Tennis for all ages

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An innovative South Wales tennis club has enjoyed huge success with a series of parent and child mornings – the latest in a programme of initiatives generating new interest in the sport.

Rhys Jones, who is responsible for coaching and player development at Usk Tennis Club, said the events proved popular with family members of all ages.

“We have included cardio tennis, mini tennis, parents’ tournaments, parent versus children tournaments, games and tots tennis,” said Rhys. “It’s a unique mix of formats that has allowed many who thought tennis was inaccessible to take part.”

The sessions have averaged 40 participants and peaked at 62.

Rhys has also organized the first Welsh-language tennis camp in South East Wales.

“We really want to get as many people involved as possible, “said Rhys, also head coach at Tennis Squad.” We ran the Welsh language sessions at the Newport Tennis Centre and got a lot of interest. It’s the first time anyone has done this in the area, though I recently held a taster session at Ysgol Gymraeg Ifor Hael in Newport, where we had over 100 children learning tennis in Welsh.”

Rhys has been heard on BBC Radio Cymru this summer, giving his take on the Wimbledon championships, and presented his own tennis show on Newport City Radio, based around Wimbledon and local tennis developments in South Wales.

“It’s really exciting to see a club and a coach trying new things to encourage people of all ages and all abilities to play tennis,” said Simon Clarke, South Wales tennis development manager at Tennis Wales.

“Some people think tennis is not for them because they are not fit enough to play three sets – but there are different formats of the game to suit everyone, short versions of the game, which are great fun, very social and accessible to anyone.”

Information on all aspects of tennis in Wales is available from Tennis Wales on 029 2046 3335 or www.lta.org.uk/in-your-area/Wales/