Tennis Scotland

On #InternationalWomensDay we want to thank all the brilliant coaches, volunteers & activators working hard to inspire more women & girls into our fantastic sport 🎾

Our CEO Blane Dodds & Honorary Vice-President Christine Windmill were delighted to attend this unique event hosted by First Minister John Swinney & The Scottish Government 🎾

To celebrate #WorldTennisDay, we’re announcing a big surge in participation - and sustained success in efforts to inspire more people into the sport. Scottish tennis participation numbers rose by nearly 11% to just under 700,000 during 2024 – with one main driver being notable growth in female play. On top of that, a record number of players have joined tennis clubs around Scotland – suggesting that not only are more people playing the game, but they’re playing it more often. And in proof of long-term growth, adult and child participation has risen by 58% and 27% respectively over the past five years. The impressive figures released by Tennis Scotland reveal: 📈 Adult participation increased 15% in 2024, from 352,000 to 405,000 ⬆️ A 27% rise in female participation in Scotland last year 🏃 Monthly participation among adults surged by 37% 🧒 Child participation rose by 5% from 270,000 to 284,000 🎾 A record-high club membership of 81,428 – up 42% since 2018 Today’s announcement comes following the publication in November of the International Tennis Federation Global Tennis Report, which placed Great Britain at the forefront of a worldwide rise in tennis participation. Over the period 2019-2023, adult participation in Britain grew by 44%, including a strong contribution in Scotland, where there was a 37.5% increase. As more people come to our sport, Tennis Scotland are continuing to work hard alongside partners to increase capacity, with 160 park courts now revamped around the country, 34 indoor courts opened since 2016 and work underway on a new indoor centre in Dumfries & Galloway, following last year’s openings of similar facilities at Oriam, Scotland's Sports Performance Centre and Moray Sports Centre. Drivers of increasing tennis participation in Scotland include: ✅ Support for clubs to grow and retain membership, encouraging them to provide more opportunities to local communities ✅ Significant investment in new facilities, such as new courts at clubs and parks, floodlights and new indoor centres ✅ Roll-out of schools programmes connecting pupils with local clubs and coaches and training teachers to deliver tennis sessions ✅ Investment in court and coach booking systems to make it easier for people to play ✅ Engaging with traditionally underrepresented communities to deliver tennis programmes Blane Dodds, Chief Executive of Tennis Scotland, said: “More people in Scotland are playing tennis and they’re playing it more often, which shows that the incredible work being carried out to make our sport more accessible and inclusive is paying off. “The Scottish tennis community consists of fantastic coaches, volunteers and clubs, and we want to thank all of them for contributing so much time and effort to growing the game.” #WorldTennisDay | LTA | sportscotland | Castore | Dunlop Sports | International Tennis Federation | Tennis Industry Association UK Ltd

Big thanks to everyone who contributed to a fantastic week as the ATP Challenger Tour returned to Glasgow 👏 The Lexus Glasgow Challenger was extremely well attended all week - culminating in a full house at Scotstoun on finals day 🏆 We also hosted free family sessions and visits from local schools - giving pupils a taste of world-class tennis 🎾 Congratulations to singles champion Nicolai Budkov Kjaer on lifting his first Challenger Tour title after a fantastic all-Norwegian final against his friend Viktor Durasovic 💪 ATP Tour | Norges Tennis- og Padelforbund | LTA | Lexus | Glasgow Life | sportscotland | International Tennis Federation | Tennis Industry Association UK Ltd | 🎤 Rhona McLeod | 📸 Rob Eyton-Jones

We were delighted to attend the start of construction on a new 3-court indoor tennis centre in Dumfries & Galloway. 👷 The inclusive, accessible & affordable facility will provide more opportunities for people to play our great sport when it opens later in the year. 🎾 Big thanks to all the partners involved in this exciting project. 🙏 Read all about it here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ej5PDEH9 sportscotland | Dumfries and Galloway Council | LTA

Celebrating one year of our exciting partnership with Oriam, Scotland's Sports Performance Centre 🥳

We’ve just finished hosting our first major international event of 2025 – the Lexus GB Pro-Series Glasgow - so it’s a good time to look back at a significant year for Scottish tennis.   This time last year, we and our partners had just opened the new indoor tennis centre at Oriam, Scotland's Sports Performance Centre - the first of many big moments over a memorable 12 months which saw club membership rise beyond 80,000 for the first time and the number of people playing tennis grow by 11%.   More adults and children are picking up a racket in Scotland, inspired by new facilities such as 160 park courts around the country and the other new indoors, including at Moray Sports Centre.   We also saw the return of the ATP Challenger Tour in 2024 and are looking forward to that event coming back to Scotstoun from 17-23 February. We’re hosting twice as many international events as we did four years ago and continue to seek out new opportunities to bring top-class tennis to Scotland.   Just as attracting these events is vital, we’ve also seen significant further investment in domestic tennis with the TS Open Tour offering record prize money of more than £90,000 thanks to growth in sponsorship support, which is greatly valued and appreciated. For the first time, the Tour Finals in December were broadcast by BBC Scotland and Play Vision Sports Broadcasting, showcasing our talented young players to audiences around the country.   We saw a huge 30% rise in the number of players taking part in competitions, while our participation programmes for those who might traditionally have struggled to access tennis are all continuing to attract increasing numbers.   2024 was another impressive year for Scots competing around the world and while we were saddened to see the curtain fall on Sir Andy Murray’s incredible career, the emergence of Jacob Fearnley was inspirational. Jacob was involved in our programmes from an early age, and we’re excited to see where his extraordinary potential takes him.   It was also another stunning 12 months for Gordon Reid, winning all three Grand Slams and Paralympic Gold and he too continues to inspire many people to take up tennis.   In Padel tennis, we’re still focusing on growing infrastructure and now have 38 courts around Scotland, while the Scottish Cup is going into its third year and becoming a highlight on our calendar.   As always, we want to thank club members, volunteers, officials and our partners who help make sure tennis continues to thrive in Scotland. Many of these selfless individuals will be honoured at our upcoming Tennis Scotland Awards ceremony.   There’s much to look forward to in the months ahead, with more events and new facilities in the pipeline. In the meantime, please join us at Scotstoun for the ATP Lexus Glasgow Challenger. There’s no need for tickets – just turn up and enjoy the action. LTA | sportscotland | Castore | Dunlop Sports | International Tennis Federation | Tennis Industry Association UK Ltd

Looking for a new challenge in 2025? 💪 We're looking to strengthen our Board with people who have a passion for tennis & expertise in their field 🎾 More info & how to apply ⬇️

📹 Speaking at the TS Open Tour Finals, our Chief Executive Blane Dodds looked back at a tremendous year for Scottish tennis & ahead to an exciting 2025 🎾🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Merry Christmas from all of us at Tennis Scotland! 🎅🏼🎄☃️