People from lower socio-economic groups face numerous challenges in accessing sports, including tennis. LTA SERVES brings tennis to underserved communities, targeting children aged 4-18. The programme provides training and free equipment to locally trusted organisations and leaders who know their communities best, to deliver engaging activity to young people. LTA SERVES promotes participation, inclusion, and community cohesion, delivering significant benefits in well-being, physical health, and sense of community among both participants and Activators.
The challenge
People from lower socio-economic groups face numerous barriers in accessing sports, including tennis.
Financial constraints often force families to prioritise basic needs like food and utilities over sports, with low-income households spending around £3.75 on active sports per week, compared to the national average of £12.67.
Sport England’s Active Lives Children and Young People data shows that children and young people from less affluent families are less likely to agree that they ‘understand why exercise is good for me’, ‘know how to get involved and improve skills’, ‘feel confident when playing sport’ and ‘enjoy taking part’.
Perception can be an issue, too, with some viewing traditional sport as intimidating, expensive and not fun – true in some cases, not in all. Sense of belonging is a big factor – people will not engage if they feel they do not belong to the sport and do not see people like them, hence the need for welcoming environments and loosening traditional outdated perceptions e.g., white middle class or have to play on a tennis court.
The perceived need for ‘formal’ dress code and equipment can prove a barrier for both males and females, and for some females, their faith / culture may require single sex sessions and consideration of dress code. In some communities, there are structural, environmental and individual factors that make being active less of a ‘social norm’.
The LTA has recognised that the perception of tennis remains an issue for some communities and demographic groups, which is why our vision is Tennis Opened Up. As national governing body for tennis in Britain, we are working to make tennis more welcoming, enjoyable and inspiring for all, so that every community can feel the transformative benefits of our sport.
Furthermore, the LTA’s Breaking Down Barriers: For Underserved Lower Socio Economic Groups plan has identified that tennis infrastructure is also notably lacking in deprived areas, with only 17% of LTA registered venues located in the most deprived regions, whereas 40% would be representative. This limited access is further exacerbated by difficulties in traveling outside immediate localities for a wide range of reasons including transport costs, cultural traditions, and safety concerns.
In 2024, 4.3 million children were living in relative poverty and 3.6 million in absolute poverty. Approximately one third of the UK population, or 12 million people, are in a lower socio-economic group. Participation in tennis is lower among these groups, with the LTA participation tracker finding that yearly tennis play among children from higher socio-economic backgrounds (ABC1s) being 21% higher than that of lower socio-economic backgrounds (C2Des) at 41.7% and 34.4% respectively. Among adults, 20.7% of ABC1s have never played tennis compared to 31.2% of C2Des.
The solution
LTA SERVES, a leading sport for development programme funded by Sport England, takes tennis and its benefits right into the heart of disadvantaged communities, targeting those aged 5-18 with a clear focus on individuals living in the 30% most deprived areas of the country. SERVES uses tennis to promote participation, inclusion, self-confidence, non-violence, gender equality and community cohesion.
The programme is designed to empower, equip and work in partnership with locally trusted organisations and delivery partners to bring tennis to new people and new communities who might never have thought it a sport for them. LTA SERVES Activators, who facilitate sessions, are leaders, youth workers and volunteers who are trusted by their community and already working with young people within the community. The wide range of venues that deliver LTA SERVES tennis activity each week include community centres, youth clubs, mosques, gurdwaras, mandirs, church halls, housing associations and many others.
Working with The Change Foundation, LTA SERVES also provides social impact training for Activators and access to the Game Set Empower Toolkit focussing on self-confidence, health and communities together and most recently the development of how tennis can reduce crime, violence and anti-social behaviour.
The impact
Since its launch in 2017, LTA SERVES has reached more than 50,000 young people, including 33,000 participants in Index of Multiple Deprivations (IMDs) 1 to 4, and trained more than 2,500 community leaders to deliver tennis in over 870 venues, delivering £7.16 of social value for every £1 invested according to research conducted by Bean Research commissioned by The Change Foundation and supported by the LTA.
Benefits of the programme have been felt by both Activators and Participants, specifically:
- Increased well-being reported by 87% of activators, applying to 33% of their participants
- Improved physical health reported by 92% of activators, applying to 33% of their participants
- Enhanced sense of community reported by 92% of activators, applying to 33% of their participants
How is the new approach being sustained?
Venues signing up to LTA SERVES receive free Tennis Activator training for their trusted community leaders and an equipment pack which makes tennis more accessible and enables people to play anywhere. These equipment packs are provided by the LTA Tennis Foundation, which funded 236 equipment packs in 2023 alone. This is designed to make sure that the programme is as affordable as possible for organisations delivering in low IMD areas with a reliance on volunteers or on limited budget.
The LTA has partnered with a number of national organisations to support delivery of the LTA SERVES programme. This includes the leading sport for development charity, StreetGames which has a network of over 1,600 local community organisations, including sports clubs and community groups to housing associations, leisure trusts and local authorities. This enables LTA SERVES to be scaled through existing networks and benefit from expert organisations which specialise in delivering in underserved communities.
The LTA and LTA Tennis Foundation also funds The Oaks consultancy to look for local, regional or national pots of funding to support community venues part of SERVES with tennis activity and sustainability. Over four years of SERVES provision, they have been able to leverage additional funding of £476,061.90.
Through LTA SERVES, we are supporting local authorities deliver the UK Government’s Holiday Activities and Food programme, which funds local authorities to coordinate and provide free holiday provision including healthy food and enriching activities. 128 LTA SERVES venues across Britain participate in the HAF programme in 2024, delivering tennis with a focus on social impact to children and young people from underserved communities.
Lessons learned
Through the delivery of the LTA SERVES programme and development of the LTA’s Breaking Down Barriers: For Underserved Lower Socio Economic Groups plan, we have identified a number of lessons learned which inform our guiding principles:
- Recognise that we don’t know everything, so we’ll listen to local communities and not ‘do to them’.
- Invest in and enable local, community leaders to be agents of their own change and create their own tennis infrastructure.
- Predominantly work through partnerships, with expert, sector partners and with the LTA Tennis Foundation and other tennis charities to support and complement our work.
- Recognise the need for and be comfortable with, being flexible in the delivery of activity, being creative with monitoring and in taking some risks.
- Be genuine in everything we do and not take short cuts. Like our education programmes and other areas of the business, what we do must meet community needs first, not tennis or the LTA – this gets success and impact.
The LTA also recognises the role that local authorities play in supporting both community organisations and the LTA SERVES programme itself. Whether it is through distribution of UK Government HAF funding, or wider support, local authorities
Contact
Isabelle Michelson, LTA Public Policy Manager, [email protected]
Links to relevant documents:
Find out more about the LTA SERVES programme including how to sign up here: LTA SERVES | Community tennis | LTA
Read more about the LTA’s Breaking Down Barriers: For Underserved Lower Socio Economic Groups here: LTA aims to widen base of tennis across Britain through targeted actions to support young people from underserved lower socio-economic groups | LTA