Two-time Deaflympic Games medallist Catherine Fletcher has been named by the Tennis Foundation as the new Great Britain Deaf Tennis Coach.
The seven-time National Champion has already taken up her position ahead of the 2013 National Deaf Tennis Championships, which will take place at the Gosling High Performance Centre, Welwyn Garden City from 4-6 May.
Fletcher made her Great Britain international debut as a player aged 12 before going on to make the first of four Deaflympic Games appearances in 1997. Since then she has won medals for Great Britain in every major international deaf tennis competition including gold in the mixed doubles with Anthony Sinclair at the 2009 Deaflympics in Taipei.
Now the 30-year-old from Burderop, near Chiseldon, Wiltshire is looking forward to being Great Britain Coach for the tennis event at the 22nd Summer Deaflympics in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 26 July to 4 August 2013, which she hopes will also be her fifth and last Deaflympics as a player.
"I've been very proud to represent Great Britain and win medals at many major championships over the course of the last 17 years and with so many special memories already, I'm excited by the challenges ahead," said Fletcher, who is a co-director with her husband, fellow Deaflympian Lewis Fletcher, of coaching business TennisXperienceUK. The couple, both LTA licensed Senior Performance Coaches, are currently joint Head Coaches at Ramsbury Tennis Club, near their Wiltshire home.
"I am thrilled to accept this position and my husband, Lewis, will be a huge support to me and British deaf tennis going forward. We are both committed to ensuring more deaf people pick up a racket and start enjoying playing tennis," said Fletcher, whose most recent international medal came with her husband when they won bronze in the mixed doubles at the 2012 European Deaf Tennis Championships in Koblenz, Germany.
Cathy Fletcher and Anthony Sinclair with their Deaflympics gold medal
"We are delighted to have Cathy on board as she brings so much experience from both a playing and coaching perspective. I'm sure we can continue the successful history of British deaf tennis at a performance level while also attracting more people to play the game at development level," added Geraint Richards, the Tennis Foundation's Head of Disability Player Performance.
Deaf tennis follows all of the same rules as tennis and requires no adaptation aside from communication where sign language is used by players and officials where required.
Share