If it’s a Tuesday evening, you’ll find Rachel Mckeon making her mark on court at Manchester’s Alexandra Park, with Tennis Tuesdays. Created by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) in partnership with Nike, Tennis Tuesdays is one for the girls – fun, social tennis sessions led by a trained coach and different weekly themes to help female players improve their game and connect with other women of a similar standard. The sessions were launched in Alexandra Park in May 2015 with a visit from former British number 1 and Fed Cup team captain, Anne Keothavong, and have been running ever since.
Rachel started playing tennis two years ago, when the courts in Alexandra Park were first built. Once she had got to grips with the basics, she started regularly attending Tennis Tuesdays sessions at Alexandra Park. Besides helping to improve her game, Rachel credits Tennis Tuesdays with introducing her to many other tennis-loving women in Manchester:
‘When I first came to Tennis Tuesdays a few of us started swapping phone numbers in order to arrange to meet up and play tennis in between sessions. From this, a Facebook page was set up and I now invite everyone who comes along to Tennis Tuesday to join!’ said Rachel.
The Facebook page now has 27 members who regularly use the platform to arrange social, female-only tennis matches at the park.
Of the Tennis Tuesdays sessions at Alexandra Park, Rachel said: ‘The sessions involve some coaching but also provide lots of opportunities to just hit balls and compete against each other. It definitely gets you moving and feeling fitter. Now is a great time to give it a try and get outdoors in the park’.
Players can join a Tennis Tuesdays session at Manchester’s Alexandra Park on a ‘pay & play’ basis for just £4 session. Attendees can also access the Nike Tennis Tuesdays customer reward scheme which rewards attendance with t-shirts, bottles and other Nike merchandise. Rackets are available to borrow at the sessions.
Tennis Tuesdays sessions run weekly at Alexandra Park from 7.30-8.30pm – book your place online here: www.clubspark.lta.org/AlexandraPark5/Coaching. Courts in the park can also be booked online at www.clubspark.lta.org.uk/AlexandraPark5
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