Miss UK jetted into Billesley Indoor Tennis Centre yesterday ahead of the AEGON Classic which starts next week, in a bid to encourage more girls to get involved in tennis and stay in the sport. Katharine Brown is not only the nation’s beauty queen but she’s also a qualified tennis coach and ran a coaching master class for girls from the surrounding West Midlands area.
As well as adding a touch of glamour to proceedings, Katharine was keen to highlight the benefits of the sport and why more girls should give tennis a go. Katharine said;
"With the AEGON Classic just around the corner, now is the time for girls to feel inspired to pick up a racquet and head to their local court. Tennis is fantastic sport for girls of any age. It keeps you fit, it’s fun, social and is a sport for life. The women’s game in Britain is on a real high and players like Laura Robson and Heather Watson are great role models for young girls – proving you can be a sportswoman and still be glamorous."
The coaching session included girls from the Warwickshire LTA’s Sport Unlimited programme. As part of the programme they run girls-only sessions at parks and clubs across the region. Having Miss UK taking them through their drills and exercises made it a coaching session to remember.
Local girl Erin Carrabin was one of the lucky seventeen girls that attended the session. The 13-year-old from Hall Green said;
"I used to play a lot of tennis when I was younger but I haven’t played for a while now. I heard that there was a coaching session at Billesley just for girls and I wanted to come along to have hit again. It was great meeting Katharine and she made it really fun. We did different exercises, group work, rallying and mini-games. After today’s session it’s inspired me to keep playing. I'm going to start trying to find ways to fit more tennis around my school work and hopefully get my friends to play too."
To see photos from the day click on the liks below:
Miss UK Forehand Demo
Class Shot 1
Class Shot 2
Doubles Fun!
To purchase tickets for the AEGON Classic call the box office on 0871 230 7154 or for group bookings (groups 8+) call 0871 231 0847 or visit the main page by clicking here.