Cambridgeshire tennis player says Wimbledon gives 'impetus to start again'
It's hoped more people will pick up a racket and play thanks to the tournament
A tennis player in Cambridgeshire has said tournaments like Wimbledon have given her the urge to carry on playing.
Figures from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) show more than 700,000 children are playing the sport weekly, with 3.6 million playing yearly.
While the LTA found more than 5.6m adults are playing annually and beyond 2.6m monthly.
"Wimbledon would give me that impetus to start again"
Kathryn Booth, secretary of Chatteris Tennis Club, has played tennis since she was 16-years-old.
"I remember when I was younger, I didn't always play tennis; I used to pick up a racket and put it down again," she said.
"Every Wimbledon, I would think 'I'd ought to pick that racket up' and it would give me that impetus to start again.
"It's a great outdoor sport, lots of fresh air and lots of fun; it's not like women have to play with women, men have to play with men, everybody mixes across the board and there aren't many sports that do that."
"I don't think the interest will go away"
Chatteris Tennis Club has around 20 to 30 children that are coached from as young as four-years-old.
In its strategy for 2024-26, the LTA wants to "diversify and grow the player base with a focus on our lower socioeconomic groups, disability and women & girls programmes."
Kathryn believes the grassroots game will continue to thrive.
"There are always people who move on, but you've always got people phoning, asking either for coaching or to join the club, so there's interest all the time," she added.
"It's always going to be challenging (encouraging people to get involved in tennis), but I think it's working and I don't think the interest will go away."