As the British season approaches, a voluntary organisation has launched a campaign urging councils across Wales to ensure that public courts are accessible to everyone wanting to play tennis.
Tennis Connect Wales has called on local authorities to commit to opening public tennis courts daily between April and October, and is asking fans of the sport to join its #GatesOpen4All campaign by sharing their experiences of public tennis courts in Wales via social media.
Steve Milne, founder of Tennis Connect Wales, said: “Not everyone lives near, or can afford, a private tennis club and for many people in Wales a court at their local park or leisure centre is the only way they can play the sport.
“A lot of the time you’ll find that the gates to these courts are locked. It defeats the purpose of having them there in the first place.
“In Wales we’re not blessed with the greatest weather and, with a shortage of decent indoor tennis facilities too, it’s important to make the most of any good weather we do get.”
The Lawn Tennis Association has identified an increase in ‘parks’ tennis as a key factor for the future growth of the sport in the UK but Mr Milne, from Crosskeys, is concerned at the “little sign of change in non-traditional tennis areas like the South Wales Valleys or more rural parts of North Wales.”
He said: “If you’re looking to grow parks tennis then surely your first priority is to make sure the courts are open, and stay open.
“Imagine where the sport would be now if Mike Davies, the Welsh tennis player credited with blazing a trail for modern tennis, had not been able to get in to play at Cwmdonkin Park in Swansea.
“Unless community facilities are made available to everyone then the next generation of Welsh tennis players may never get to realise their potential.”
Tennis Connect Wales is a not-for-profit voluntary organisation which has been set up to help give young people the chance to take up tennis, regardless of economic background.