Tennis Shropshire winners deservedly recognised in annual LTA Awards

The Shropshire winners of this year's Lawn Tennis Association Awards deservedly stepped into the spotlight at Tennis Shropshire's annual presentation ceremony.

The prestigious LTA Tennis Awards recognise and reward the achievements of people, clubs and schools involved in tennis across England, Scotland and Wales.

The Shropshire winners, announced during a ceremony held at The Lantern in Shrewsbury, will now go forward to be considered for both Excellence Awards and National Awards. Shropshire's former LTA president Cathie Sabin, always so passionate about recognising the efforts of inspirational individuals who give so much to tennis, was instrumental in the launch of the awards in 2015.

Sarah Downes, Tennis Shropshire trustee and Awards Lead, said: “The 2026 Tennis Shropshire Awards once again highlight the incredible dedication, passion and community spirit that make our county so special.

"Every nominee and winner represents the very best of our sport, from volunteers who give countless hours, to coaches who inspire daily, to clubs and programmes that open their doors to everyone.

"These awards are a celebration of people who make tennis thrive across Shropshire, and we are immensely proud to recognise their achievements and the positive impact they have on players of all ages and abilities.”

The awards for this year's county winners across 10 different categories were presented by Tennis Shropshire Chair Mark Wilson and Tennis Shropshire President Merill Holt.

Newport's Boughey Gardens Tennis Club, recognised for its strong community-driven ethos, welcoming environment and inclusive culture, was named Shropshire Club of the Year. The club actively collaborates with local businesses, schools, colleges and community groups to make tennis accessible to all. Membership has grown with Boughey Gardens now exceeding 300 members while maintaining affordable fees for the past three years. The club offers excellent coaching, a vibrant social calendar, and a focus on both competitive and recreational tennis. Boughey Gardens runs 13 teams, including juniors, and has a strong presence in county leagues, while club members have also raised thousands of pounds for various causes through charity tournaments, raffles and community appeals.

This year's Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Sue Hammonds for her contribution to Town Walls Tennis Club in Shrewsbury. Since joining in 1990, Sue has volunteered at club events, with a friendly smile making everyone welcome. Sue joined the committee In 1998 and was then appointed treasurer - a role she recently relinquished after 25 years of impeccable service - while she also looked after the admin involved with club memberships. Sue has always been keen to encourage more children to play tennis and established a relationship with a local school for pupils to enjoy tennis taster sessions at Town Walls. It's led to a number of youngsters going on to become club members.

Graham Porter was presented with the Cathie Sabin Volunteer of the Year Award. Graham has been an exceptional driving force behind the recent growth and development of Church Stretton Tennis Club, giving countless hours to improving facilities, building participation and strengthening the club's connection with the local community. He helped secure vital LTA funding to resurface and improve the club's courts. Graham led every stage of the process, and the club now benefits from high-quality courts that will support growth for many years to come. Graham has been fundamental in expanding the club's programme to reach more people. He's also helped organise and deliver successful club open days, and played a leading role in launching walking tennis sessions.

Erin Oakley was named as the winner of Shropshire's Young Person of the Year. Erin has completed her Level 2 coaching qualification and recently launched her own coaching business. Erin, who coaches at Oswestry Tennis Club, Wrexham Tennis & Padel Centre, Oswestry Team Tennis and Oswestry School, is involved in disability coaching, inclusion and promoting tennis to disadvantaged people. She has helped Active Wrexham by going into schools bringing tennis to all, while she is in talks to set up Parkinson's tennis coaching in Shropshire. In addition, Erin has just taken up the role of support officer to Tennis Shropshire, further reflecting her desire to make a difference and expand her skills, experience and knowledge.

Shropshire Walking Tennis League was selected as Shropshire's Competition of the Year. It saw 12 teams participating from eight venues across the county over a period of 12 weeks. They were hard fought matches, and for all participants it was their first exposure to competitive walking tennis.

The Official of the Year award went to Amy Dannatt for her role of head referee at the Shropshire County Championships. The popular tournament was held at two adjacent venues for the first time - Shrewsbury Lawn Tennis Club and Town Walls Tennis Club - with Amy managing the relationship with the clubs brilliantly and communicating well with all the players to explain how the event would work. Amy worked tirelessly throughout the week, with incredibly long days, to ensure all events could be played, with the open age groups played in the evening. She delivered a fantastic week of tennis and was a real credit to both herself and Tennis Shropshire.

Tim Calver received the Coach of the Year award. As exceptional coach whose commitment, creativity and passion for player development has had a transformative impact across every venue he supports. His work exemplifies everything this award stands for - improving lives through tennis, growing participation and nurturing a positive, competitive tennis culture. Tim has overseen significant growth in the coaching programme at Albrighton Tennis Club, where participation has increased by 40 per cent, while he has launched a popular new Tots Tennis session at Claverley Tennis Club which has quickly become a huge success.

Richard Tennant was named Performance Coach of the Year in recognition of his contribution to player development in Shropshire. His work at Telford Tennis Centre, alongside Nikki Hoy, has transformed the venue's performance programme into a thriving, structured and highly effective pathway for aspiring players of all ages. At the heart of Richard's impact is the development and expansion of a comprehensive performance coaching offer that now spans five distinct age groups, with a number of children going on to represent Shropshire at county level. He's not only a coach of technical skill, but a mentor who instils values of resilience, teamwork and respect.

Church Stretton School was presented with the School of the Year award. Having started to deliver tennis on the curriculum, the school's students are enjoying tennis so much that extra curricular lunch time and after school clubs have also been introduced. An LTA registered coach takes the tennis sessions which has led to more players registering to also play at the local Church Stretton Tennis Club.

Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Age UK Walking Tennis was the recipient of the Tennis Opened Up Award. Age UK have developed two very successful walking tennis groups at the Cathie Sabin Community Tennis Centre in Shrewsbury and Market Drayton Tennis Club. The project was initially funded for 12 months by a grant from Age UK, but is now fully funded by the participants themselves. The Shrewsbury group continues under the banner of Age UK whilst the Market Drayton group have joined the tennis club and are now independent. Volunteers at each venue made sure that all players feel welcome and included and are very encouraging when people attend for the first time. Some players have progressed from walking tennis back to 'regular' tennis. Others had either not played for some time or were finding full court tennis to be too much, while some had never played tennis before and wouldn't have done so had walking tennis not been available.

Meanwhile, four more people were highly commended in their categories. They were William Bonney (Boughey Gardens Tennis Club) as Coach of the Year; Jan Deane, a walking tennis volunteer, as Cathie Sabin Volunteer of the Year; and both Millie Raybould (Ludlow Castle Tennis Club) and Lola Hardie (Baschurch Tennis Club) as Young Person of the Year.

Pictured: Chair Tim Smith and Carol Spragett collected the Club of the Year award for Boughey Gardens Tennis Club. Sue Hammonds received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Graham Porter won the Cathie Sabin Volunteer of the Year Award. Erin Oakley was presented with the Young Person of the Year award. Fiona Jones received the Competition of the Year award on behalf of the Shropshire Walking Tennis League. Amy Dannatt received the Official of the Year award. Tim Calver was named Coach of the Year. Richard Tennant was named Performance Coach of the Year. Church Stretton School won the School of the Year award. Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Age UK Walking Tennis received the Tennis Opened Up Award, with Emma Wilde, interim Head of Wellbeing & Friendship Services for Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin, receiving the award.