Hundreds of school children from south London enjoyed a special winter tennis festival in Fulham’s Bishop’s Park on Monday 2 December, and were treated to a visit from GB Fed Cup star, Anna Smith.
The event, part of the LTA Team Challenge programme and run in partnership with Hammersmith & Fulham Council, saw over 500 children from local state schools take over the park’s tennis courts and compete in informal games and activities.
Smith, who has recently returned from a long-term knee injury, took part in some of the activities and presented prizes to competition winners.
Now in its third year, Team Challenge is open to all LTA registered venues and offers a fun and relaxed style of competitive tennis, with prizes on offer for the winners.
Over 30,000 participants have taken part in a Team Challenge event this year – double the number that were involved in the programme in 2018.
The programme was developed in light of research which found that players who play competitive tennis are up to 100% more likely to stay involved in the sport.
