Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) Chief Executive Roger Draper has visited a number of top-class Suffolk tennis facilities and insists the sport is prospering in the area.
Four of the county’s top tennis facilities opened their doors to give Roger Draper a guided tour with Culford Sports and Tennis Centre, Copleston Tennis Club, Christchurch Park and Ipswich Sports Club all visited.
It was a double celebration for the Ipswich Sports Club as Roger Draper was on hand to open the centre’s brand new courts. The club received a grant of £44,964 and a loan of £67,446 from the LTA, with support from Sport England, to replace two existing clay courts with two new floodlit macadam tennis courts.
Christchurch Park is also currently benefitting from the LTA’s support as they received a grant of £160,000 to renovate five courts on the site and work is currently a month away from completion. The funding is part of the LTA’s commitment to improve playing facilities and to enhance access to tennis nationwide.
Roger Draper said: “Tennis in the county is really booming at the moment and it’s been fantastic to see for myself the hard work that is being done in Suffolk. The facilities I have seen today at Culford, Copleston, Christchurch Park and Ipswich are all top quality and are a superb addition to the local community.
“It continues to be the LTA’s aim to make tennis more accessible and affordable and I’ve seen some fantastic community facilities. I was thrilled to open the new courts at Ipswich Sports Club – this underlines the LTA’s commitment to improving tennis facilities up and down the country.”
Paul Sheldrake, Community Tennis Leader at Ipswich Sports Club who led the development at Christchurch Park, said: “We are always glad to see Roger in the county and to show him around the local facilities.
“The project at Christchurch Park is very exciting and to get a 100 per cent grant from the LTA to fund it is fantastic. There are five courts there and we are confident they will be up and running within the next month.
“The courts at Ipswich Sports Club are now open though and we are happy Roger was here to officially open them for us.”
Richard Lewis, Sport England’s Chair, said: "It's vital that public funding for sport goes into facilities that meet the highest standards, are welcoming, and cater for everyone. That's how we’re going to get more people using them every day.
“The new facilities will offer more playing opportunities for its members and provide further options for more people to play tennis for longer."
The funding has been provided as part of British Tennis’ facilities strategy which has received substantial investment from Sport England. This makes an important contribution to the drive to increase tennis opportunities for people to participate, compete and get access to coaching at all levels of the game in communities nationwide.
The LTA makes financial support available through its resources and ensures investments will deliver the maximum return for British Tennis through more people playing and more hours on the court across Britain. There will be an increase in the number and standard of facilities nationwide which will be available to the whole community at a reasonable, affordable cost.
To find out where your nearest court is, visit: www.lta.org.uk/playtennis