Esporta’s Riverside club wins LTA High Performance Status

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has conferred High Performance Status on the Esporta Racquets Academy at the Riverside club in Chiswick.

Launched in September 2003, the academy has now been rolled out to 18 Esporta racquet clubs and currently trains 155 children.

The Riverside club is the first site to have been awarded High Performance Status, which it received in recognition of its work in developing talented junior players. The club, which boasts 20 children of national qualifying standard, has also been awarded a grant of £25,000.

The academy is supported by the Tennis First Charitable Trust, of which Tim Henman is a patron, and helps to fund players’ training as well as the costs of competing in national and international tournaments.

Esporta plans to invest a further £100m in racquets which could result in a further 10 racquets clubs being added to its existing portfolio. The company is currently conducting research to identify prime locations.

The Riverside club’s sports development manager and tennis instructor, Gary Stewart, will oversee the funding and work with all Esporta racquet clubs to identify opportunities for further clubs to achieve High Performance Status.