Henry Smith MP has welcomed a partnership between British Tennis and the Premier League at an event in Westminster.

The Crawley MP joined Judy Murray, Graeme Le Saux and a number of other Members of Parliament at a unique opportunity for children involved in the Premier League 4 Sport (PL4S) scheme to play tennis in the grounds of the Houses of Parliament.

Henry said;

“The Premier League 4 Sport initiative offers the opportunity for young people to take part in sport outside of school, and the chance to try a range of sports including netball, athletics and volleyball.

“It was great to see some of these young people in Parliament, playing tennis against the backdrop of the historic Palace of Westminster!”

The partnership with British Tennis is now in its third year, and over 3,500 young people have been involved in the tennis programme to date. 

This scheme, using the strength and recognition of the Premier League brand, allows British Tennis to take the sport to new audiences and engage young people who may not have previously had the opportunity to play.

Claire Webb, Strategic Project Manager at the Lawn Tennis Association, commented;

“This project is a great example of how sports can work together to increase participation and get kids more physically active by providing a range of sporting opportunities for them to experience. 

“Working in partnership is essential if we are going to reach our mission of getting more people playing tennis more often and now in the third year of our partnership with PL4S we are seeing a significant increase in engagement. We hope to continue working with this innovative programme to provide as many kids as possible with the opportunity to play tennis.”