Lawn Tennis Association
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The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the
national governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...
of
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
, the
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and the
Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...
. Founded in 1888, the LTA promotes all levels of lawn tennis. It believes that tennis can provide "physical, social and mental rewards both on and off the court." The National Tennis Centre (NTC) in Roehampton, southwest London serves as its main training facility. The
Princess of Wales Princess of Wales (Welsh: ''Tywysoges Cymru'') is a courtesy title used since the 14th century by the wife of the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. The current title-holder is Catherine (née Middleton). The title was firs ...
has been an LTA patron since 2017. Its first president was seven-time Wimbledon champion William Renshaw.


History

The British Lawn Tennis Association formed in 1888, eleven years after the first
Wimbledon championship The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is play ...
. It was tasked with maintaining the new rules and standards of the emerging sport of tennis in the United Kingdom. In 1978, a government inquiry was carried out into the state of British tennis, which accused the LTA of complacency and a lack of action in developing the game. During the 1980s and 1990s, a number of initiatives were launched in an attempt to raise the profile of tennis in the UK, and to promote interest and participation in the sport outside of the Wimbledon fortnight. Millions of pounds were invested in the building of indoor centres, and on coaching and training initiatives. However, by the end of the 1990s, it was clear that these broad initiatives were not having the desired effect, so the LTA turned to more targeted approaches with the aim of: attracting and keeping juniors in the game; changing the culture among clubs to become more "junior friendly"; identifying the best young players and helping them develop. This led to the launch in 2000 of Club Vision, a new strategy for providing greater support and resources to progressive tennis clubs, followed in 2001 by the City Tennis Club programme, which was specifically aimed at encouraging young players from diverse/deprived backgrounds in inner-city areas. In 2004, the Lawn Tennis Association considered changing its name to "Tennis GB" in an attempt to shake off its old-fashioned middle-class image, and attract more young people to the sport, but the proposed move was not implemented. In March 2019, the LTA launched a new initiative called "Tennis Opened Up" to promote the sport to a wider audience, with a stated mission "to grow tennis by making it relevant, accessible, welcoming and enjoyable". Alongside the initiative, there was also a major rebranding strategy in which the full name "Lawn Tennis Association" was discarded and a new LTA logo was unveiled.


The National Tennis Centre

The National Tennis Centre (NTC) is located at
Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, in the Putney SW15 postal district, and takes up a far western strip running north to south of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large council house estates and is home to the U ...
in southwest
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, close to the
All England Club The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam ...
in
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...
. Officially opened in 2007 by Queen
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
, the NTC is a focal point for Britain's top tennis players, with 22 courts, player accommodation and a sports science centre.


Tennis courts

The NTC has twelve acrylic
hard courts A hardcourt (or hard court) is a surface or floor on which a sport is played, most usually in reference to tennis courts. It is typically made of rigid materials such as asphalt or concrete, and covered with acrylic resins to seal the surface and ...
(six indoor, six outdoor), six
clay court A clay court is one of the types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Clay courts are made of crushed stone, brick, shale, or other unbound mineral aggregate depending on the tournament. ...
s, and four
grass court A grass court is one of the four different types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Grass courts are made of grasses in different compositions depending on the tournament. Although grass c ...
s. Hard courts – The NTC's acrylic courts have a GreenSet Grand Prix Acrylic surface. The indoor courts have a sprung timber sub-frame, while the outdoor courts are laid directly on asphalt. This GreenSet surface is used at many international tournaments including the 2 Hard court Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
and US Open,
Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...
,
Fed Cup The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
,
WTA Tour The WTA Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125K series, and third-tier is the ITF Women's Circuit. The men's equivalent is the ATP Tour. WTA Tour tourna ...
and
ATP Tour The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organis ...
events. Clay courts – The NTC has two different types of outdoor clay courts which have been designed to withstand the harsh UK climate and to allow for the longest possible clay court playing season and maximum use. There are four Italian clay courts (identical to the courts used at
Foro Italico Foro Italico is a sports complex in Rome, Italy, on the slopes of Monte Mario. It was built between 1928 and 1938 as the Foro Mussolini (literally Mussolini's Forum) under the design of Enrico Del Debbio and, later, Luigi Moretti. Inspired ...
and
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
), and two French-Court synthetic clay courts. Grass courts – The LTA consulted All England Lawn Tennis Club head groundsman Eddie Seaward to advise on the installation of its four outdoor grass courts. The quality and playing characteristics replicate those found at the Wimbledon Championships.


Training facilities

Along with its 22 tennis courts, the NTC is equipped with a state-of-the-art gymnasium, outdoor sprint track, hydrotherapy, plunge pools and relaxation 'egg'. There is overnight accommodation for up to 54 people, along with a player lounge and recreation room.


Sports science centre

The National Tennis Centre provides services in Strength & Conditioning, Medical and Physiotherapy, Performance Analysis, Nutrition, Performance Lifestyle and Psychology. The Sports Science and Medicine team at the NTC supports Britain's elite players with the following: * Strength & Conditioning – Maximising players’ athletic potential through developing their power, strength, speed, movement and fitness * Medical and Physiotherapy – Supporting all aspects of physical health from short term illnesses and minor injuries through to long term injury rehab * Performance Analysis – Developing players’ knowledge and understanding of their game and progress against their goals * Nutrition – Supporting and educating players to make the right food choices in order to fuel and repair their body effectively and perform to their best * Performance Lifestyle – Coaching and supporting players and their coaches/teams to navigate off court, personal, wellbeing or transition situations * Psychology – Supporting players and their coaches/teams to develop psychological skills and strategies to enhance on court performance


LTA Coaching Qualifications

The LTA is also responsible for administering and implementing tennis coaching at all levels in the UK. The current structure is as follows: Level 1 – Coaching Assistant – The Level 1 Coaching Assistant is an introduction to tennis coaching. Level 1's are qualified to plan and deliver a structured lesson under the guidance of an accredited coaches. Level 2 – Coaching Assistant – Level 2 Coaching Assistants are qualified to coach groups of beginners of any age, on their own, under the umbrella programme of an accredited Coach. Level 3 – Coach qualification – The Coach Qualification covers the key coaching skills required to be an effective coach to work with beginners and improvers of any age in groups or individually. At this level they are then eligible to gain Coach Accreditation; this ensures they are up-to-date with the latest tennis knowledge, they are First Aid qualified and have a satisfactory criminal record check. Level 4 – Senior Club Coach qualification – This qualification is aimed at coaches who would like to manage a section of a commercial club or team of coaches. Level 4 – Senior Performance Coach qualification – This course is designed for coaches who wish to develop their knowledge and skills to develop international junior players aged 14 and under. Level 5 – Master Club Coach qualification – Upon completion of the course, a Master Club Coach will be able to deliver high quality on court sessions at clubs, mentor a team of coaches, and implement and assess a club programme. Level 5 – Master Performance Coach qualification – Master Performance Coaches are equipped to work with international performance junior players, aged 11 – 18 years. The course is designed to develop coaches to be versatile and transition between different performance players and environments.


See also

*
List of British singles finalists at Grand Slam tennis tournaments Despite being the founders of the sport of tennis, Britain has not enjoyed much success in the four Grand Slams; namely the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. The most recent British winner was Emma Raducanu, who won ...


References


External links


Official LTA site
{{Authority control 1888 establishments in the United Kingdom
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
Organisations based in the London Borough of Wandsworth Roehampton Sport in the London Borough of Wandsworth Sports governing bodies in the United Kingdom Tennis in the United Kingdom