Judy Murray & LTA Launch Female Tennis Initiative
Judy Murray has partnered with the Lawn Tennis Assoication (LTA) to announce a new female tennis initiative.
From 3rd to 5th February, Judy Murray and the LTA will host a weekend of events that aims to attract and retain many more girls and women in tennis across the UK.
‘She Rallies’ has been created to strengthen and grow the female workforce with the goal of attracting and retaining more women and girls in tennis. In its first year, the programme will focus on establishing a group of regional female ambassadors who will work closely with Judy Murray after completing a weekend of training under her direction. The training will cover four key areas; starter tennis for girls aged five to eight, tennis for teens, how to run girls fun days and delivering recreational competitions.
The She Rallies ambassadors will then provide training and equipment to women from both tennis and non-tennis backgrounds within their regions, and empower them to give more girls the opportunity to play tennis locally.
Launching on Friday 3rd February in Birmingham with a first of its kind female coaches conference, the day will bring together a number of female speakers from various sporting and business backgrounds, including performance coach, Emma Doyle, award winning journalist, Sue Mott, sports psychologist, Dr Leanne Rimmer and Judy Murray. The aim is to give the female coach attendees ideas, information and networking opportunities, whilst inspiring them to rally together and deliver great tennis experiences to women and girls. The 4th and 5th of February will then be dedicated to training the future She Rallies ambassadors.
Judy Murray said: “There is still a significant gap in terms of players and coaches at all levels of the women’s game. This has to change. She Rallies will create opportunities in tennis for women and girls from the grassroots through to international level. The coaches conference on 3rdFebruary is a fantastic way to kick-start a really exciting programme and one that will have a positive impact on the growth and profile of women’s tennis throughout the UK.”
Rob Dearing, head of participation at the LTA, commented: “We’re committed to growing the game from grassroots up, and we know that women have a key role to play in helping us get there. Judy’s passion and unwavering determination for encouraging people to pick up a racket and have a go is why she’s the perfect person to drive this initiative forward and rally the female troops across the country.”
