Teenager named Young Person of the Year in UK tennis awards

A teenager who completed more than 160 hours of volunteering has been recognised for his efforts at this year’s LTA Tennis Awards.

Jonah Jones, 16, received the Young Person of the Year accolade from the governing body for tennis in Britain on account of his tireless work both on and off the court.

Last year saw Jonah, from Caerphilly, set up his school’s first after-school tennis club.

In a virtual ceremony held on Thursday, July 30, Jonah was presented with his award by Gordon Reid MBE, multiple wheelchair tennis Grand Slam champion.

Jonah, who started at Caerphilly Tennis Club in November 2018, said he was “exceptionally proud” and “overwhelmed” to win the award.

He added: “I hope that I can continue to provide for the club, school and community through the acts of leadership.”

Meanwhile, Caerphilly Tennis Club was nominated for the Club of the Year category at the awards, while head coach Jonathan Morgan was nominated for the Coach of the Year award.

Coach Morgan said: “It’s an amazing achievement for Jonah and one we’re all very proud of at Caerphilly Tennis Club.

“We’re also pleased to be named a national Club of the Year finalist for the second year in a row, and I was very honoured to be shortlisted for the national Coach of the Year award.

“We were told by the LTA team that to have three national finalists from one club is a historic achievement.”

Currently in their fifth year, the LTA Tennis Awards celebrate the achievements made by tennis volunteers, coaches, officials, venues and players in Britain.

Streamed live on LTA channels and presented by Leon Smith OBE, the national ceremony – which was digital for the first time in the awards’ history – saw the likes of current British No.1s Dan Evans and Johanna Konta pick up the LTA’s Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year awards respectively, alongside 16 other deserving national winners.

This year saw more than 2,000 nominations across grassroots categories including Young Person of the Year and Club of the Year.

Nominations were drawn from more than 25,000 volunteers, 4,400 coaches, 940 officials, 20,000 schools, 2,700 clubs and more than 9,700 LTA approved tournaments.

LTA president David Rawlinson said: “To be named a national winner out of over 2,000 public nominations is a fantastic achievement so I’d like to congratulate all of this year’s winners and extend my thanks to each and every one of them for all that they do to help tennis in Britain.”

To find out more information about the LTA Tennis Awards or for information on how to play, coach, volunteer or officiate in tennis, head to lta.org.uk.