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LTA launch 'The Tennisables' to encourage children to play tennis

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, has unveiled a major new campaign to inspire and engage children primarily aged 4-11 to play tennis.

The LTA Tennisables six characters pose in a fun way under the LTA campaign logo.

The LTA Tennisables, a group of six colourful tennis ball characters, will be incorporated into the established LTA Youth programme. They are designed to make tennis more engaging, accessible and fun for the next generation of players.

Each of the six characters, Ace, Slice, Spin, Dash, Smash and Bounce, have a specific tennis component and individual personality trait. Bounce, who was born deaf will be voiced by actress, Rose Ayling-Ellis, known for her role in Eastenders and being the first deaf contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, which she won in 2021.

British stars Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper will star alongside the LTA Tennisables in an online and broadcast advertising campaign. This will be supported by a six-episode YouTube video series designed to teach kids the basics of tennis, whether or not they own a racket or have access to a court. Each episode features an individual Tennisable, who demonstrates ways to develop a particular skill: speed, competitiveness, resilience, technique, brainpower.

The LTA Youth programme, created to help more children enjoy the benefits of playing and staying in tennis, whatever their age, gender, ability, disability or background was launched in 2021.

Julie Porter, LTA Chief Operating Officer said:

"The LTA Tennisables tread new ground for the LTA Youth programme, bringing tennis to life in a way we have not done before, getting a tennis ball into the hands of thousands of children and engaging them in this unique way.
"The campaign has been designed using extensive research and insight into the behaviours and motivations of children and their parents and the integrated advertising and content campaign is a game-changer for the LTA and our mission to open tennis up to new audiences.
"The successful roll-out of LTA Youth has already seen thousands of schoolteachers, coaches and community activators trained to deliver tennis sessions, contributing to the extremely positive rise in participation amongst children that we have recorded in the past year, and we can’t wait to see children engaging with these amazing characters this summer and beyond."