Tennis in London

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The London Assembly has investigated what is being done by sport bodies and local authorities to capitalise on the Wimbledon summer tournament and so increase all year round tennis participation in London. We came across examples of good practice where young people are encouraged to play tennis at grassroots level, such as the Westway Tennis Centre in Kensington, but there is a need for funding for networks of community clubs that co-operate and better support each other on a number of sport initiatives. Our report highlights a number of barriers that limit the amount of people playing tennis at grassroots level - for example, the poor condition of London's local authority tennis courts. Where almost half of children in inner London households live in poverty, affordable tennis lessons at convenient locations are essential. Our report finds that investing in our young tennis hopefuls is essential if we want to benefit from having a champion nurtured in the capital. Lessons could be learned from events in New York during the US Open, where much of the city is signposted with information about tennis, and our report calls on the Mayor and Visit London to consider using Trafalgar Square to screen Wimbledon matches, and host exhibition or celebrity games in prominent public places. Decision makers need to start planning now if the annual excitement of Wimbledon is to be exploited and translated into greater opportunities for Londoners to become more active all the year round.