When US tennis pro Jessie Aney contacted Urmston Tennis Club, to ask if she could use the club’s courts in preparation for an upcoming clay tournament in Stockholm, there was only one answer for Chairman Chris Ryan: “Of course – what a great opportunity to inspire as many women and girls as possible to get playing”. Thankfully Jessie was just as enthused by the chance to inspire more females to pick up a racket and, what followed, was a memorable event for the Lancashire-based club.
With the help of British players Holly Staff and Matt Earnshaw, Jessie treated the Urmston crowd to a fantastic exhibition match on the club’s clay courts. The event provided the perfect opportunity for the club to open their brand new viewing area which, thanks to the collective efforts of members and a local company, had seen an area of overgrown land transformed. The viewing area was the final stage of a recent £105,000 investment project for Urmston Tennis Club, which has seen the transformation of the club’s all weather and clay courts and the development of a new practice facility.
Having showcased her skills on the court, Jessie spent time mingling with attendees, sharing her experiences to date as a female tennis player and her goals and ambitions for the future. Whilst Jessie mixed with the Urmston crowd, local She Rallies Activators Dorothy Flynn and Debbie Ousbey delivered a taster She Rallies session for attendees, including Urmston Grammar’s after school club. The She Rallies programme was set up by Judy Murray in partnership with the LTA in 2016 with the aim of growing and retaining the number of female coaches and players in the UK.
Of the day, Chairman Chris Ryan said: “I am proud to be a member of this club and to experience days like this. It was great to see Jessie in action and also to meet her close friend Ingrid Neel, who is competing at the Fuzion 100 Manchester Trophy Event at the Northern. We wish them both the best of luck for their current and future tournaments and we hope they will return to Urmston next year as a pair to use the club’s fantastic clay and grass courts.
He continued, “Thank you to everyone who made today such a special day; to our members for their individual and collective contribution to the new viewing area that we are all so proud of and to Matt Earnshaw and Holly Staff for joining us and being such spectacular hitting partners for Jessie”.
Paul Bennett, Head of Region for the LTA, added “It is fantastic to see the club looking so vibrant and to see everyone so engaged. Engaging more women and girls in our sport is a key priority for the LTA so it is great to see the club using the opportunity of Jessie’s visit to inspire more females to pick up a racket. It is also great to have local She Rallies Activators Dorothy and Debbie here, running a session for attendees. It has been a fantastic day and the club should be very proud of all they have achieved”.
With the inaugural She Rallies session being such a success, Urmston Tennis Club will be incorporating the programme into their weekly Welcome Wednesday events, for which members and non-members are all encouraged to attend.