lta Targets Improved Serves With New Deal
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has announced a three-year partnership with tennis training equipment brand TargetBound Sports.
TargetBound is a rebound target coaching aid created as a training tool to help players improve the quality of their serving, as well as practice their returns.
As part of the agreement, members and coaches of LTA Advantage – the LTA’s membership scheme that provides exclusive benefits, discounts and content – will receive significant discounts on the product.
TargetBound Sports was founded by Shane Deacon, a tennis coach working in the USA and UK since 1993.
On announcing the deal, Deacon said, “Having seen first-hand the difficulty players and coaches have in engaging quality practice for the serve and serve plus one, I decided to do something about it.
“After working on various tools and techniques, I came up with the idea for TargetBound and developed it with the help of Sheffield Hallam University Centre for Sports. We are so excited to make this product available to coaches and Advantage members, having seen the energy and excitement it brings to serve practice.”
The product, which can be adjusted to cater for all ages and abilities, comes with free access to ‘Discover’, a suite of on-demand classes with ideas for drills and challenges.
LTA Product & Programme Manager Jo-Anne Downing, added, “One of our key strategies is to find new ways to get people to play tennis and find innovative new ways to connect people to the sport and enjoy the game.
“Tournament statistics show that 70% of points are won or lost in the server’s first and second shot. This product gives players new ways to develop their serve and transition to the next shot. It creates measurable practice sessions for players at all levels of the game with the aim to ultimately improve performance in matches.”
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