The Duchess of Gloucester visited the British Tennis Experience area on Wednesday to find out what the LTA are doing to promote tennis at The Championships.
Her Royal Highness spoke to volunteers working at the area and visitors taking part in the activity, which forms part of the LTA’s Tennis Is campaign.
Visitors can share what Tennis Is to them via a photo booth and message wall.
“The Duchess was keen to find out more about what we were doing and how the activity is helping to inspire more people to play tennis, more often,” said Jenny Smith, British Tennis Membership Coordinator.
The British Tennis Experience area is being supported by two teams of volunteers, who were recruited via a selection day following over 240 applications. The team comprises a range of ages, backgrounds and tennis experiences.
Ellie Lambert was one of the volunteers who talked to the Duchess of Gloucester.
“It was a real privilege to meet the Duchess and tell her about the work we’re doing,” she said. “She was really interested, asked lots of questions and was enthusiastic about the area.”
Jenny Box, Volunteer Engagement Manager, added: “The Duchess commented that the work we’re doing with volunteers fits nicely with the Olympic legacy.
“That was really nice to hear, because the value of volunteering is high on the agenda at the moment and we’re lucky in tennis to have over 35,000 dedicated, passionate people giving their time to grow our sport.”
The Tennis Is campaign is a national initiative, delivered locally, to get more people playing tennis, more often. The campaign aims to encourage around 1.5m people who play tennis every now and again to play more often, through targeted local and national promotional events, in three core environments of club, community and education.
To find your local place to play tennis, visit www.allplaytennis.com.