The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man founded in 1888. The LTA promotes all levels of lawn tennis. The organisation believes tennis can provide "physical, social, and mental rewards both on and off the court." The National Tennis Centre (NTC) in Roehampton, southwest London, serves as its main training facility. The Princess of Wales has been an LTA patron since 2017.
History
The British Lawn Tennis Association was formed in 1888, eleven years after the first Wimbledon championship. It was tasked with maintaining the new rules and standards of the emerging sport of tennis in the United Kingdom. Its first president was seven-time Wimbledon champion William Renshaw.
In 1978, a government inquiry was carried out into the state of British tennis, which accused the LTA of complacency and a lack of action in developing the game. During the 1980s and 1990s, several initiatives were launched in an attempt to raise the profile of tennis in the UK and to promote interest and participation in the sport outside of the Wimbledon fortnight. Millions of pounds were invested in building indoor centres, and on coaching and training initiatives. However, by the end of the 1990s, it was clear that these broad initiatives did not have the desired effect, so the LTA turned to more targeted approaches with the aim of attracting and keeping juniors in the game, changing the culture among clubs to become more "junior friendly"; identifying the best young players and helping them develop. This led to the launch in 2000 of Club Vision, a new strategy for providing greater support and resources to progressive tennis clubs, followed in 2001 by the City Tennis Club programme, specifically aimed at encouraging young players from diverse/deprived backgrounds in inner-city areas.