The tennis governing body has invested £37,000 towards the Romsey War Memorial Park tennis courts and Vigo Recreation Ground in Andover.
This will help ensure that high-quality facilities are available for free in the local community as well as introducing an easy-to-use online booking process. The funding was awarded by the Government as part of a nationwide campaign to revamp public tennis courts and open up the sport to more people.
The War Memorial Park in Romsey has had gate access and a booking system installed, the courts are still free to use. The new booking system enables users to plan when they would like to play and book a timed slot for their free use of the courts.
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Vigo Recreation Ground Tennis courts has installed new fencing and an access gate system and the courts are due to be cleaned and repainted soon. Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) has also invested in new posts at the site and replaced one of the nets on one of the courts.
The courts can be accessed by using the new online booking system where people can book an hour slot.
Cllr Terese Swain, leisure portfolio holder, said: “It is great to work in partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association and be able to provide high quality public tennis court facilities to be enjoyed by the local community for free. It gives us the opportunity to encourage more people to get active and enjoy playing a game of tennis in both Romsey and Andover.”
Alongside the investment, TVBC is working with the LTA, Andover Lawn Tennis Club and Romsey and Abbey Tennis Club to deliver a series of free tennis lessons on the revamped courts, with racquets and balls supplied. The free coaching sessions for adults and juniors at War Memorial Park, Romsey are on a Saturday morning, from June 8 to July 13. Vigo Recreation Ground will also be offering free coaching sessions starting on June 6 for adults and July 27 for juniors.
The project is part of a nationwide investment by the Government and LTA Tennis Foundation to refurbish public tennis courts across Great Britain. This investment will see thousands of existing park tennis courts in poor or unplayable condition brought back to life for the benefit of communities across the country through renovation works, and improved court accessibility with new gate-access technology and booking systems.