A tennis-mad coach from Nottingham has joined forces with local school children and one of the game’s biggest names in a drive to get more girls playing tennis.
Sasha Jones and Judy Murray were speaking on behalf of She Rallies, an organisation that Murray founded with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and Tennis Scotland two years ago to retain and increase the number of female players and coaches across the UK.
The She Rallies event at Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham saw over 80 girls take part in a range of tennis activities and 70 women trained to become She Rallies Activators - volunteers tasked with running community-based tennis programmes for girls - was one of a number taking place across the country over the summer.
The events are part of a drive to recruit 2,500 women from a range of backgrounds to train as Activators over the next 12 months across the UK, with around 400 expected to come from the Midlands.
“Today has been amazing – sunny,” said Sasha Jones, who is based at the Nottingham Tennis Centre. “All the activators are really engaged and enjoying themselves.
“I’m passionate about getting more women into coaching as I’ve always been the only female coach wherever I’ve worked. It’s been motivating for me, knowing we’re getting more women in the workforce.
“We’ve already got more females at Nottingham – more friendly faces – which really makes a difference in getting more girls doing the sport," she said.
Meanwhile, Judy Murray admits she hopes the event will continue to inspire more women to take up the game, which has just provided another successful ATP and WTA event at the tennis centre in the city.
“It’s been great to see the drive and enthusiasm of today’s new She Rallies Activators, who will go on to inspire more women and girls in the region to play tennis,” she said.
Reproduced courtesy of Nottingham Post