The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has announced a new five-year partnership with banking firm Barclays. Both will work together to ‘get 150,000 people playing tennis regularly.’ The agreement is part of LTA’s project of getting half a million people playing tennis at tennis parks across Britain.
Together they will work towards removing all hurdles and obstacles in sports and will be introducing grassroot tennis to the local communities. Their agreement will see them provide tennis equipment and coaching classes to the community as they aim to provide ‘people of all abilities, ages, and backgrounds a welcoming and accessible opportunity to play tennis in their local parks.’
Clare Balding, Barclays Ambassador, commented,
“As a Barclays ambassador I have seen first-hand the hugely positive impact their grassroot football programmes have made to local communities. As soon as I saw their work in action, I knew I had to be part of helping launch and roll out their new tennis initiative to get 150,000 more people playing a game that really is for everyone. Whether you’ve never held a racket before, you used to play, or you’d love to get your children playing, Barclays Free Park tennis is for you. I can’t wait to see even more people discover and love tennis like I do.”
Tom Corbett, Barclays Head of Sponsorship, added,
“Sport enriches lives and communities like nothing else. It brings people together and has the power to boost confidence and wellbeing and build life skills for participants. We’ve seen this impact through our grassroot football programmes, and I’m delighted we are now bringing our experience to the world of grassroots tennis through our new partnership with the LTA. Whether your goal is getting fit, getting closer to your community, or picking up a new sport – it’s going to be fun, free and open to all.”
Scott Lloyd, CEO of LTA, said,
“We want tennis to be welcoming, enjoyable and inspiring to everyone. This means taking tennis into as many communities across Britain as possible. Barclays Free Parks Tennis will be like a ‘Park Run’ for tennis, with free equipment, court space and instruction for players of all ages. We’re also excited to be partnering with Barclays on Big Tennis Weekends and Local Tennis Leagues to grow participation even further.”
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