Ahead of Wimbledon Tennis Championships, a FREE tennis open day is coming to Portsmouth to encourage more families and young people to have a go at the sport and get active.

From 11am-2pm on Saturday 29 June 2024, residents are encouraged to engage in family free play, and have a go at ‘beat the coach’ matches and tennis-themed games to inspire more children to take up the sport this summer. In true Wimbledon tradition, FREE strawberries and cream will also be available for everyone taking part on the day (subject to availability).

The initiative comes from BH Live, a registered charity that runs Portsmouth Tennis Centre in partnership with Portsmouth City Council who own the facility.

Macca Neaves, BH Live’s Head Coach at Portsmouth Tennis Centre says;

“Tennis is heaps of fun, it’s really social and great exercise too! We want to make sure it is accessible for everyone to enjoy so in the run up to Wimbledon we are opening our doors and inviting people to come and meet our LTA qualified coaching team and see what it’s all about.”

Sessions for Portsmouth Tennis Centre’s open day, which is open to all, can be booked directly online at clubspark.lta.org.uk/PortsmouthTennisCentre/Events.

An additional open day will also be held later this year for individuals with disabilities in partnership with local community groups Headway, a brain injury charity, and DS Active (Downs Syndrome).

Portsmouth Tennis Centre was commended as the Hampshire & Isle of Wight winner in last year’s LTA Tennis Awards ‘Tennis For All’ category for the centre’s hard work in bringing tennis to underrepresented groups throughout the city.

BH Live also runs Aces Tennis Academy at Portsmouth Tennis Centre, a programme aimed at youngsters aged 5 and upwards to provide a progressive and fun tennis pathway for children of all abilities up to the ages of 16. It runs alongside the LTA’s youth learning framework with an extra serving of fun.

For further information, visit bhliveactive.org.uk or speak to a member of our team in your local centre.