Draper calls on government to invest in tennis and padel
British No1 Jack Draper is among a number of tennis stars who have called on the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to invest in court facilities.
Draper joins the likes of Katie Boulter and Alfie Hewett in expressing concern over potential cuts of funding to tennis facilities, while demanding funds for “high quality community sports facilities”, particularly for “underserved communities and disabled people” to use.
“We therefore ask that you continue to invest into facilities,” they added, “to ensure that every community across our nation has the opportunity to pick up a racket and get active year-round, and to support the next generation of British players.”
The letter sent to Downing Street also covers padel and multi-sport facilities.
Tennis package?
The UK government earlier this year announced a £100m package to revamp local sporting facilities across the country with the “major package to upgrade hundreds of local grassroots sports facilities with new and improved pitches, changing rooms, goalposts and floodlights”.
“At least 40 per cent of funded projects have a multi-sport offer,” DCMS added, “ensuring more can participate and get active as the Government delivers its Plan for Change.”
There has been some concern over the future of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, with reports recently suggesting it could be disbanded and split amongst a number of other Whitehall buildings.
Such events have the possibility of delaying or cancelling funding when future reviews are undertaken by new managing departments.
“Jack Draper and Katie Boulter, alongside wheelchair tennis champions Alfie Hewett, Gordon Reid, and Lucy Shuker, have called for investment into a network of 40 community tennis, padel and multi-sport hubs across the country,” a Lawn Tennis Association statement read. “The new hubs would have covered tennis, padel and a multisport court, which would help to open up access to year-round tennis, padel and other court-based sports for communities.
“This proposal would complement existing government investment into football pitches, which doesn’t cover courts or court-based sports.”