Written evidence submitted by the Lawn Tennis Association

16 November 2020

 

Introduction

 

The LTA is the national governing body (NGB) for tennis in Britain, and as a not-for-profit organisation, our role is to govern and grow tennis in Britain, from grassroots participation through to the professional game.

 

Millions of people take part in tennis in Britain every year, including as players, coaches, volunteers and officials. Tennis delivers physical and mental health benefits and helps establish important life skills, regardless of age, ability or background, as well as helping to tackle societal issues like loneliness and obesity. When our top British players experience success at major events on home soil and around the world, the country comes together as fans and the next generation are inspired to pick up a racket.

 

The LTA’s vision is to open up tennis and these benefits to more people and places across the country by making it more relevant, accessible, welcoming and enjoyable to anyone, from players of all abilities and backgrounds to its many millions of fans.

 

Executive Summary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are current sports governance models fit for purpose?

 

1.      As the national governing body for tennis in Britain, the LTA is governed by its Board, who determine the strategy of the LTA, consulting with Council, on the basis of proposals submitted by the Executive Team to deliver the LTA’s vision of tennis opened up and its mission to grow tennis by making it more relevant, accessible, welcoming and enjoyable. The LTA Council is the forum representing those bodies which are members of the LTA, including county associations and other organisations involved in tennis.

 

2.      The main revenue flows into tennis in Britain come from The Championships, Wimbledon, organised by the AELTC. As part of an agreement until 2054, the LTA receives 90% of the distributable surplus from the event, to invest back into tennis in Britain in exchange for the sale of the LTA’s 50% share of the AELTC Ground Company, agreed in 2008. The LTA’s other major revenue stream is from LTA summer grass court events including the Fever-Tree Championships at the Queen’s Club, the Nature Valley International in Eastbourne, the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham, and the Nature Valley Open in Nottingham. Additional revenue grants from Sport England to the LTA fund a range of programmes aimed at growing participation in the sport. .

 

3.      As a not-for-profit body, the LTA invests all revenue back into tennis, including programmes to sustain and grow participation, and developing the next generation of top British tennis players through the LTA Performance Pathway. The LTA provides extensive support to the 2,700 clubs and registered venues, 38 counties, over 6,000 LTA accredited coaches and many other organisations who make up the tennis community in Britain. The LTA Trust, an independent charity which is part of the LTA Group, also promotes community participation through funding for investment into tennis facilities.

 

4.      The current governance structure for tennis in Britain works effectively for the sport, as it ensures that profits from one of the nation’s most iconic events in The Championships, Wimbledon, are reinvested back into the long-term development of the sport. The insurance that the AELTC had in place for 2020 will provide some protection to the surplus, and the AELTC continues to make good progress in concluding their claim for the cancellation of The Championships 2020. However, the LTA’s financial outlook for 2021, and therefore its ability to invest in support of the sport at all levels, is almost entirely dependent on the operational outcome of the LTA’s major events and The Championships in 2021. The AELTC is actively planning for The Championships 2021 based on three broad scenarios – a full capacity, a reduced capacity, and no capacity – with the financial implications of these scenarios varying in impact, given that The AELTC has no pandemic insurance for 2021. Whilst the LTA is working to diversify its income streams and reduce the focus on a very narrow window in which tournaments take place during the summer, the current challenging financial climate that COVID-19 presents makes this harder.

 

5.      Aside from this current financial context for the LTA, the most significant challenge with the structure of tennis in Britain is that the LTA does not own or control the delivery channels for the sport. This means that whilst the LTA is able to support tennis at all levels, the impact of COVID restrictions and uncertainty have a direct ongoing impact on clubs, venues and other organisations within the sport which in the majority of cases have limited remaining financial reserves.

 

6.      Opportunities to participate in grassroots tennis also rely significantly on local authority-owned tennis facilities. A network of 54 Community Indoor Tennis Centres, which are predominantly owned by local authorities and operated by leisure trusts are vital in providing affordable, community-accessible opportunities to participate in the sport year-round, and are particularly important for disability tennis activity which often cannot take place outdoors. In addition to clubs and other venues, there are also around 2,500 park sites with tennis courts, predominantly in England, which local authorities are responsible for. These are particularly important sites for growing tennis, and need to be protected and further developed.

 

At what level of sport should the Government consider spending public money?

 

Supporting those whose participation has been most impacted by COVID-19

 

7.      The LTA currently receives public investment comprising both Exchequer and National Lottery funds via Sport England to support four key strands of activity: talent development; growing tennis among lower socio-economic groups; disability tennis; and women and girls tennis.

 

8.      This funding is vital in ensuring that the LTA can deliver programmes to grow the sport, particularly amongst those groups whose participation has been most impacted by COVID-19. Given the ongoing financial impact of the pandemic and climate of uncertainty around the LTA’s own revenue streams, this public funding will remain key to growing and developing tennis. Any reduction in Exchequer funding from Government would directly and negatively impact on levels of participation among these groups at a time when it is more important than ever to ensure that the nation is active.

 

9.      The new strategy which the Government published in August 2020 on tackling obesity focused on healthy eating, with some accompanying proposals around increasing levels of active travel. Government also needs to recognise and invest behind the important and central role that sporting activity including tennis can play in tackling obesity, but also in driving positive health outcomes more broadly. This can help to build back better from COVID-19 with a happier, healthier nation.

CASE STUDY: LTA OPEN COURT PROGRAMME

 

The LTA’s open court programme enables people with a disability or long-term health condition to pick up a racket and play tennis. Around 15,000 disabled people played tennis on a monthly basis across the 500 venues involved. Almost 60% of monthly participants are players with a learning disability, with the remainder including wheelchair tennis players, visually impaired players and deaf or hearing impaired players.

 

As part of the programme, the LTA supplies venues with adaptive equipment, training and resources to increase opportunities for disabled people to get involved in tennis, as well as dedicated support and advice from the LTA team.

 

Supporting disability-specific participation activity is just one strand of the LTA’s work to make the health and social benefits of the sport open to disabled people. It sits alongside activity to make tennis more inclusive, supporting venues and coaches to open their doors and make tennis welcoming to disabled people whether they want to play, volunteer or coach.

 

Grantham Tennis Club

 

Grantham Tennis Club in Lincolnshire deliver the LTA’s open court disability tennis programme, at the centre of a programme in the county delivering disability–specific and inclusive sessions to over 250 regular participants.

 

The club started their Feeling Good project in 2017 as part of the open-court programme, running regular weekly sessions aimed at supporting those with long-term mental health conditions. Sessions have an emphasis on fun and friendship, and attendees have reported a range of positive benefits including improved confidence, reduced social anxiety, and better overall mental and physical health.

 

Jak is a regular participant in the project. “It has certainly helped meeting new people and gave me a sense of purpose that I was missing in my life. I have met so many nice, caring people who I didn’t think existed. This has done wonders for my mental health and has got me into a sport that now I thoroughly enjoy participating in. I now feel a lot more confident in myself to go forward in life."

 

 

Investing in sporting infrastructure

 

10.  The Government’s 2019 manifesto recognised the need for, and committed to, investment in sporting infrastructure. Prior to the pandemic, long-term investment in sporting infrastructure was urgently needed, to update existing facilities but also to build new facilities which could help provide opportunities for more people to take part in and benefit from sport and physical activity, and create jobs. Whilst there are pressing immediate concerns for the future viability of community sport, Government should not lose sight of this long-term need.

 

11.  For tennis, the LTA had developed a facility investment strategy to build 96 new community indoor tennis centres in Britain in areas that are currently lacking provision, the majority of which are among the most socially deprived areas of the country. The LTA was planning to invest £125million over the next ten years, working in collaboration with a range of partners to transform the tennis landscape across the country and help provide more opportunities for year-round participation. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that some of the funds that were previously allocated for facility investment have necessarily been deployed elsewhere to help the tennis community through the immediate impact of the pandemic.

 

12.  As the nation recovers from the pandemic, strategic investment from Government is therefore needed into sporting infrastructure, to complement investment from sporting bodies like the LTA, level up opportunities to access and participation in sport and physical activity, and to create new jobs.

 

Supporting local Government

 

13.  Councils are one of the biggest investors in culture, sport and leisure, spending over £2billion a year[4]. Local authorities across the country play a vital role in providing and maintaining community tennis facilities, but are facing significant financial challenges as a result of the pandemic. Whilst sport and leisure is not currently a statutory service, it is vital that Government continues to ensure public investment into grassroots sport at this level.

 

14.  High quality, accessible local sporting facilities, including park and community tennis facilities, are vital in providing opportunities for people to participate. The LTA’s insight shows that park tennis facilities in particular are vital in helping lower socio-economic groups be active through the sport, with around 1.5million adults playing tennis in parks every year.[5]

 

A focus on children and young people

 

15.  Children and young people have been particularly impacted by the pandemic. Whilst participation in tennis among adults has seen an uplift over the summer following the lifting of lockdown restrictions, with schools closed during the summer term the LTA is forecasting that weekly participation in tennis among children may fall by up to 100,000 this year. This demonstrates the crucial role that PE and school sport plays in getting children active.

 

16.  The first experience of sport for many is at school, and so it is imperative that the Government delivers increased funding and resource for sport in schools, both within and outside the school day, support of the good intentions outlined in the Government’s School Sport and Activity Action Plan. Sport, PE and physical activity should be placed at the heart of the curriculum, with physical literacy placed on a par with literacy and numeracy, ensuring that every child meets the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended hour a day of sport and physical activity. To deliver this, existing investment through the Department for Education should continue, including the £320million annual investment through the PE and School Sport Premium. This investment will help ensure that every child, no matter what their background or which school they attend, has the opportunity to take part in sport, ensuring that children in this country are the happiest and most active in Europe. Included in this should be additional funding to help school facilities open outside of the school day for community use, unlocking more of the thousands of tennis courts on schools sites, around which the LTA is exploring options to support schools and colleges.

 

17.  Government should also invest, via Sport England, to support opportunities for children to take part in sporting activity outside of the school day. The LTA has developed a cutting-edge junior programme, LTA Youth, which will be rolled out across schools, parks and tennis clubs in 2021, aimed at helping more children play, and stay in tennis whatever their ability or background. The programme is a leading example from the sector of how sport delivers so much more for young people than just time spent active, with it being specifically designed to develop character skills and physical literacy that will benefit children and young people beyond the court, helping them develop things such as resilience and respect. But to be able to deliver the programme, tennis clubs, venues and organisations need to be able to survive through the coming difficult winter.

 

What are the biggest risks to the long-term viability of grassroots sport?

 

18.  Since tennis was permitted to restart following the first national lockdown, there have been some positive signs in terms of participation in the sport. Recent LTA participation data from September 2020 showed that adult yearly participation in Britain had increased to 4million, from 3.75million in 2019.  This increase has predominantly been driven by increased participation among younger adults and lower socio-economic groups.

 

19.  This welcome news has however been checked by the impact of restrictions on indoor tennis and national lockdown measures restricting all indoor and outdoor tennis – with these restrictions being in place despite the naturally socially distant nature of the sport and so the risk of spreading the virus through playing tennis being very low. Whilst there remains significant demand for playing tennis, the biggest current risk to the long-term viability of grassroots tennis is the direct ongoing financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the clubs and venues, organisations and workforce that comprise the tennis community in Britain.

 

20.  The financial impact of COVID-19 on national governing bodies such as the LTA which are reliant on spectator attendance to generate revenue also presents significant risks to the future of community sport. Without a proper plan from the start of 2021 to return spectators to stadia in reasonable numbers by summer 2021, or additional financial support from Government, the LTA’s future ability to support grassroots tennis will be hugely limited.

 

Significant ongoing financial impact

 

21.  There are around 450 tennis venues in Britain with indoor tennis facilities, which have generally been those most severely impacted by the pandemic, as indoor tennis has faced the strictest restrictions throughout 2020. These include community indoor tennis centres, tennis clubs with indoor courts, and commercial tennis venues.

 

22.  Whilst these venues have been able to access some of the Government’s support measures, most notably the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, most experienced ongoing costs during their enforced closure, with a sustained reduction in revenue throughout 2020.

 

23.  The LTA has particular concerns about the network of 54 community indoor tennis centres across Britain, which are vital in providing opportunities for people of all ages to play the sport year-round. Without additional support, the LTA is concerned that up to one-third of centres could permanently close, which would have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of many thousands of people who rely on these venues to be active.

 

24.  The tennis workforce, including around 6,000 LTA accredited coaches who are predominantly self-employed or small businesses, has also been impacted by the pandemic. Whilst many coaches have been able to access Government support including the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, it will take time for the full implications for the coach workforce to be clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CASE STUDY: COMMUNITY INDOOR TENNIS CENTRES

 

The network of 54 community indoor tennis centres (CITCs) are predominantly owned by local authorities and operated by leisure trusts.

 

Through initial closure, these venues experienced an average loss of income of c£250k, compounded by ongoing mothballing costs averaging between £10-15k per month.

 

Prior to the introduction of tiered restrictions in England, the average operational deficit for CITCs was in the region of £10-20k per month, with around 20% of venues yet to re-open at all. Additional restrictions in tier 2 and 3 areas have meant further closure of venues in many cases, as restrictions on adult participation mean it is not financially viable for them to open.

 

Importance of centres to their local communities

 

Deborah Briggs, has attended weekly sessions at Corby Tennis Centre in Northamptonshire since 2008. She said: “I work for the NHS as a trauma specialist part-time and look after my mum (86) the rest. Tennis is a really important release for daily stress. Corby Indoor Tennis Centre has been a lifeline for me and indirectly for my patients too. I can't emphasise enough how important CTC is for mental and physical health – it would leave a huge void were it to close.”

 

Maryann Kuranga, takes her daughters to coaching sessions at Bromley Tennis Centre in Kent. She said: “BTC has been central to the physical and emotional development of both my daughters Brianna and Kayla – it supports their social development and well-being and has taught them discipline, structure and the values of being a team player. I’m not sure what we would do without BTC being open.”

 

 

Restrictions on participation

 

25.  National lockdown throughout the United Kingdom in spring 2020 limited all tennis activity for at least two months, and subsequent national restrictions in Wales and England have seen further suspensions on all tennis activity, for two and four weeks respectively. These restrictions have seen a considerable impact on participation, with the most recent restriction on participation in England throughout November likely to have prevented well over one million adults and children who usually play tennis monthly from participating.

 

26.  Whilst the tiered system of local restrictions that Government introduced in England in October provided exemptions for indoor sporting activity for children, education and disabled people, indoor sport for adults was restricted to members of the same household only at tier 2 (high) and tier 3 (very high). A similar tiered system in Scotland has permitted far more indoor sporting activity for adults, with all indoor tennis permitted to continue at the equivalent of England’s tier 2, and singles or doubles between two different households permitted at the equivalent of tier 3.[6]

 

27.  In England, the system of tiered restrictions presented significant additional financial challenges for venues with indoor courts in tier 2 and tier 3 areas, as well as reduced opportunities for many adults to take part in safe, indoor sporting activity and be active through the winter months. Ongoing restrictions on tennis activity, particularly indoors, following the period of national lockdown, will present further significant financial challenges for indoor tennis facilities, and put many at risk of permanent closure.

 

 

 

 

CASE STUDY: TENNIS WORLD, MIDDLESBOROUGH

 

Tennis World is a club near Middlesbrough, with 4 indoor courts, six outdoor courts, two Padel courts, a clubhouse and bar. Tennis World has in the region of 1,200 weekly users, including 400 juniors and 800 adults, aged between 2-92 and taking part in organised coaching, club nights and pay and play tennis open to all members of the public. The club also provide free court time access as part of their leasehold terms and have a formal tennis development plan in place with their local authority.

 

Organised tennis activity includes visually impaired and autism-friendly tennis sessions, as well as a range of junior programmes and adult coaching. Tennis World also hosts a range of LTA tournaments throughout the year, as well as regular club nights and sessions for tennis and Padel.

 

Impact of COVID-19

 

Ordinarily Tennis World’s turnover would be in the region of £250k+ per annum. However, due to the impact of COVID-19 the facility is already projecting a minimum of £70k+ lost income across all tennis activity, bar and function income, and employee costs where the furlough scheme could not be accessed.

 

Whilst Tennis World was able to access the Government’s furlough scheme and received some financial support from the LTA through suspension of loan repayments, the club did not qualify for any of the Government’s grants based on their rateable value. Tennis World have been unable to access any of Sport England’s financial support to date, and whilst the club was able to access a Government bounce back loan, it now has to service this additional debt.

 

Tennis World, like all tennis clubs and venues, has put in place significant health and hygiene protocols to ensure they are COVID-secure. However, ongoing restrictions present a challenging financial operating context. Under tier 2 restrictions prior to the introduction of national restrictions, Tennis World’s monthly operational deficit was around £5k.

 

Mark Foster is President of Tennis World: “Tennis World, like many such facilities, is a life blood of community activity, providing both physical and mental wellbeing opportunities to all, playing a great sport in a socially distanced manner that is arguably safer than two individuals going for a walk or going to the gym that was still allowed in tier 2 and 3 lockdown areas.  The lockdown and / or tiered restrictions on facilities such as Tennis World significantly impact the opportunity to cater for the physical and mental wellbeing of all participants, to enjoy sport in what is a very challenging period of time for everyone, and is impacting the financial viability of the facility, which will, the longer restrictions go on, place a level of debt burden on the facility that may be challenging dependent on the period of lockdown measures. 

 

“Tennis World is a facility, like many such centres, that can help fight the impact of COVID with regular socially distanced participation and there has been no scientific evidence presented that refutes that position.  I urge the DCMS to seriously look at this as restrictions on centres that can demonstrate a COVID secure environment and are damaging for the sport, the facilities, the players and visiting public when such centres can be a force for good in the fight against COVID”.

 

Phil Caswell is a long standing playing member of Tennis World: “Having jointly ran the family business all my working life I recently retired and took great pleasure in this coinciding with the advent of padel tennis at Tennis World. Initially, I struggled to reconcile my new found liberation but in padel I found a solution to my adjustment to retirement both physically and mentally, playing 4 or 5 times a week. The identity I felt I had lost was reborn on the courts. I am pretty sure that I speak for many people at our club and elsewhere in the country - padel and tennis must return at the earliest opportunity for the many benefits it offers us all!”

 

 

What key measures could the Government introduce to increase the resilience of sports clubs and venues?

 

A Sports Recovery Fund

 

28.  To support community sports facilities and clubs, a Sports Recovery Fund is required from Government, similar to the £1.57billion Culture Recovery Fund of additional funding which has been delivered for organisations in the arts and cultural sector. Whilst the £35million Community Emergency Fund which Sport England diverted from existing funding provided some welcome support to clubs and venues through the initial national lockdown, restrictions on tennis venues with indoor courts in particular have meant the pandemic has had a significant ongoing financial impact.

 

29.  Additional support is desperately needed by indoor venues, and a comprehensive fund from Government could help to safeguard the future of tennis facilities across the country that are at the heart of their communities. Whilst Sport England’s £15million return to play fund is also welcome, this needs to be backed up by far greater additional funding from Government, which could be targeted to ensure that it benefits those groups whose participation in sport has been most impacted by COVID-19, simultaneously supporting the Government’s aspiration to level-up opportunity across the country.

 

30.  The package of £100m funding announced by Government for public sport and leisure facilities is a good start, but this funding is likely to be spread very thinly across thousands of facilities, and ongoing restrictions are likely to mean additional support will be required to prevent many public tennis facilities from permanently closing.

 

31.  Support should also be considered for those sporting bodies, like the LTA, whose revenue streams and ability to invest in community sport are ultimately reliant on spectator attendance at major sporting events returning to normal.

 

Regulatory and policy change

 

32.  In his summer statement, the Chancellor announced a temporary VAT reduction to 5% for businesses in the hospitality sector and for accommodation and attractions, which was subsequently extended for six months. A temporary VAT reduction to 5% for sports and leisure activities in line with this reduction for other sectors, would also be highly effective in supporting sporting bodies and grassroots sports facilities in the first two quarters of 2021.

 

33.  The Government’s exemption on business rates for businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors provided some support to tennis clubs, venues and organisations, and extension of this exemption for 2021-22 would provide additional support for grassroots tennis. More fundamentally, Government should consider a permanent 100% business rate relief for all not-for-profit sports clubs, venues and organisations, in recognition of the significant health and wellbeing value that they help to deliver to communities across the country. Doing so would also simplify the existing system for clubs and venues, many of which are operated or managed by volunteers with limited experience of the rates system, and minimise the administrative load on organisations.

 

Protecting sport in future national and local restrictions

 

34.  Throughout the pandemic, Government, and particularly the Government’s medical and scientific advisors, have been clear on the vital importance of exercise in the nation’s fight against COVID-19. Whilst walking, running or cycling provide exercise options for some, many millions of adults and children are reliant on tennis to be active.

 

35.  The LTA, tennis venues and coaches have all put in place significant health and hygiene protocols since the sport was first allowed to return in May 2020, following the initial national lockdown. Tennis is a safe, socially distant sport, both indoors and outdoors, with very low risk of transmission of the virus.

 

36.  A priority for Government in future local and national restrictions should be on keeping outdoor and indoor sporting facilities, including tennis courts, open. As England emerges from a second national lockdown, Government should ensure that indoor tennis is permitted with members of different households across all tiers, to provide more opportunities for people to be active and also help safeguard facilities for the future by allowing them to generate revenue from court bookings and membership.  Prior to national lockdown, group indoor exercise classes were permitted for adults across all tiers of local restrictions, and tennis activity should also be permitted on this basis in any future restrictions.

 

To what extent should elite professional sports support the lower leagues and grassroots?

 

37.  The structure of tennis in Britain ensures that the profits generated by elite tennis events staged in this country, namely The Championships, Wimbledon and the LTA’s own summer grass court events, are fully invested into the long-term development of the sport by the LTA.

 

How should Government make this happen?

 

Return of spectators – impact on the whole of tennis in Britain

 

38.  Whilst the Government’s support in helping elite sport to return behind closed doors quickly following the initial lockdown was very helpful in providing opportunities for top British players to return to competition and prepare for the resumption of the international tennis calendar, the LTA’s main revenue stream, and therefore the main stream of revenue for investment into grassroots tennis, is from The Championships, Wimbledon.

 

39.  The AELTC is actively planning for The Championships 2021 based on three broad scenarios – a full capacity, a reduced capacity, and no capacity – with the financial implications of these scenarios varying in impact, given that The AELTC has no pandemic insurance for 2021. The LTA uses the income it receives from all sources, including The Championships’ surplus, to support British tennis from the grassroots to the professional game, and therefore this income is vital to supporting and growing tennis across communities.

 

40.  To ensure that elite professional tennis is able to continue to support tennis in Britain, Government should continue its work to return spectators to stadia as soon as possible. British sport has the very highest standards in spectators safety and experience, and detailed plans for the return of fans under social distancing have already been developed with DCMS and Public Health England, with a range of pilot events staged. A plan is required from Government for the recommencement of pilot events, and a full roadmap for the return of spectators, in line with consistent and objective use of evidence on local and national infection rates and aligned to the rollout of mass testing and a vaccination programme. The use of technology to help implement this should continue to be explored, and Government should consider acting as an insurer of last resort for 2021, underwriting ticket revenue. A plan is essential in helping to provide sporting bodies like the LTA plan with some confidence for the future, both in terms of staging events, but also in supporting and funding the communities who rely on them. 

 

A fair return from betting on sport

 

41.  The Government’s forthcoming review of the Gambling Act can provide an opportunity to reset the relationship between sport and gambling and open an additional stream of funding for grassroots sport. Whilst elite sport has returned behind closed doors, sporting bodies continue to be impacted by restrictions on spectators, whilst the betting industry’s profits continue to be driven by live sport. The LTA, like many other sporting bodies, also has a longstanding policy of not accepting sponsorship or other commercial partnerships with betting operators, whilst receiving no income from for their use of tennis.

 

42.  As the UK leaves the European Union, there is also an opportunity for Government to legislate to reintroduce sports betting (copyright) rights into UK law. This has historical precedent, prior to the imposition of the EU Database Directive into UK law in 1996 and subsequent European Court of Justice ruling on William Hill vs British Horseracing Board in 2004.

 

43.  After horseracing and football, tennis is the third most bet-on sport in the UK, but the LTA has a longstanding policy of not taking sponsorship from gambling companies and so does not see any benefit for the use of our sport in betting products.

 

44.  The greater freedom the UK now has to set policy in this area after leaving the European Union could therefore provide an opportunity for the reintroduction of a Sports Betting Right which would provide an additional revenue source for sporting bodies like the LTA to invest into grassroots sport. This could complement existing lottery and Exchequer funding, helping to safeguard vital community tennis venues, clubs and organisations and support the tennis workforce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

             

 


[1] https://www.sportengland.org/news/why-investing-physical-activity-great-our-health-and-our-nation

[2] https://www.sportengland.org/know-your-audience/data/active-lives/active-lives-data-tables?section=children_and_young_people_surveys

[3] https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3673184

[4] https://www.local.gov.uk/lga-councils-one-top-investors-culture-sport-and-leisure

[5] https://www.lta.org.uk/about-us/tennis-news/news-and-opinion/general-news/2020/june/lta-targets-parks-tennis-revolution-as-players-flock-back-on-court-after-coronavirus-lockdown/

[6] https://www.gov.scot/publications/covid-19-scotlands-strategic-framework/