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LONDON — David Lloyd Leisure (davidlloyd.co.uk) has launched a major campaign, ‘Everyone for Tennis’, with the aim of introducing the sport to all ages and abilities, and increasing grass-roots participation across the UK.

“Future tennis success very much depends on increased participation and David Lloyd Leisure is doing its utmost to encourage take-up of this sport across the UK while we continue to identify and nurture the fresh, young talent that could produce future British champions.”

Europe’s premier health, sports and leisure group, which has more tennis courts and expert coaches than any other health and fitness operator in the UK, is rolling out a number of initiatives to encourage everyone to pick up a racquet and start playing.

Throughout June and July, David Lloyd Leisure racquets clubs* will open their doors to all adults and children who want to take part in free, new ‘Everyone for Tennis’ sessions with its LTA-qualified coaches, which will be synchronised to allow the whole family to try tennis at the same time. The 45-minute sessions, which include expert feedback, will be complemented by a Racquets Welcome introduction to tennis and Fast Track Tennis coaching sessions for adult beginners.

The clubs will also host the Great British Tennis Weekends, in association with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), for all families to enjoy trying tennis, serving up the first open weekend this Saturday and Sunday (17-18 May), followed by the weekends of 21-22 June, 28-29 June and 19-20 July.

David Lloyd Leisure, which operates the world’s largest junior tennis coaching programme, Tennis All Stars (http://www.davidlloyd.co.uk/tennis-all-stars), will offer its unrivalled coaching expertise to local schools as part of an outreach programme to introduce as many youngsters as possible to the sport in a fun and exciting way and teach them the basic skills.

To encourage all its members to get into the Wimbledon spirit – including those who prefer a workout to match play and competition – there is Cardio Tennis, a heart-pumping workout involving fast-moving drills to music run by a tennis professional on court, as well as six-week gym programmes, including ViPR™ Tennis (the rubber tube that gives the ultimate whole body workout) and Power Plate Tennis.

For its racquets members, David Lloyd Leisure will hold its annual Total Tennis Strawberries & Cream social tournament and a World Cup Tennis event for adults and juniors to coincide with the FIFA football world championships in June and July. And to celebrate the Wimbledon Finals weekend (5-6 July), there will be a Festival of Tennis extravaganza featuring a host of celebratory activities.

David Bulgin, David Lloyd Leisure’s group racquets manager, said: “As the leaders in our field with a unique tennis heritage, we are very well placed to encourage as many people as possible across the country to play tennis.

“Our ‘Everyone for Tennis’ campaign aims to give everyone access to our facilities and expertise to show that, whatever your age or ability, tennis is truly a sport that the whole family can enjoy.

“Future tennis success very much depends on increased participation and David Lloyd Leisure is doing its utmost to encourage take-up of this sport across the UK while we continue to identify and nurture the fresh, young talent that could produce future British champions.”

With a tennis heritage spanning over 30 years, David Lloyd Leisure provides more than 700 indoor and outdoor tennis courts at 69 of its 81 UK clubs (davidlloyd.co.uk/forms/arrange-a-club-visit) (with nearly half the total number of indoor tennis courts in the country). The group also operates the world’s largest tennis team comprising more than 400 LTA-qualified tennis coaches.

Its facilities have been used by many world-famous players. Both former British no.1 Tim Henman and Andy Murray trained at David Lloyd Leisure clubs during their junior years and the group sponsored Murray between 2006 and 2008 on his way to reaching the pinnacle of his game.

Every week, 12,500 children learn to play tennis following the group’s Tennis All Stars junior coaching programme, including some of the most talented young players in Europe.

Tennis All Stars (davidlloyd.co.uk/home/activities/juniorracquets/tennis-allstars) is a unique, structured coaching programme for 3-11 year-olds endorsed by the LTA, with players progressing through a colour-coded system linked to age and ability with the opportunity to compete at almost every stage. The programme is supported by a mini tennis ratings system, designed to reward players for competing, inspire them to develop their game, offer the opportunity to compete more regularly and to reach their full potential.

Children showing real talent can move on to David Lloyd Leisure clubs with enhanced performance programmes. The group’s network includes performance squads that support some of the brightest talent in the UK.

For more information on tennis at David Lloyd Leisure, visit www.davidlloyd.co.uk. For more on the Great British Tennis Weekends at David Lloyd Leisure, go to www.davidlloyd.co.uk/gbtw.

*Excludes Chelsea and Notting Hill Harbour Clubs, David Lloyd Kidbrooke and David Lloyd Chigwell. Also includes David Lloyd Dublin.