• Sport Aberdeen and the LTA agree partnership to breathe new life into local park tennis courts in Aberdeen.
• The project will see a £209,000 investment in outdoor tennis courts located at Ruthrieston and Northfield Outdoor Centres.
• Investment comes from the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation’s Park Tennis Project, being delivered by the LTA, as well as from Sport Aberdeen.

Sport Aberdeen and the LTA have today announced a partnership to invest in and refurbish outdoor tennis courts at Ruthrieston and Northfield Outdoor Centres. In total, two park tennis venues will be renovated, with a joint investment of £209,000 helping ensure that quality facilities are available for the local community. 

The project is part of a nationwide investment by the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation, delivered by the LTA, to refurbish public tennis courts across Great Britain, and open up the sport to many more people. This investment will see thousands of existing park tennis courts in poor or unplayable condition brought back to life for the benefit of communities across the country through renovation works, and improved court accessibility with new gate-access technology and booking systems.

Park tennis courts are vital in providing opportunities for children and adults to get active, delivering significant physical and mental health and wellbeing benefits to participants. Accessible facilities in parks are particularly critical to opening up the sport to those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and women and girls.

In addition to investment of £203,000 from the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation, £6,000 will be invested by Sport Aberdeen.

Alongside the investment, Sport Aberdeen, which manages the outdoor centres on behalf of Aberdeen City Council, will work with the LTA to deliver a range of activity across the park sites. This will include free weekly park tennis sessions for all ages, playing levels and experience where equipment is provided, meaning that people will not need someone to play with, or their own racket. Local Tennis Leagues will also provide friendly, sociable, opportunities to get active through local competition. 

The park venues being renovated at Ruthrieston and Northfield Outdoor Centres will be available to book online via the LTA website making it easy to find and book a court or activity.  

Work has begun on site and will be completed by September 2023.

Investment into parks is one way in which the LTA is working to open tennis up across Scotland, in partnership with Tennis Scotland. The LTA, Tennis Scotland and Sportscotland are also delivering the £15million Transforming Scottish Indoor Tennis fund to provide more year-round community accessible tennis provision, including the development of new indoor facilities in Oriam and Moray which are currently underway.

Following the hosting of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals and Davis Cup Regional Finals in Glasgow last year, which were both attended by hundreds of school children, work is ongoing to significantly increase the number of young people who have the opportunity to pick up a racket at school, through the LTA Youth programme.

Graeme Dale, Head of Sport and Active Communities, Sport Aberdeen said:

“Providing accessible access to a range of sports is at the core of what we do. It is fantastic to see new life breathed into these tennis courts and I hope that this will encourage many more people to take the opportunity to join in and experience the benefits of being active.”

Julie Porter, Chief Operating Officer at the LTA, said:

“We are delighted to be working with Sport Aberdeen to improve these park tennis facilities and provide more opportunities for anyone to pick up a racket and get active. This investment is part of the UK Government and LTA’s Parks Tennis Project and will mean that courts will be available for people to use for years to come. We will also be working closely with Sport Aberdeen and Aberdeen City Council to ensure that the local community have a range of accessible opportunities to get on court and open up our sport to many more people.”

Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Councillor Ian Yuill said:

“Today’s announcement by the Lawn Tennis Association and Sport Aberdeen is great news for residents – especially those in the Broomhill and Northfield areas. People in Broomhill and Northfield will now have access to refurbished and modern outdoor tennis facilities, right on their doorstep.

“The social and mental wellbeing benefits of physical activity are well documented. By ensuring that these renovated facilities are easily accessible to residents it will make it easier for people of all ages to go outside and enjoy some fresh air and have fun playing or trying to play tennis.”

Above: Works have commenced to renovate outdoor tennis courts at Ruthrieston (left) and Northfield (right).