Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters

From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts. Become a member today

Caerphilly Tennis Club has come runner-up at the LTA Tennis Awards, making it officially one of the best clubs in the UK.

It follows on from success at the Welsh equivalent earlier this year, which the club won.

Despite having just one coach, Caerphilly Tennis Club supports more than 300 members, and host several charity tournaments across the year.

Coach Jonathan Morgan, 30, runs every session, with more than 40 hours of tennis played across dozens of age groups each week.

The club, which is based at Virginia Park, has had an extremely busy year according to coach Morgan. Speaking to Caerphilly Observer he said: “This year we’ve been trying to get as many people involved in tennis as possible.

“Obviously it was a great start to the year with the award here in Wales but we’re most proud of some of the events we have held. One of which was visiting eight primary schools across Caerphilly and getting over 1,300 children playing tennis.

“They all loved it of course, and the schools are grateful too. I’d really love to see tennis get the same exposure as football and rugby at schools but I understand it’s more difficult.”

One of the most interesting events coach Morgan and the club host each year is known as ‘To Wimbledon and Back’, which sees players hit the ball the equivalent distance of 260 miles, the distance from the club to Centre Court and back.

“We estimated that in a day we hit the ball 18,000 times to cover the distance, and in the process raised nearly £800 in eight hours”, said coach Morgan. “I don’t play in that personally so the praise goes to our 22 tennis leaders who did all the hitting”, he added.

Caerphilly Tennis Club has more than 40 ‘leaders’ in its ranks, consisting of volunteers around the age of 18 who help out during sessions.

The club’s flagship event however is its Wimbledon-themed open day which was held on Sunday July 9. Coach Morgan explained: “It’s a proper family day out where we get as many people involved across as many age groups as possible.

“We had over 245 people turn up, and I ran several classes including a family session that was supposed to be capped at 20 but saw 61 people take the court. It was mad, but great fun.

“In the evening there was a barbecue and a raffle; we managed to raise over £300 which will go back into the club.”

In recognition of the club’s hard work, the club came second at the LTA Tennis Awards in the category of ‘Tennis for All’. Asked what it meant to him, coach Morgan said: “It feels amazing of course, but it takes a full team and a great committee to get to this point.

“Our membership continues to grow and our junior section in particular is completely full. We go all year and we’re really excited for the future.