the world rather than 

become a ‘tennis influencer’. 

“Influencer is a funny word,” begins 

Neaves. “Although my influence on 

different platforms has grown, I wouldn’t 

class myself as an influencer. 

GONE 

VIRAL 

It is a rapidly expanding tennis community that 

is taking the sport to a whole new audience, with 

tennis influencers attracting growing follower 

numbers and an engaged social media audience. 

“In the tennis world, those of us putting 

out coaching tips on our social platforms 

are doing it to help players to improve 

their skills, helping parents to get a 

better understanding of the tennis 

landscape or even helping other coaches 

for ideas on drills. 

“As tennis coaches, we have an 

influence over people in being role 

models and there is a really positive 

thing happening online with coaches 

putting lots of positive content out 

there. I’m not sure how I feel about 

being a tennis influencer, but maybe it 

will grow on me.” 

Above: 

Neaves’ 

YouTube 

channel 

content 

is proving 

popular 



Neaves’ success with his loyal follower 

base highlights the power of social 

media platforms for a tennis coach, yet 

there are some social media accounts 

that have reached impressive follower 

numbers in recent years by following a 

very simple formula. 

The Functional Tennis Instagram 

account is an example of a sporting 

success story based around the 

fascination of tennis fans around the 

world to watch tennis clips that take 

them behind the scenes in our sport, 

with practice sessions and quirky clips 

proving to be a big hit with almost half a 

million followers. 

The Instagram account that is admired 

by Wimbledon champion Novak 

Djokovic is run by Irishman Fabio 

Molle, who admits he is surprised by the 

success he has enjoyed. 

“I really didn’t see this coming when 

I started posting a few videos on 

Instagram of people hitting tennis balls 

in practice and suddenly, they started to 

get a big reaction,” Molle told us. 

“We started Functional Tennis back in 

2016 and six years later, we have nearly 

500,000 followers and have a real 

presence in a sport I have always loved. 

“Tennis has always been my passion. 

I played a lot as a kid and a few junior 

tournaments, but injuries affected my 

ambition and now I find myself working 

full-time in the sport running Functional 

Tennis. I found of a lot of great videos 

that could help players develop their 

game and I didn’t think it would take 

off as it did. 

“I don’t know why or how they got so 

much traction. I haven’t advertised or 

promoted the account and it just kept 

growing and it was just a case of right 

time, right place. 

“What the Instagram account has done 

is open so many doors for me in the 

sport and our podcast has benefited 

from that as we have some great names 

joining us on there. 

Below: 

Fabio Molle 

pictured with 

Novak Djokovic 

IF IT MEANS 

MORE KIDS 

ARE SEEING 

TENNIS ON 

SOCIAL MEDIA, 

THAT COULD 

BE A GOOD 

THING FOR 

OUR SPORT 

ASHLEY NEAVES 

“The account has also been great for 

coaching talent to promote their work 

and for young players and I know some 

junior players have been spotted by 

agents on Functional Tennis account 

and signed up, which is a wonderful 

sideshow of this.” 

With tennis lacking media exposure 

outside the main events on the ATP 

and WTA Tours, a growing audience 

has gravitated towards social media 

platforms promoting the game and The 

Tennis Mentor suggests that interest is 

good for the game. 

“Tennis is tricky to find on television 

now, so kids growing up these days 

will see most of their tennis online 

on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube as 

opposed to seeing full-on matches,” 

added Neaves. 

“While that is sad, if it means more kids 

are seeing tennis on social media, that 

could be a good thing for our sport.” 

As tennis looks to open its doors to 

new audiences, fresh avenues are 

now presenting themselves that 

could be crucial to the future growth 

of the game. 


superga.co.uk

THE 

UNSTOPPABLE 

RISE OF PADEL 

LTA leading the drive to promote a whole new ball game 

WHEN I FIRST 

CAME ACROSS 

THE SPORT, 

THERE WAS AN 

AIR OF MYSTERY 

ABOUT IT 

TOM MURRAY – 

LTA HEAD OF PADEL 

Roll the clock back to 2018 and 

there were just 30 padel courts 

in a UK market still largely 

unaware of the sport’s potential 

- but how that has changed. 

Since the LTA brought padel under its 

wing three years ago and became the 

official national governing body for the 

sport that was once reserved for its 

hotbeds of Spain and Argentina it has 

lifted off in Britain at an exhilarating 

pace. 

‘New’ sports rarely get a platform of this 

magnitude to launch themselves, but 

padel is being driven by a momentum 

that excites British padel pioneer Tom 

Murray, who is Head of Padel at the 

LTA. 

“When I first came across the sport, 

there was an air of mystery about it,” says 

Tom. “I have always loved tennis and any 

variation on the game is interesting, so I 

wanted to have a go at padel and as soon 

as you play once, you will never give it up. 

“You see this little bat with no strings 

and it looks like a combination of squash 

and tennis. Then you go on to YouTube 

and type in World Padel Tour and you 

see all these mental rallies, with balls 

being hit out of the box, people running 

through gates to retrieve rebounds, and 

you realise just how exciting it is. 

“It has elements of squash as we play 

shots off the wall, but it’s clearly much 

more closely related to tennis. Squash 

is more of game that relies on the use 

of the wrist, but with padel, you play 

volleys as you would in tennis and a lot 

of the shots are similar. 

“Obviously, we play shots off the wall 

in padel and that takes a little getting 

used to, but the sport is a lot easier 

to pick up than tennis. If you tried to 

play tennis for the first time, it would 

take a little while to get a rally going, 

but after a few minutes on the shorter 

padel court, you will be starting to 

enjoy some lengthy rallies as it is easier 

to master.” 

Britain’s top padel star Tia Norton is the 

shining star of the game in Britain, and 

she believes padel is about to become a 

mainstream sport for the masses. 

“The UK has huge potential to be a 

massive marketplace for padel and one 

of the main things I would like to achieve 

is to get a lot more younger people into 

the sport,” states teenager Tia, who is 

eager to compete on the world stages 

of padel. 

“Padel courts are being 

installed in tennis clubs 

and that is allowing 

people who play tennis 

to transition and play 

both sports, but I would 

like to see young players 

starting in the sport 

earlier as that will allow 

them to develop their 

skills and reach the top 

of the game. If I can help 

to promote the sport in any 

way, I’d love to do that. 

Below: 

British padel star 

Tia Norton 



Star Appeal: Andy Murray is among the growing 

number of famous fans of padel 


“Once people get a better understanding 

of the game and see it on TV, that 

will really help. There is a real drive 

behind the sport now and it feels 

like the momentum is with us, so I’m 

excited to see where padel will be in five 

years’ time.” 

Padel already boasts some highprofile 

amateur players, with Liverpool 

manager Jurgen Klopp and his assistant 

Pep Lijnders relishing any chance to 

spend their spare time on a court, while 

former Scotland rugby star Max Evans 

and ex-England captain John Terry 

are regular padel rivals at their holiday 

homes in Portugal. In addition, Arsenal 

boss Mikel Arteta is a padel fan and 

soccer superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic is 

also an investor in a padel business in his 

native Sweden. 

Few sports looking to make a 

breakthrough in a crowded marketplace 

have promoters of that calibre driving 

the message, but they are not alone in 

appreciating that this is a sport ready to 

move to another level. 

What comes next for the sport is setting 

the pulse racing for all those who have 

yet to take to a padel court – don’t 

leave it too long to jump on this sporting 

bandwagon. 

Read more: 

Padel Tennis & 

Where to play 


SMARTPHONE! 



SONAY 

KARTAL 

Sussex star Kartal taking advantage of 

home comforts to rise up the rankings. 

A new era dawned in British tennis 

at the start of 2022 as a revamped 

schedule of tournaments changed the 

landscape for our homegrown stars. 

The move to launch an expanded 

LTA Performance Competitions 

Calendar ensured the number of ITF 

tournaments in this country rose from 

eight women’s events in 2019 to 16 

for both men and women in 2022 

and the move has proved to be hugely 

successful for a host of British players. 

By the middle of May, British players 

has already collected more than 50 

titles, with 38 unique homegrown 

champions in tournaments around the 

world and many of those came in the 

ITF events being hosted in this country. 

Alastair Gray, Anton Matusevich, 

Joshua Paris, Eden Silva and Henry 

Patten are among the British 

players who have lifted ITF titles 

this year and for Sonay Kartal, the 

increased tournament scheduled 

has provided a platform for a huge 

rise in the WTA rankings. 

Kartal, 20, ended 2021 ranked 865 

in the world, but she headed into 


this summer’s British grass court 

season inside the world’s top 300, 

with her four ITF W25 wins lifting 

her towards the upper echelons 

of the game at a rapid rate. 

“Playing matches is so important and 

these new tournaments in this country 

have been a massive boost to all the 

British players,” begins Sussex’s Kartal, 

who was included in Great Britain’s 

Billie Jean King Cup squad for the tie 

against the Czech Republic in April. 

“If it wasn’t for these new ITF events in 

the UK, I would not be where I am in 

the rankings now, it’s as simple as that. 

“At the start of the year, I was not 

getting into the main draw of a 

W25 event, but winning some of 

these events in the UK has changed 

everything for me both in terms of 

my ranking and my mentality. 

“The standard in these ITF events is 

so high. The majority of matches I’ve 

played have been against opponents 

ranked in the top 300 and players are 

coming from all over the world to play 

in these events because the standard is 

high and they all want to be a part of it.” 

Financing a tennis career when you 

are not playing at the top of the 

game is tough for a young player, 

but Kartal believes the platform 

provided by the LTA Performance 

Competitions Calendar will have a 

lasting impact for British tennis. 

“You look at America and they have 

so many tournaments each week, 

which creates great competition and 

strength in depth with their players,” she 

continued. “Hopefully we will now start 

to see something similar in this country. 

“For British tennis, it is something we 

all needed and all of us playing in these 

events are so grateful to the LTA for 

putting them on and it will be a massive 

benefit for our game moving forward.” 

Kartal’s ambitions have been 

transformed since her success over the 

first half of 2022 and she is looking at 

this grass court season as a chance to 

build on the momentum she has built up. 

“At the start of the year, my 

ambition was to try and break into 

the top 500,” she added. “I did that 

quickly and then the next goal was 

300, which I achieved by May. 

“Then I got a call-up to the Billie Jean 

King Cup squad and that was an amazing 

experience in Prague. We were up 

against some top-class players, but we 

came so close to winning the tie and 

only lost in the deciding doubles, but it 

was such a great opportunity for me. 

“I never thought I’d get into the squad so 

quickly, but the team spirit was fantastic 

that week and it encouraged me to think 

I could aim for even more in the next 

few months, even though I know the 

next part of my career will be hard. 

“When you are ranked down in 

the 800s, you can make a big 

leap by having a good run at one 

tournament, but it is harder to do 

that now that I’m in the top 300. 

“My next goal is to try and make the 

US Open qualifiers and with a good 

grass court season, that is realistic.” 

The aim of the LTA’s Performance 

Competitions Calendar is to provide 

more opportunities for players to 

compete more regularly at a higher level 

and make progressive ranking gains at 

the early stages of their careers. The 

increased calendar means that there will 

be over 40 weeks of either international 

ranking points or prize money earning 

opportunities in Great Britain this year. 

The stunning success of the initiative 

has changed the game for so many 

British players, with the winning success 

so many have experienced breeding 

optimism for a bright future. 

GETTING TO KNOW 

SONAY KARTAL 

PLACE OF BIRTH: SIDCUP 

LIVES: BRIGHTON 

TRAINS: PAVILION & 

AVENUE TENNIS CLUB 

FAVOURITE TOURNAMENT: 

WIMBLEDON 

NICKNAME: KARTS 

LIKES: MUSIC, 

ANIMALS, SHOES 

TENNIS IDOLS: 

KIM CLIJSTERS, ROGER 

FEDERER, ANDY MURRAY 

PRIMARY SCHOOL: 

SALTDEAN PRIMARY 

SECONDARY SCHOOL: 

LONGHILL SCHOOL 

TENNIS BEGINNINGS 

Kartal first started playing tennis 

at the age of six at Pavillion & 

Avenue Tennis Club, where 

she still trains to this day. 

Her first memory of tennis 

was when she was first brought 

on court to meet her current 

coach, Julie Hobbs, falling over 

and being too scared to come 

back. But after much persuasion, 

Hobbs managed to convince her 

to come back and the two have 

been inseparable ever since. 



MARTINA 

NAVRATILOVA 

There are Eastbourne legends and then 

there is the great Martina Navratilova. 

So many records fell during the 

extended era of dominance Navratilova 

enjoyed on grass courts, and while 

her record of nine Wimbledon 

singles titles define her legacy on the 

English lawns, her 11 titles here at 

Eastbourne are equally impressive. 

Overall, Navratilova is one of the 

most successful tennis players of all 

time, with 18 majors to her name, 

and 167 career singles titles in total. 

Her 11 titles here at Devonshire 

Park makes her the most successful 

player in the tournament’s 48-year 

history, and while that is a staggering 

addition to her glittering CV, it only 

tells part of the story. Navratilova’s 

journey to the top of the sporting 

world is a tale of near-unparalleled 

success, but also of courage, hope, and 

overcoming extraordinary adversity. 

Born in Prague in October 1956, 

Navratilova’s younger years were shaped 

by an era of political turmoil in former 

Czechoslovakia. The culmination of this 

was the brutal response of Soviet forces 

to a Czech uprising in 1968, but closer 

to home, the young Martina was already 

coming to terms with the loss of a loved 

one. Her father died when she was 

just eight, a tragic event that not only 

shaped her life, but also her name – as 

she took the surname of her stepfather 

after his passing (Miroslav Navratil). 

Amid the hardship, Navratilova found 

solace in tennis. From the age of 

four, she’d start hitting a tennis ball 

against a concrete wall before starting 

to play regularly at the age of seven. 

Coached by her stepfather, and 

advised by her tennis-playing mother, 

she had the perfect environment to 

Above: 

Navratilova 

Eastbourne 

Champion in 1985 

Opposite: 

At home on grass. 

Still a prominent 

voice in the game. 

With Serena Williams 

and Chris Evert. 

learn and develop as a young player. 

By 15, Navratilova had already won 

the Czechoslovakian national tennis 

championship, and it wasn’t long before 

she’d get the chance to showcase her 

immense talent on the world stage. 

In 1973, she made her first journey to 

the country she’d soon represent – 

the United States. Making her debut 

on the United States Lawn Tennis 

Association pro tour, it was the first 

step on the path to becoming a fullyfledged 

professional – something that 

wouldn’t officially happen until 1975. 

Today, we regard and revere Navratilova 

as the queen of grass court tennis, 

given her unprecedented domination 

at both Wimbledon and Eastbourne. 

And yet, her early years suggested a 

natural penchant for clay surfaces, as 

her first majors quarter-final came at 

the 1973 French Open. Two years later, 

she reached the final at Roland Garros, 

as well as the Australian Open, but 

was unsuccessful on both occasions. 

And yet, as fate would have it, despite 

some teething issues in her early years, 


PERFECT GRASS, 

PERFECT SETTING, THE 

SAME PEOPLE IN THE 

SAME SEATS EVERY 

YEAR. I JUST USED TO 

LOVE DRIVING DOWN 

THERE FROM LONDON. 

IT WAS LIKE COMING 

HOME. IT WAS MAGIC 

AND EASTBOURNE WILL 

ALWAYS HAVE A SPECIAL 

PLACE IN MY HEART 

the Czech’s first majors title did come 

at SW19 in the summer of 1978. 

The first of nine Wimbledon singles 

trophies, it was sealed thanks to a final 

victory over her great American rival 

Chris Evert – the woman who denied 

her in the final at Roland Garros two 

years earlier. Remarkably, the two 

women also played out that year’s 

Eastbourne International final a few 

weeks prior. Just like at Wimbledon, 

Navratilova emerged victorious, to 

achieve her first (and certainly not 

last) Eastbourne-Wimbledon double. 

With five title wins at the US Open, 

three at the Australian Open, and 

two at Roland Garros, the naturalised 

American citizen certainly wasn’t 

short of success at the other three 

majors. Yet it was on the slick grass 

of Wimbledon that Navratilova truly 

found a home from home, where 

she would go on to win eight singles 

titles in the following 12 years. 

The first, as she described, was the 

most important of her career. Turning 

around a first-set deficit against Evert 

– who would soon become a dear 

friend – gave the 22-year-old the belief 

that she could one day become world 

number 1. While a close friendship 

would blossom, they were “perfect” 

rivals, in the words of Navratilova, and 

for good reason. Today, they both sit 

joint third on the all-time list of female 

major winners – with 18 apiece. “We 

brought out the best in each other,” 

Navratilova says of Evert. “It’s almost 

not right to say who’s better. If you tried 

to make the perfect rivalry, we were it.” 

The rivalry had several high-profile 

chapters added at Eastbourne. After 

Navratilova’s first title on the south 

coast in 1978, Evert hit straight back, 

winning the 1979 title in an all-time 

classic. Decided by a final set which 

the Florida-native won 13-11, it still 

stands as the longest Eastbourne 

International final ever recorded. They 

would never again meet in the final of 

the tournament, and with the ending 

of a great rivalry, an era of domination 

would well and truly commence. 

Between 1982 and 1993, Navratilova 

won the women’s singles title at 

Eastbourne on all but two occasions. 

A grand total of 11 wins across three 

decades is all the more remarkable when 

you factor in her additional six doubles 

titles alongside American, Pam Shriver. 

It was a period of unrivalled dominance 

at both Eastbourne and Wimbledon, 

but winning so frequently was always 

going to bring its own challenges. While 

her popularity today is unquestionable, 

back in the 1980s, acceptance was 

far from immediate. “In the Eighties, 

when I was winning so much, I was 

favourite, so people were cheering the 

underdog,” Navratilova later remarked. 

“I never got the cream until the 

Nineties, when I wasn’t winning. I won 

people over eventually, for whatever 

reason, but it took a long time.” 

One of the great tragedies of 

Navratilova’s early appearances at 

Wimbledon was that, for a period of 

time, she had no nation to represent. 

Having left Czechoslovakia in 1975 to 

seek political asylum in America, she 

wouldn’t officially become a citizen 

state-side for six more years. “It was 

hard. When I first won Wimbledon, I 

was not a Czech anymore. I was not 

yet an American. I was stateless for 

six years. I didn’t get any homecoming 

anywhere because I didn’t have a 

country. I had no place to go.” 

Sentiments would change with time, 

and by the end of her illustrious 

singles career, the British crowds were 

willing her on to make history. Her 

attempt to equal Billie Jean King’s 

record of 20 Wimbledon titles in 

1994 may have been unsuccessful 

[she lost to Conchita Martinez in the 

singles final], but by then, there was a 

palpable sense that she had won over 

Centre Court in a way that no other 

foreign player ever had. She would 

eventually claim her 20th Wimbledon 

title thanks to a 2003 mixed doubles 

victory alongside Leander Paes – a 

remarkable feat at the age of 46. 

For all these reasons and more, 

Navratilova stands out as a true icon 

of the sport – one whose legacy will 

live on for as long as tennis does. The 

game itself, after all, wouldn’t be what 

it is today without the serial winner. 

In the words of her great friend and 

rival Evert, she was responsible for 

revolutionising the women’s game. 

“She brought athleticism to a whole 

new level with her training techniques 

— particularly cross-training, the idea 

that you could go to the gym or play 

basketball to get in shape for tennis.” 

This is a tennis story that will never 

be forgotten and the Eastbourne 

International will forever have a special 

place in Navratilova’s legacy. 



COLOUR HOLDERS 

ETCHED INTO 

TENNIS HISTORY 

Representing your country in any sport is a special 

achievement, and tennis is no different. 

As well as being a highlight of a player’s career, Great 

Britain teams also connect with, enthuse and excite 

tennis fans in Britain like nothing else in our sport. 

That is why in 2021, to mark 125 years since the first 

player stepped on court, we revived what was once a tennis 

tradition – the LTA Colour Holders programme. 

Historically, in the same way a player might receive a ‘cap’ in 

football or rugby, when a player represented Great Britain in 

tennis, they received a Colour. 

If players compete in the Davis Cup, Wheelchair World Team 

Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, Olympics or Paralympic Games, 

they become Colour Holders. 

Colour Holder status was also achieved previously for players 

who competed for Great Britain in the Wightman Cup and 

Kings Cup, two competitions that have since ceased. 

From the early days of the programme, Colours have been 

awarded to both females and males who have represented 

Britain. In addition, following the creation of wheelchair tennis 

and its subsequent growth to become a professional sport, 

World Team Cup representatives and Paralympians have been 

included as Colour Holders for the first time alongside Davis 

Cup, Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic players – all together 

on one list. 

A sequential list has been created depicting when a player 

gained their Colour Holder status in relation to their peers, 

meaning each player to represent Great Britain will have their 

own unique number. 

Since 1896, 319 tennis players have become Colour Holders. 

The list was started by John Boland, who became the first at 

the inaugural modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. 

World No.1 doubles player Joe Salisbury, wheelchair tennis 

players Greg Slade, Abbie Breakwell and Ben Bartram and US 

Open Champion Emma Raducanu are among the most recent 

players to achieve this status having been selected to play in 

the Billie Jean King Cup and World Team Cup competitions 

respectively this year. 

Wheelchair tennis player Ruby Bishop is our most recent 

Colour Holder at number 319 and there will be plenty more 

joining this exclusive club in the years to come. 

The ultimate achievement of representing your country 

should be recognised and the LTA’s Colour Holder programme 

ensures each and every name on the list is reserved their own 

special place in British tennis folklore. 

WATCH: 

Reintroducing GB Colour Holders 


SMARTPHONE! 


From top: left to right: The joy of victory for 

Johanna Konta; Danny Sapsford was Colour 

Holder 200; 1935 – The presentation of the 

Davis Cup to the winning British team at 

Wimbledon with Fred Perry and Bunny Austin 

in attendance; Jordanne Whiley celebrates 

winning the bronze medal after her victory over 

Aniek van Koot at the 2020 Paralympic Games; 

Captain Anne Keothavong with the GB Fed 

Cup team for a match against Croatia in Tallinn 

n 2017; First female Colour holder Charlotte 

Sterry; Tim Henman and Neil Broad won silver 

medals at the 1996 Olympic Games; Andy 

Murray led Britain to Davis Cup glory in 2015 



ESAH 

HAYAT’S 

WINNING 

FORMULA 

Introducing one of the world’s best deaf tennis players 


Success stories are flowing in British tennis and 

Esah Hayat is adding to the narrative. 

As the leading deaf tennis player in the 

country, the 20-year-old Cambridge 

University student has achieved impressive results, 

winning his fourth title at the National Deaf Tennis 

Championships at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre 

last November. 

Yet his ambitions on the court will not stop there, with 

Esah aiming for the stars as he lays out his vision for a 

bright tennis future. 

TELL US HOW YOU STARTED YOUR JOURNEY 

IN TENNIS? 

It began with watching my older brother’s tennis 

lessons on Saturday mornings, while not having any 

interest in the sport myself. That carried on for a 

couple of years until a switch flicked in my head and 

I just decided to join in. The coach thought I had 

potential and suggested I join in more often. From 

there, I went from 15 minutes of tennis a week, to an 

hour a week, and multiple lessons a week. 

HOW HAVE YOU OVERCOME THE 

CHALLENGES OF INTEGRATING INTO A 

HEARING TENNIS ENVIRONMENT? 

Tennis is an individual sport, so I actually think it’s 

one of the best sports for deaf people to play, since 

the communication barriers many deaf people face 

aren’t as big an issue. That being said, there is still 

an element of communication with the opponent/ 

officials/coaches that can be challenging. I always 

found it difficult to hear my coaches if they were on 

the other side of the court. The main way I overcame 

this was simply building the confidence to inform 

people around me (coaches and hitting partners) of 

my difficulty and ask that they make an extra effort 

to make sure I can hear them. Everyone I’ve met has 

always been happy to help, so I would advise that to 

any younger deaf players who may struggle with the 

same issue. 

OPEN COURT: MAKING TENNIS A SPORT FOR ANYONE 

You might think it’s not for you, but tennis is a sport that can be adapted for any level of 

ability, as well as for players with different disabilities. We can supply all the equipment 

and aids you need – we’ve got sports wheelchairs if you have a physical impairment, 

and tennis balls that make a noise when they bounce if you’re blind or partially sighted. 

There’s nothing stopping you from giving it a go and having just as much fun playing the 

game as everyone else. 

Great Britain is one of the leading nations in the world for disability tennis, and the LTA’s 

Open Court disability tennis programme is one of the largest of its kind across any sport. 

Since its launch following the London 2012 Paralympics and with the support of Sport 

England, it has helped a record number of disabled people and those with long term 

health conditions pick up a racket and enjoy the benefits of being active through tennis. 

As part of the programme, the LTA supplies over 400 

Open Court venues with adaptive equipment, training, 

grant funding and resources to increase opportunities 

for disabled people to get involved in tennis, as well as 

dedicated support and advice from the LTA team. 

We also support and run local, regional and national 

disability tennis competitions for any and all abilities, 

and for the very best players there are opportunities 

to play for Great Britain too! 

GETTING 

TO KNOW... 

ESAH 

HAYAT 

Born: 13.03.2002 

Achievements: 4 

National Deaf Tennis 

Championships singles 

titles in six years 

Tennis idols: Andy 

Murray, Rafael Nadal and 

Lee Duck-Hee. 

Scan here to find out 

more about how to get 

involved in deaf tennis 


SMARTPHONE! 


SMARTPHONE! 

Scan here if 

you want to 

find out more 

about playing 

disability 

tennis. 

Above: Esah in 2015 when he won gold at the 

Junior World Deaf Tennis Championships 

EXPLAIN THE CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN 

YOUR EFFORTS TO REACH YOUR POTENTIAL 

IN THE GAME. 

Reaching my full potential in tennis is down to a variety 

of factors, both within and out of my control. I like to 

think of reaching potential as a matter of having the 

right mindset, before anything. Only I can control my 

attitude towards tennis, and so I always try to be as 

committed as I can to improving. I think that any player 

who has the right mindset is halfway there to reaching 

their potential, before considering any external factors. 

WHAT ARE YOUR BIG AMBITIONS IN TENNIS? 

I have many ambitions in tennis, including getting ATP 

points and playing on the professional circuit. I play for 

my university and tennis clubs and have specific goals 

year by year that I and the team work to achieve. In 

deaf tennis, I would like to get more medals, including 

doubles medals with the other GB team members, and 

to continue doing my country proud. 

HOW DO YOU FEEL TENNIS PERFORMS 

COMPARED TO OTHER SPORTS IN TERMS OF 

EMBRACING COMPETITORS WITH SENSORY 

OR PHYSICAL DISABILITIES? 

Playing sports as a young deaf person can be a tricky 

experience, especially when it involves communication 

with other players/teammates. But as I mentioned 

earlier, tennis was always an easy sport for me to fit 

into as a deaf player, as communication was less crucial 

in the game, meaning my deafness was not an issue for 

me. I was also lucky enough to always be surrounded 

by people who were both deaf-aware, and very 

accepting of my situation. I was never made to feel like 

less of a player in anyone’s eyes, and I do think that 

positive attitude extends to the tennis community in 

the UK. I think that if more deaf people were aware 

of how easy it is to get started in tennis, and how 

their deafness won’t hinder them in this sport, the 

participation rates would increase quickly - it’s just a 

matter of spreading the word. 




COACHING 

THE COACHES 

The LTA has set out on an ambitious mission to 

revolutionise coaching qualification courses in Britain in 

recent months, with the new programmes being rolled out 

for thousands of candidates. 

Following the inspirational 

successes for British tennis over 

the last year that has included 

Emma Raducanu’s US Open win, 

Cameron Norrie’s victory at the Indian 

Wells Masters, as well as Joe Salisbury’s 

rise to the top of the doubles rankings 

and Alfie Hewett’s rise to world No.1 

in the wheelchair rankings, the drive to 

build on the momentum behind tennis 

in Britain has included a bid to increase 

the numbers entering the coaching 

pathway and the quality of those 

graduating from it. 

Here, Merlin Van de Braam (right), 

Head of Coach Development and 

Support at the LTA, guides us through 

the evolution of the new-look coaching 

qualification programmes on offer... 

CAN YOU TAKE US 

THROUGH THE JOURNEY 

OF CHANGE FOR THE LTA 

COACHING PROGRAMME? 

About two and a half years ago, we 

conducted a systematic industry review 

to look at what was good, where coach 

education could improve and what were 

the key challenges moving forward that 

may act as a barrier to quality coaching 

and ultimately participation growth. We 

listened to coaches, coach developers, 

employers and deployers and asked 

them what they needed from a coach or 

assistant coach to run a thriving tennis 

business. We then set out to develop 

qualification courses and products that 

serve the needs of the tennis industry 

now and for the future. This was a 

systematic review to understand also 

what employers wanted and from that, 

we have put our courses together that 

fits their needs. 

WHAT HAS CHANGED ON A 

LEVEL 1 COACHING COURSE 

COMPARED TO THE 

START OF 2021? 

The most common role for an 

assistant coach is helping run a larger 

session, or a smaller session with more 

quality and input from a trained expert. 

To be a great assistant you need to be 

a great communicator, inspiring and 

motivating. You also need to be able to 

give support to the lead coach as they 

implement the lesson plan and structure 

of the session. Communication, 

demonstration, organisation and feeding 

were all key aspects that employers told 

us are required to be a great assistant, 

so we have put that at the core of the 

LTA Assistant (Level 1) qualification. For 

example, being able to organise large 

groups in small spaces is key to ensure 

a child remains active and engaged. 

The qualification works hard to ensure 

coaches don’t revert back to the old 

fashioned ‘queue method’ whereby 

children stand around waiting to hit a 

ball every 45 seconds from the coach. A 

great assistant will keep everyone active 

and appropriately challenged, with 

exercises that look and feel like tennis. 


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The Slinger Bag ® is the most portable, 

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THE COACHING PATHWAY 

LTA Assistant (Level 1) 

This two-day qualification is ideal for tennis parents, enthusiasts, or keen players looking for 

the knowledge and skills to support group coaching sessions, alongside a lead coach. 

Learning outcomes include: 

— Communication, organisation and differentiation skills for group coaching 

— Basic tactical, technical, physical and mental development frameworks 

— Other key assistant skills; from safeguarding to LTA Youth delivery 

LTA Instructor (Level 2) 

This five-day qualification (split into four core and one elective day), is ideal for those 

looking to build on the coaching foundations of LTA Assistant (Level 1), enabling you to 

lead in the delivery of group coaching. This the equivalent of a group exercise instructor for 

tennis. 

Learning outcomes include: 

— Develop more advanced skills in communication and organisation 

— Have introductory knowledge of ‘observation and analysis’ of players 

— Be able to provide general coaching advice across physical, mental, tactical, and 

technical domains 

— Plan and deliver structured lessons from official LTA Adult and Junior coaching 

products e.g., Cardio Tennis, Tennis Xpress, LTA Youth 

— Understand basic principles of skill acquisition, safeguarding and player development 

Coach qualification (Level 3) 

The level 3 coach qualification course is for people who want to work full time within the 

tennis coaching profession. On successful completion of the coach qualification candidates 

will be trained to: 

— Coach beginners and improvers in groups and as individuals 

— Gain an expert understanding and ability to apply the coaching process in tennis 

— Understand the basics of business management 

— Manage the work of level 1 and 2 coaching assistants 

Senior Coach and Senior Performance Coach qualifications (Level 4) 

The LTA Senior Coach and Senior Performance Coach (SPC) qualifications (Level 4) are for 

coaches committed to developing their on and off court coaching skills beyond Level 3 Coach 

competencies across technical, tactical, physical and mental development frameworks. 

Business management, leadership and communication become a key focus to enable 

graduates to navigate the industry and their career with success 

Master Coach qualification (Level 5) 

The master club coach qualification is for coaches who are or who aspire to work at the very 

highest level of grass-roots and development coaching. 

On completion of the course, a master coach will be trained to: 

— Deliver on court sessions of the highest quality and expertise 

— Design, implement and evaluate the process and outcome of club programmes 

— Display leadership skills to create and manage change in dynamic club environments 

— Mentor a team of coaches to ensure delivery of a quality programme 

Coaching is exciting, active, flexible and rewarding. 

If you are interested in getting involved in 

delivering tennis coaching, you can find more 

information on LTA coaching courses, scan here 


SMARTPHONE! 


SMARTPHONE! 

WATCH: 

LTA Coach 

Development Plan 

WHY DID YOU NEED TO CHANGE 

THE COACHING COURSES? 

The industry insight suggested that it 

was too easy to pass Levels 1 and 2 and 

also that coaches were not ‘deployment 

ready’ when they graduated. This meant 

we had to go further, faster with our 

qualification curricula. There was a real 

perception that you could just move 

through the course, fill in the forms 

properly and you would get through. 

That’s how I felt when I re-did the 

Level 1 course a few years back, to get a 

flavour for what the LTA were offering 

at the time. 

WHAT CAN CANDIDATES EXPECT 

IF THEY SIGN UP FOR A COACH 

QUALIFICATION COURSE? 

We have bolstered the curriculum 

through our LTA Learn online platform 

that has invaluable coursework and 

video content on there for students. 

In the past, you could fill in forms and 

say you have done certain tasks, but 

you didn’t need to provide evidence 

on video so that is a key area we have 

changed. The industry research told us 

that communication, demonstration 

and feeding balls were the areas that 

were weak in the previous Level 1 and 

2 courses, so we have focused on 

making them a priority now and you 

can expect lots of helpful tips on how 

to feed, communicate and demonstrate 

with excellence, alongside fun drills 

and exercises. 

DO WE NEED TO TRY AND 

ATTRACT MORE FEMALE 

COACHING TALENT? 

We absolutely want to grow the number 

of females who choose a career in 

coaching and we know we have a lot of 

work to do in this area, with just 23% 

of LTA Accredited Coaches being 

female. After Emma’s win in 2021, we 

reached out to 3,500 female players 

who have experience in coaching and 

encouraged them to consider starting 

a journey on our coaching pathway. 

Delivering tennis to players of all ages 

and standards is a lot of fun and it would 

be great to see more female coaching 

talent coming with us on that journey. 

Through our LTA Coach Development 

Centres, we are funding a free pre-Level 

1 taster course for females to have a 

look at tennis coaching to see if it is for 

them and it is an area we are keen to 

promote. We also have modules within 

our pathway now that cover off how 

best to coach males and females, and 

what the similarities and differences are 

from a tactical, technical, physical and 

psychological perspective. 



GENERATION 

and supported by the All England Lawn 

Tennis Club to enhance the continued 

development of Great Britain’s 

junior players. 

New names took centre stage at 

the 2022 LTA Junior National 

Championships in April, as the 

cream of Britain’s best young 

players gathered for the 18 & Under 

and 16 & Under Championships 

at the National Tennis Centre. 

Above: 

The LTA’s base at 

Roehampton 

Two weeks of competition at 

the LTA’s base at Roehampton 

offered up a demonstration of 

the quality of the junior talent 

emerging through the ranks in Britain 

and for Bridgend-born Mimi Xu, 14, the 

two events proved to be a showcase for 

her promise. 

Xu won both the 18U and 16U titles 

in impressive fashion to secure a place 

in qualifying for the Wimbledon main 

draw, as well as entry to Wimbledon’s 

Girls’ Singles event that is staged during 

the tournament fortnight at the All 

England Club. 

The provision of the wild card entries for 

finalists and winners at the LTA’s 18U 

and 16U Junior National Championships 

is part of a move announced by the LTA 

THE NEXT 

“I enjoyed every moment of it. I have 

been playing well and I’m so happy to 

come through,” said Xu. “I feel like 

I played the big points well in both 

tournaments and now I have so much to 

look forward to in the next few weeks.” 

Katie O’Brien, who is a former British 

No.1 and is now LTA Women’s National 

Coach, watched the finals at the NTC 

and offered praise for the players 

involved. 

“The standard was excellent and that is 

the most pleasing aspect of the week,” 

stated O’Brien. “It has all been played 

in a good spirit. The quality in this group 

coming through is great this year and 

they all get along so well. There is great 

camaraderie among them, so hopefully 

they will all push each other on. 

“Staging the Junior National 

Championships at the National Tennis 

Centre this year has been great and 

it highlights that we are all one big 

family in British tennis at all levels 

of the game.” 

All four of the Girls’ semi-finalists in 

this year’s 18 & Under Junior National 

Championships are part of the LTA’s 

National Academy set-up, with Xu 

and her final opponent Talia Neilson- 

Gatenby both training at Loughborough, 

as part of the programme delivered by 

Nick Cavaday and his team. 

National Academies are generally 

for players aged 13 to 18, providing 

high quality, high-intensity daily 

training environments with world-class 

science and medical support, working 

in partnership with a local school, to 

help them successfully develop into 

emerging tour professionals. 

The academies are led by a team 

of world-class coaches together 

with specialist sport scientists, 

medics, personal development and 

welfare practitioners and Xu and 

Neilson-Gatenby are benefitting 

from that support, with the new 

champion relishing the best win of her 

career so far. 

The same is true of the 18 & Under 

Boys’ champion Luca Pow, with the 

Solihull-born teenager also working 

at Loughborough Academy and 

highlighting his potential with a win 


MEET THE 

2022 LTA 

JUNIOR 

NATIONAL 

CHAMPIONS 

Mimi Xu 

BORN: 2007 

BIRTHPLACE: BRIDGEND, WALES 

WINNER: 18U AND 16U FINALS 

TENNIS IDOLS: BELINDA BENCIC 

AND IGA SWIATEK 

Henry Searle 

BORN: 2006 

BIRTHPLACE: WOLVERHAMPTON 

WINNER: 16U FINAL 

TENNIS IDOL: NICK KYRGIOS 

Luca Pow 

BORN: 2005 

BIRTHPLACE: SOLIHULL 

WINNER: 18U FINAL 

TENNIS IDOL: RAFAEL NADAL 

against defending champion Will Jansen 

in a high-quality Boys final. 

“It feels good seeing my name on the 

trophy,” said Pow. “It was tough playing 

outside after playing our last two 

matches indoors and Will started off 

strong. I went 4-2 down in both sets and 

managed to come back to win. 

“It has been amazing to play at the 

National Tennis Centre. When you walk 

around this place and Joe Salisbury 

strolls past you, the world No.1 in 

Doubles, it’s crazy. 

“The backing we are getting from 

the LTA and the coaching team at 

the National Academy is giving us a 

massive help and we are grateful for the 

support we get.” 

Martin Weston, LTA Men’s Tennis 

Manager, paid tribute to both finalists 

after a successful week of tennis at the 

National Tennis Centre. 

“It was exactly the sort of match we 

want to see in a final,” said Weston, as 

he reflected on Pow’s win over Jansen. 

“They both played the kind of tennis we 

want to see, aggressive and brave and 

Luca did well to come back from 4-2 

down in both sets. 

“It has been an encouraging week for 

the boys and staging the event at the 

National Tennis Centre has been a 

big success. To be around the NTC in 

a week when a lot of our players 

are here and to walk past the US 

Open trophies won by Emma 

Raducanu and Joe Salisbury every 

morning was an inspirational experience 

for our junior players.” 

The 16 & Under Boys title was claimed 

by Henry Searle, who beat Viktor 

Frydrych in the final, and he along 

with many of the young players who 

shone at the LTA’s Junior National 

Championships have been playing in ITF 

events in Britain in recent weeks. 

These tournaments are part of the LTA’s 

expanded Performance Competition 

Calendar of Pro Level International 

ITF World Tennis Tour events staged in 

Great Britain this year, with the number 

of events rising from seven men’s events 

and eight women’s events in 2019 to 16 

for both men and women in 2022. This 

is in addition to the grass court season 

playing opportunities already in place. 

The aim is to provide more opportunities 

for players to compete more regularly 

at a higher level and make progressive 

ranking gains at the early stages of their 

careers. The increased calendar means 

that there will be over 40 weeks of 

either international ranking points or 

prize money-earning opportunities in 

Great Britain this year. 

With opportunities to play more 

competitions, the best young players 

in Britain are getting a chance to take 

their game to the next level and that 

can only help in their mission to play 

in tournaments of this calibre sooner 

rather than later. 



ALL EYES 

ON GLASGOW 

Tennis fans will have their eyes 

firmly fixed on Glasgow in 

the coming months after the 

Scottish city netted two of the 

sport’s biggest showpiece team events. 

Having won a bid to host the Group 

Stages of the Davis Cup by Rakuten 

Finals this September, the LTA secured 

the rights to host the Billie Jean 

King Cup Finals by BNP Paribas in 

November. 

Both prestigious team competitions 

will take place at the Emirates Arena in 

Glasgow – the Davis Cup between 13-18 

September, and the Billie Jean King Cup 

between 8-13 November. It promises to 

be a mouth-watering period for British 

tennis fans. 

The Billie Jean King Cup finals come 

at the end of a year in which the LTA is 

placing special focus on putting tennis at 

the forefront of women’s sport. 

Although Great Britain played host 

to the first ever Billie Jean King Cup 

Finals, (then known as the Federation 

Cup) which were held at the Queens 

Club in 1963 it is the first time 

the premier team competition in 

international women’s tennis will be 

hosted in this country since 1991. 

Anne Keothavong, Great Britain’s Billie 

Jean King Cup Captain said: “This is a 

fantastic opportunity to build the profile 

of women’s tennis and focus attention 

on women’s sport. The entire team are 

very excited about playing in front of 

a home crowd and hearing some loud 

support across the whole week.” 

The LTA plans to capitalise on hosting 

the event by further raising awareness 

of tennis as the leading women’s sport in 

a bid to inspire more women and girls to 

pick up a racket for the first time. 

The Billie Jean King Cup is the women’s 

world cup of tennis. Previously known 

as the Federation Cup and then the 

Fed Cup, the tournament will see 12 

teams compete to be crowned world 

champions. Joining Great Britain in 

the Finals will be teams from Australia, 

Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Italy, 

Kazakhstan, Poland, Spain, Slovakia, 

Switzerland and the USA. 

The event will be split into four roundrobin 

groups of three countries, with 

group winners qualifying for the semifinals. 

Each country will be represented 

by a team of up to five players who will 

compete in singles and, if needed, a 

doubles match in each tie. 


DAVIS CUP 

GROUP D: 

WHO GREAT 

BRITAIN 

WILL FACE 

USA 

The most successful nation in Davis Cup history, 

the USA have won an incredible 32 titles, the last 

of which came in 2007. Great Britain has a long and 

extensive history against the USA in the Davis Cup, 

most notably in their 2015 clash (also in Glasgow), 

where the Brits clinched a 3-2 win thanks to the 

heroics of Andy Murray and James Ward. The USA 

sealed their place at the 2022 Finals by defeating 

Colombia in the qualifiers, with Seb Korda and Taylor 

Fritz winning their singles match, and Rajeev Ram 

and Jack Sock combining to win the tie. 

KAZAKHSTAN 

Having competed in the World Group for the first 

time in 2011, Kazakhstan have since gone on to reach 

the quarter-finals on five separate occasions. They 

last faced Great Britain in the group stages of the 

2019 Finals, where Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski 

edged the deciding doubles rubber. Currently sitting 

ninth in the world rankings (one behind Great Britain 

in eighth), Kazakhstan overcame Norway 3-1 in the 

qualifiers to reach this year’s Finals. 

NETHERLANDS 

The Dutch team have been in and out of the Finals 

over the years – qualifying in 2019 but losing out to 

Kazakhstan in the 2021 qualifiers. Their best result 

came in 2001 where they reached the semi-finals 

before losing 3-2 to France. Like Kazakhstan, they 

last faced Great Britain in the 2019 Finals group 

stages, with Murray and Skupski proving decisive 

once again in the doubles. The Netherlands overcame 

a young Canadian team in the qualifiers to progress 

to this year’s Finals. 

BACK THE BRITS IN GLASGOW 

Keep an eye on the LTA website for ticket 

details for the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup 

Finals by BNP Paribas and 2022 Davis Cup 

by Rakuten Finals Group D matches in 

Glasgow – scan below for all the latest news. 

2022 Billie Jean 

King Cup Finals 

by BNP Paribas 

2022 Davis Cup by 

Rakuten Finals 

SCAN WITH YOUR SMARTPHONE! 

The LTA will be working closely with 

Tennis Scotland and local partners to 

capitalise on another tennis first by 

boosting engagement and increasing 

participation across the whole of Great 

Britain. 

Scott Lloyd, Chief Executive of the 

LTA, said: “We were ambitious to bring 

more major events to Great Britain and 

raise the profile of tennis across the 

whole year. This gives us a great chance 

to open up tennis to more people and 

create special memories we hope will 

inspire the next generation of players.” 

Following the award of the Billie 

Jean King Cup Finals to Glasgow, 

International Tennis Federation (ITF) 

President David Haggerty stated: 

“The LTA presented a very impressive 

bid as part of a competitive hosting 

process. They have successfully 

hosted David Cup ties in 

Glasgow, and we look forward 

to having the women’s World 

Cup of Tennis take place in front of 

passionate tennis fans from around the 

world in an electric atmosphere.” 

Meanwhile, the Davis Cup 

Group Stages will see 

the Great Britain men’s 

team back on home soil 

for the first time since 

2018. Great Britain have 

been drawn to face the 

USA, Kazakhstan and the 

Netherlands. 

The 16 competing nations have 

been split in to four groups, 

with each group hosted by 

a different European city. 

The Emirates Arena 

in Glasgow will host 

Group D with the other 

groups being played in Bologna (Italy), 

Hamburg (Germany) and Valencia 

(Spain). Each nation will play the three 

other teams in their group over the 

five-day competition, with the top two 

teams progressing to the quarter-finals 

in Malaga in November. 

LTA Head of Men’s Tennis and Davis 

Cup captain Leon Smith said: “We 

as a team, and our fans, experienced 

some of our best moments of Davis 

Cup in Glasgow and I know how much 

the players will enjoy the atmosphere. 

Any time we go up against the USA, 

it’s always a blockbuster occasion, and 

who can forget the amazing encounter 

we had in the same arena in 2015. It’s 

an amazing coincidence that we drew 

Kazakhstan and the Netherlands again 

in our group like we did three years ago; 

both nations are playing really well, 

but we will be confident of our chances 

especially in front of our own crowd.” 

The LTA was awarded a multi-year deal 

by the ITF and Kosmos Tennis to host 

the Group Stages of the Davis Cup. 

The agreement will last five years on the 

basis Great Britain qualify or receive a 

wild card for the Finals in each of those 

years. The ambition is to take the event 

around the country in future years as 

part of the LTA vision to open tennis up 

to new audiences. 

In the meantime, all eyes will be on 

Glasgow, as it becomes the first city to 

host Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup 

Finals events in the same year. 

Opposite page: Top: The Great Britain 

Billie Jean King Cup squad in Prague 

earlier this year; Bottom: The Emirates 

Arena hosting 2015 action; Great Britain 

celebrate their 2015 Davis Cup triumph 

Left: Great Britain’s captain Anne Keothavong; 

Top: GB fans cheer on the Davis Cup squad 



TOASTING THE 

HEROES OF 

BRITISH TENNIS 

LTA Tennis Awards crown worthy winners 

The 2022 LTA Tennis Awards were staged in May, with US Open champion Emma Raducanu claiming the Player of 

the Year prize alongside so many other heroes of the British game who were given recognition for their contributions. 

The winners of this year’s awards were announced by a host of special guest presenters, including Judy 

Murray OBE, Sally Bolton OBE, HRH the Duchess of Gloucester and TV personality Bear Grylls. 

2022 LTA AWARDS WINNERS 

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 

JENNY FROW (HEREFORDSHIRE & WORCESTERSHIRE) 

Jenny Frow has helped transform her local club, Bewdley. Jenny has taken on many roles including Chair and President, and was instrumental to a big 

clay court development which proved the catalyst for turning around the fortunes of the club. She’s inspired many women and girls to pick up a racket 

and was the brains behind Term Time Tennis, aimed at mums. 

CATHIE SABIN AWARD FOR VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR 

SUSIE GRIFFITHS (WALES) 

Susie Griffiths has transformed tennis in two venues in Anglesey. She has increased members from 60 to 200 at Bangor, transforming the website and 

social media profile. Then, despite personal adversity, she raised over £25,000 through crowdfunding and grants to establish a new club in Rhosneigr, 

which now boasts a successful coaching programme. 

YOUNG PERSON OF THE YEAR 

RUBY BISHOP (NORFOLK) 

Ruby Bishop is a true ambassador for tennis who not only represents Great Britain as a wheelchair player, but has shown relentless drive as a volunteer 

to raise disability awareness for other young people. 

PLAYER OF THE YEAR 

EMMA RADUCANU (KENT) 

Emma Raducanu became the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title for 44 years and the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title in the 

Open Era in winning the women’s US Open singles title. At 18-years-old, Emma became the youngest British woman to reach the fourth round of 

Wimbledon in the Open Era and jumped 324 places in the rankings to reach the world’s top 20. 

JUNIOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR 

BEN BARTRAM (NORFOLK) 

Ben Bartram started off 2021 by becoming the new World Junior No.1 in the ITF wheelchair tennis world rankings, before going on to win three gold 

medals at the School Games National Finals, and the singles and doubles at the prestigious British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships ITF Junior 

Series in July. 

PADEL PLAYER OF THE YEAR 

TIA NORTON (WARWICKSHIRE) 

Tia Norton became the first ever winner of the LTA Padel Player of the Year. Tia started playing padel aged 12, and after six years in the sport turned 

professional in August last year after becoming the first British woman to compete on the professional circuit. 

PERFORMANCE COACH OF THE YEAR 

BEN HARAN (SURREY) 

Ben Haran is the current coach of Hannah Klugman, William Jansen and Sophie Bekker, helping Hannah to wins at the LTA 14 & Under Nationals 

and Tennis Europe Super 12 event at Auray. He coached William through qualifying to win the LTA 18 & Under Nationals, gaining a wildcard into 

Wimbledon qualifying. 


1 

2 3 4 

5 6 7 8 

DEVELOPMENT COACH OF THE YEAR 

JIMMY SMITH (SUSSEX) 

Jimmy Smith delivers high quality programmes across multiple venues. No-one in Sussex has deployed more LTA Youth courses and his innovative 

disability programmes involve local charities delivering tennis to children, people with learning disabilities, autism and mental health problems. 

CLUB OF THE YEAR 

GRANTHAM TENNIS CLUB (LINCOLNSHIRE) 

Grantham Tennis Club’s membership has increased by 44% to over 1,200. Inclusion sits at the heart of the club and their vast programmes include 

coaching for all levels and ages, walking tennis, box leagues, LTA Youth and one of largest disability programmes in the UK. 

SCHOOL OF THE YEAR 

DEAL PAROCHIAL PRIMARY SCHOOL (KENT) 

Deal Parochial Primary School enhanced their free, in-school tennis provision for all 200 pupils. Following the relaxation of COVID restrictions, they 

quickly recommenced after-school tennis with staff attending LTA teacher training for LTA Youth, improving and broadening the school’s capacity to 

deliver consistent, quality tennis. 

UNIVERSITY OF THE YEAR 

UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD (YORKSHIRE) 

The University of Sheffield doubled membership with a club record of over 300 members and court hours up 130% on the previous year. To satisfy the 

demand for competitive tennis, Sheffield created two men’s development teams and one women’s team, offering players exclusive coaching and match 

play to develop their games. 

COMPETITION OF THE YEAR 

SUFFOLK TENNIS GRAND PRIX (SUFFOLK) 

Suffolk Tennis Grand Prix saw a collaboration between 10 coaches and their venues. To bridge the gap in young players competing regularly, they 

created competitions for beginner and improving players, providing monthly competitions for Red, Orange, Green and Under 18 categories. 

OFFICIAL OF THE YEAR 

MIKE CROSSLEY (SUSSEX) 

Mike Crossley officiated at Wimbledon qualifying and in the main draw, meaning three weeks in a secure bubble away from family. His performance as 

a Line Umpire culminated in his selection for the Women’s singles final. 

DISABILITY AWARD 

LUSU SPORTS (CHESHIRE) 

LUSU Sports was set up to change the attitudes, techniques and skills of people within educational and sporting environments. They have designed a 

washable kit bag with activity cards to become a “lesson in a bag”, specifically for people with a wide range of disabilities. 

COMMUNITIES & PARKS AWARD 

G TENNIS AND CHRIS MARSHALL (SURREY) 

The G Tennis programme led by Chris Marshall has been a pioneer in providing free and affordable tennis coaching sessions to those on low incomes. 

Chris has embraced a diverse community, presenting a positive image for tennis and delivering a comprehensive LTA Youth programme. 

PRESIDENT’S AWARD 

SARA BUTLER (WARWICKSHIRE) 

Sara Butler was undoubtedly the saviour of the Seniors Tennis GB programme in 2021! With Covid threatening the cancellation of the Seniors circuit, 

Sara stepped in. She swiftly took on the whole ITF Covid response for every day of four week-long tournaments, from Wimbledon to Wrexham, 

volunteering 29 days in total. 

SENIOR PLAYERS OF THE YEAR 

MARJORY LOVE & CHRIS ORNSTEIN 

Marjory Love was winner of the 2021 Over 70s Singles and Doubles at Wimbledon and the Over 70s Singles at the British Indoors at Wrexham. 

Marjory is currently top of her GB age group and captain of the GB 70s team for the World Championships in Florida. Chris Ornstein had an 

exceptional 2021 reaching his first World Championships Singles Final in Mallorca, having defeated both the world No.1 and the 3rd seed. 


TENNIS 

IN NUMBERS 

b y am y fl at m a n 

100 

litres of white marking 

paints are used during the 

Rothesay International 

Eastbourne. Chalk has not 

been used to mark courts for a number of years. 

The paint does not damage plant or soil structure 

11 

The 

number of times 

Martina Navratilova 

won the singles title 

in Eastbourne 

Above: Novak Djokovic lifted the Eastbourne title in 2017 

Above: Tunisa’s Ons Jabeur was a 

champion in Birmingham last year 

40th 

anniversary of 

the Birmingham 

Classic in 2022 

FACT: 

The Queen’s Club 

opened for Tennis 

in 1887 after the 

conversion of an 11-acre 

site that previously 

housed market gardens 

and a cricket pitch 



5 

blends of grass species are used in The Queen’s 

Club’s grass courts. There are 5 different ‘cultivars’ of 

grass (only 3 different species) 2 types of perennial 

‘rye’ grass, 2 types of ‘fescue’ and one type of ‘bent’ 

grass. All the courts are constructed from Ongar Loam - 

i.e. from Ongar in Essex. It has a clay content of 23% 

Above: Crowd numbers were limited for last year’s cinch Championships at the Queen’s Club 

1890 

Harry S Barlow was the 

first champion at the 

Queen’s Club, after 

the tournament was 

moved to its current 

location 132 years ago 

113 

Feliciano Lopez was the lowestranked 

player to win the Queen’s 

Club Championships in the 

open era, lifting the title when 

he was ranked at 113 in 2019 

Above: Preparing to play at Queen’s Club in 1918 

Above: Ashleigh Barty won the Birmingham title in 2019 

3 

Birmingham Champions have 

won the women’s singles title at 

Wimbledon – Maud Watson, 

Lottie Dod and Ann Jones 

1 

species of 

grass called 

‘monoculture’ 

is used at 

the Rothesay 

International 

Eastbourne. 

The courts are 

100% ‘rye’ grass 

DID YOU KNOW: 

The Queen’s Club 

Championships has been staged 

at The Queen’s Club since 1890. 

The tournament was initially held 

at Stamford Bridge, home of 

Chelsea football club, between 

1884 and 1889 before moving 

to The Queen’s Club in 1890 


32 

the number of inches 

in height of the cinch 

Championships 

winner’s trophy 

Right: Weather closing 

in at Queen’s Club 

23 

The number of times an 

American has lifted the 

women’s title in Eastbourne 

33 

Record number of titles won by 

American players at the Queen’s Club 

Left: 

John McEnroe is 

on the long list of 

American winners at 

the Queen’s Club 

DID YOU KNOW: 

Since 1979, John McEnroe, 

Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, 

Pete Sampras, Lleyton Hewitt, 

Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray 

(twice) have all won both The 

Queen’s Club Championships 

and The Championships, 

Wimbledon in the same year 



31 

The number of matches Andy Murray 

won at the Queen’s Club heading into 

this year’s cinch Championships 

DID YOU KNOW: 

In 1895, 20,000 people came to 

The Queen’s Club to see England 

play a football international 

against Wales. It was also one 

of the main venues for the 

London Olympics in 1908 

Above: Inspiring the next generation at the Birmingham Classic 

2,710 

Centre Court capacity at the 

Rothesay Classic Birmingham 

6,000 

metres of data cable is temporarily installed 

at the Rothesay International Eastbourne 

1970 

the year that the 

Nottingham Open 

commenced. Stan Smith, 

who is known as the namesake of a popular brand 

of Adidas tennis shoes, first won the event 

Above: Andy Murray with coach Ivan Lendl after his win at the Queen’s Club in 2016 

6 

record number of occasions Andy 

Murray has won titles at the 

Queen’s Club, including five singles 

wins and one doubles triumph 

1974 

Chris Evert won the first Eastbourne 

tournament staged 48 years ago 

8 

the 

mm length of grass on Centre Court 

at the Rothesay International Eastbourne 

(the same as The All England Club) 


DON’T MISS OUT 

Don’t miss your chance to 

watch the best wheelchair 

tennis players on the 

planet up close and FREE 

at Nottingham Tennis 

Centre from 12-17 July. 


SMARTPHONE! 

Book your free tickets 

now via the LTA website 



MOMENT IN TIME 

Three of Great Britain’s leading tennis players try their hand at 

making cupcakes during the International here in Eastbourne a 

decade ago. 

Johanna Konta, Anne Keothavong and the late Elena Baltacha 

showed off their baking skills under the sunny, south coast skies 

on day three of the 2012 tournament. 

Later that summer, Keothavong and Baltacha would play together 

in the doubles at the London 2012 Olympics. Sadly, just two years 

after this poignant photo was taken, former British No.1 Baltacha 

lost her battle with cancer at the age of 30. A tremendous talent 

and much loved person, ‘Bally’ will always be remembered. 

(L-r): Johanna Konta, Anne Keothavong and Elena Baltacha. 

Pic: Matthew Lewis/Getty Images. 




The Tennis Cafe 

Award Winning 

Tennis, Fitness and Cafe 

Gildredge Park, Eastbourne 

Coaching for Adult Beginners and Improvers 

Pre-school and children’s courses 

Centre of Excellence Performance Tennis 

Fitness sessions for adults 

… and amazing cakes and coffee! 

See our offers for 

The Rothesay International 2022 

www.thetenniscafe.com/offers 

Five time Sussex Community LTA Club of the Year 

London and the South East LTA Community Club of the Year 

National Runner Up LTA Community Club of the Year

LTA TENNIS 

FOUNDATION 

By Tim Lawler MBE – Chair of Trustees, LTA Tennis Foundation 

Thank you to the LTA for giving me 

the opportunity to introduce our new 

charity, the LTA Tennis Foundation, and 

explain a little about what we do. 

We are a new tennis charity that 

partners with brilliant people and 

organisations to improve lives 

through tennis. 

We share the LTA’s vision of ‘tennis 

opened up’, and we want to use our 

sport to make a real difference to people 

across the whole country. 

Our goal is to inspire more people from 

all backgrounds to discover the joy 

of tennis, challenge the status quo to 

open the sport up, work collaboratively 

with existing charities and partners, 

and invest in people, programmes and 

places to play. 

OUR GOAL IS TO INSPIRE 

MORE PEOPLE FROM ALL 

BACKGROUNDS TO DISCOVER 

THE JOY OF TENNIS 

TIM LAWLER MBE 

In short we want as many people as 

possible to share in the enjoyment and 

benefits of taking part in tennis. 

The funding we provide is solely for 

the grassroots of the game, and as the 

LTA’s charity we are committed to 

working in all parts of Great Britain 

with a particular focus on diverse and 

disadvantaged communities where the 

game is less well established. 

OUR BACKGROUND 

We are lucky to benefit from the legacy 

and support of two charities that have 

gone before us. 

Many of you will be familiar with 

the historical work of the Tennis 

Foundation and the LTA Trust. The 

Tennis Foundation was an independent 

charity which was fully incorporated 

into the LTA in 2018. The LTA Trust was 


C A R L O S A L C A R A Z 

I N T E S A S A N P A O L O N E X T G E N A T P F I N A L S 


EVERY SHOT 

EVERY EMOTION 


ATPTOUR.COM 

@ATPTour 

THIS IS 

TENNIS 




the LTA’s facilities investment charity 

and was responsible for grants to venues 

to expand or improve their facilities. 

Last year, the Tennis Foundation and 

LTA Trust were merged to form the LTA 

Tennis Foundation. We want to build on 

their success and reach even more people 

who would benefit from our funding. For 

this reason we will also be undertaking 

our own fundraising in the future. 

HOW WE WORK 

We are a loan and grant giving charity, 

and whilst we don’t deliver programmes 

ourselves we will work with partners 

who can deliver projects that match our 

objectives. We will give loans or grants 

to help our partners deliver new projects 

or to scale up existing work so they can 

reach a larger number of individuals. We 

will also sometimes support projects 

delivered by the LTA if the Trustees feel 

these meet the charity’s goals. 

As this is our first full year of operation, 

we will be working to build partnerships 

with existing charities and organisations 

to help understand how we can best 

support them and use our funding 

to improve access to tennis facilities, 

programmes and coaching. Our intention 

is to build strong relationships with these 

charities over the coming year, many 

of whom are or have previously been 

supported by the LTA. 

We are already investing in some key 

projects. As well as supporting facility 

developments at clubs and local authority 

sites, using our existing reserves, we are 

committing significant funding into the 

LTA and Government’s parks project, 

which will see hundreds of run-down 

tennis courts in local parks refurbished 

and fitted with new gate access systems 

to allow them to be booked and used 

more easily. 

We are also supporting the delivery of 

tennis in schools by providing £250 

worth of vouchers for tennis equipment 

to any school that signs up for LTA 

Youth – the LTA’s new and innovative 

junior programme created to help more 

children enjoy the benefits of playing and 

staying in tennis. 

In the future, we will support even more 

new projects and full details of how 

to apply for funding will be available 

later this year. 

OUR GOAL 

I believe the benefits that tennis can 

bring, both to people’s physical health 

as well as their mental wellbeing, are 

significant and our charity wants to give 

more people of all ages and backgrounds 

the opportunity to enjoy and share in 

these benefits. 

Whatever part you play in the tennis 

family - a player, coach, volunteer, official 

or fan - we hope you will share this belief, 

and work with us in the years ahead to 

open up our wonderful sport to more 

people. Scan here to find out more. 


SMARTPHONE! 



WALL OF CHAMPIONS 

1975 champion Virginia Wade (L) poses with Conchita Martinez and winner Chanda 

Rubin after presenting her with the trophy after the 2003 final in Eastbourne 

2005 women’s singles champion Kim Clijsters 

2015 winner Belinda Bencic 

(R-L) Lindsay Davenport and Lisa Raymond after their victory 

over Jennifer Capriati and Magui Serna in the 2003 doubles final 

2009 champion Caroline Wozniacki 

Martina Navratilova (left) and Pam Shriver pose with a cake 

to celebrate their 100th doubles win after the 1985 final - 

the penultimate of the duo’s six Eastbourne titles together 


2021 men’s singles winner Alex de Minaur 

Agnieszka Radwanska kisses the 

trophy after winning the 2008 title 

2007 champion Justine Henin 

alongside runner-up Amelie Mauresmo 

Bob and Mike Bryan - 2017 men’s doubles champions 

Karolina Pliskova - 2017 winner 

Novak Djokovic - 2017 champion in Eastbourne 


PERFECTLY BRITISH 

NYETIMBER THE PERFECT SERVE FOR 

THE ROTHESAY INTERNATIONAL EASTBOURNE

Marion Bartoli - 2011 singles champion 

Lindsay Davenport poses with the trophy after 

her victory against Magui Serna in the 2001 final 

Last year’s champion Jelena Ostapenko 

Justine Henin-Hardenne celebrates after winning the 2006 singles final 

Tamira Paszek of Austria - 2012 champion 

Madison Keys celebrates with the trophy after winning the 

women’s singles final against Angelique Kerber in 2014 


HARRIET DART 

FOR THE PASSION 

FOR THE glory 

FOR THE game 

Anett Kontaveit 

WTATENNIS.COM 

PETRA KVITOVA 

jelena Ostapenko 

TA FOR THE GAME WTA FOR THE GAME WTA FOR THE GAME WTA FOR THE GAME

A GREEN GAME 

Environmental sustainability is high on the agenda at the Rothesay International Eastbourne this year. 

Environmental sustainability is high on the agenda at the 

Rothesay International Eastbourne this year. 

Earlier this month, the LTA announced a long-term 

commitment for tennis in Britain to addressing issues related 

to environmental sustainability, protecting and supporting the 

environment and tackling climate impacts. 

As the national governing body for tennis, the LTA has recognised 

the important role it has to play with the publication of its 

Environmental Sustainability Plan, which sets out how it will help 

secure a lasting future for tennis in Britain, through positive action 

on climate change and leadership in sustainability. 

The plan acknowledges that the climate crisis, resource 

scarcity and changes to the natural environment not only 

represent global challenges but will also have an impact on 

tennis in Britain at all levels. Whether it be the impact of 

more extreme temperatures on grass court tennis at Britain’s 

major events, or rising sea levels and severe weather meaning a 

higher proportion of tennis venues at risk of regular flooding, it 

is critical that tennis plays its part in tackling these issues. 

The LTA knows it has a role to play in tackling its direct 

impacts, as a responsible organisation and event owner and 

operator, and in its Environmental Sustainability Plan has set 

out some specific actions to do this. 

As a result, the LTA’s summer grass court events will look a 

little different this year. Single-use plastic cups have been 

removed, with the introduction of a reusable cup initiative, 

and at the same time, visitors are being encouraged to top 

up their reusable bottles from free water filling stations, 

again greatly reducing reliance on single-use plastic. 

Other eco-friendly initiatives in place for the Rothesay 

International Eastbourne will see carbon neutral waste 

management company, B&S Services, harness 

energy from waste produced and enhance the 

commitment to achieving ‘zero waste to landfill’. 

After removing all recyclables such as cardboard, 

wood and metals, any non-recyclable waste 

is compacted into bales and transported to a 

Combined Heat and Power Facility where energy 

is harvested to produce electricity, steam and 

thermal heating. Discarded food waste is sent to an Anaerobic 

Digestion facility, which also generates enough renewable 

electricity to power 4,500 homes. At the same facility, micro 

organisms break food down into agricultural compost. 

In another green move, HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) 

fuel – made from 100% renewable materials – is used in 

temporary generators which can produce 90% less greenhouse 

gases and emissions, reducing carbon footprints significantly. 

Cam Norrie, British men’s singles No.1 welcomed the 

publication of plans, saying: “Changes to our climate and 

environment are the greatest challenge we face globally, and 

we have already begun to see the impact on tennis. 

“I’m really pleased that the LTA are making a long-term 

commitment to both reduce its own impacts, and work with 

everyone involved in tennis in Britain to protect and support 

the environment. 

“It’s really important that we all play our part, however big or small, 

to ensure that tennis is here to enjoy for generations to come.” 

Meanwhile, the LTA are urging visitors to reduce and limit 

their own environmental footprint when attending summer, 

grass court tournaments including here at the Rothesay 

International Eastbourne. 

HERE ARE FOUR POSITIVE STEPS TENNIS FANS CAN TAKE: 

1. RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE 

look out for recycling bins on site and please use them 

2. FREE WATER FOR ALL 

take advantage of the taps around the grounds to refill your bottle 

3. RETURN YOUR CUPS 

make sure you return your cup before you leave so it can be 

washed and used again 

4. GREEN TRANSPORT 

wherever possible, leave the car at home! 

Read the full LTA Environmental Sustainability Plan here 


SMARTPHONE! 



MOMENT IN TIME 

While the LTA has staged a pre-Wimbledon WTA tournament 

here in Eastbourne since 1974, the town’s association with tennis 

stretches back even further, as this striking image of spectators 

watching a tournament unfold here in Eastbourne way back in 

1889 demonstrates. Credit: Hulton Archive / Stringer. 







EVENT INFORMATION 

LIVE SCORES & ORDER OF PLAY 

Find out the day’s order of play at the 2022 Rothesay International 

Eastbourne, as well all the latest scores and the singles and doubles 

draws for the WTA, ATP and ITF wheelchair events on the LTA 

website by scanning here. 

———— 

PLAYER ENTRY LIST 

Find out which players are entered for the 

2022 Rothesay International Eastbourne by scanning here. 

———— 

EVENT INFO 

Got a question? Check out our ‘On the Day’ section for key 

information on everything from courtside etiquette to first aid, and sun 

protection advice to the grounds re-entry process by scanning here. 

———— 

GET SOCIAL 

Keep across the latest news, results, highlights and behind-the-scenes 

features from your favourite summer grass court events by following the LTA 

on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. 


OFFICIAL 

PROGRAMME 

18-25 JUNE 2022 

Rothesay International 18-25 June 2022

RothesayInternational2022

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