Tennis is leaving the grass courts and infiltrating some more unusual places after a pop-up tennis court was set up under the Canning Town flyover.
The Tennis Foundation and Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) are supporting members of the Newham-based FRE Flyers, who began as a group of East End children receiving coaching from the GB men's hockey team, to become tennis activators and spread the reach of a new sport.
To encourage people to pick up a racket and have a go at tennis, the team set up 'Instant Tennis' underneath the Canning Town flyover and have attracted a number of people passing by, some who had never played tennis before.
Executive Director of the Tennis Foundation, Geoff Newton, visited the venue to lend his support.
"I think the whole concept is marvellous and it's a fantastic way of taking tennis to the community, rather than waiting for them to come to us," he said.
"We also want to build a wider and more diverse tennis workforce and this helps do exactly that by giving the FRE Flyer activators more experience."
LTA Tennis Development Manager for East London Alissa Ayling also visited the facility to help out and was delighted to see the amount of people new to tennis trying out the sport.
"Our mission is to get more people playing tennis more often and through trying out these new, bold ways to introduce people to tennis we hope we are encouraging a new generation to find a sport for life," she said.
"Tennis is a sport for everyone and we want more people to understand this and hopefully start playing more at their local parks and clubs."
The facility at Canning Town is open Monday to Thursday every week until September 19 from midday until 6.30pm.
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