Tennis Wales is the National Governing Body for tennis in Wales which along with Tennis Scotland and 38 English County Associations makes up the British Governing Body, The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).

94 clubs are affiliated to Tennis Wales. Each year these clubs elect an Executive Committee which has responsibility for running the sport in Wales on their behalf.

The Executive Committee meets quarterly to agree strategic direction but delegates the day-to-day running of the sport to a small, committed team of staff. See the 'Contact us' link for further details. Tennis Wales' HQ is at The Welsh National Tennis Centre, Cardiff, but there also exist regional offices in North and South West Wales.

In addition to its member clubs, Tennis Wales' key stakeholders are its two main funding partners the LTA and The Sports Council for Wales.

In partnership with its stakeholders Tennis Wales has identified two main strategic objectives:

1 To increase the membership of its affiliated clubs
2 To produce world ranked junior players

Leading the staffing team in pursuit of the above objectives is the Tennis Wales Executive Director who provides the link between staff and volunteers, manages the business and liases with all funding partners.

To achieve the first objective Tennis Wales employs three Area Development Officers based in North, South East and South West Wales, who provide advice and support to member clubs, self-employed coaches and Local Authority Tennis Development Officers. In the last five years club membership has increased by 38% from 8400 individuals to 11500 . The majority of this growth has been amongst juniors, and is due to the significant commitment being made by many Welsh tennis clubs and coaches to develop the sport.

To produce world ranked junior players Tennis Wales funds three main LTA accredited performance programmes based in Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham. These programmes are producing an increasing number of junior players who are among the best in GB for their age.

To support both objectives Tennis Wales co-ordinates approximately 200 tournaments and competitions each year through its Tournaments and Competitions Co-ordinator position. These events provide opportunities for the six-year old mini tennis player to the seventy-six year old veteran player!

A new position, the Tennis Wales Coach Education Co-ordinator, co-ordinates coaching courses for potential new coaches and Continual Professional Development for existing coaches.

A full-time Administration Manager and part-time Administration Assistants (based in Cardiff and Wrexham), complete the team, and deliver financial administration and support to the various Tennis Wales functions.

The administrative officers also provide support to two County Associations within Wales, Tennis Wales North and Tennis Wales South. The Counties have responsibility for running local league tennis and County teams that compete in the GB Inter-County Championships. Veterans tennis for those aged thirty-five and over is co-ordinated by the North and South Wales Veterans Associations.

Tennis Wales is a well respected part of GB tennis and Welsh sport. A great deal of progress is being made towards achieving our twin objectives but as always, much work remains to be done!

Should you have any questions relating to Welsh tennis please do not hesitate to call or email us. We are here to support!

Peter Hybart
Executive Director