Scheme aims to get more young women into tennis

A three-year partnership has been launched to open tennis up to more people across London.

Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) have begun a collaboration, with a £500,000 investment, called Rally Together London - a programme which will train 250 people from underrepresented backgrounds to join the tennis workforce and facilitate sessions for local communities.

The programme aims to help at least 5,500 more young people to play the sport - with a minimum of 50% to be female.

The wider partnership will see the mayor and the LTA work on various initiatives and campaigns to promote women's tennis and women's sport across the capital.

Rally Together London plans to recruit, train and deploy 200 tennis activators to deliver the sport and help grow the LTA's Barclays Free Park Tennis programme - which offers weekly sessions with equipment provided on public park courts - and LTA SERVES, which takes tennis into local communities for young people.

The announcement comes as a women's tennis tournament returned this week to the Queen's Club for the first time in more than 50 years, with the HSBC Championships 2025 running until 15 June.

The capital is also set to host the Women's Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham Stadium, as well as football, basketball, rugby league, hockey, cricket, netball, athletics and triathlon.

Sir Sadiq said: "The really exciting aspect of this partnership is that we will be reaching young people across the capital, and specifically young women, as we create new opportunities for them to play tennis, train as coaches and get jobs in the industry."

LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd said: "We know that London is a tennis city, with iconic events like the HSBC Championships engaging and inspiring the next generation to pick up a racket and play on accessible community facilities, including park courts in every London borough."

Naomi, an LTA SERVES activator from Badu Sports based in east London, said: "Tennis is an amazing sport, and I've seen the impact that it can deliver for young people in London first hand, helping them get active, developing skills and confidence."

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