Levelling the Court Grants support players from low-income households on the LTA player pathways, providing targeted funding to help break down the financial barriers that can limit progression in the sport.
The programme is funded by LTA Tennis Foundation and delivered in partnership with the LTA’s Performance Team, ensuring expert-led support and maximum impact.
The programme is not about producing the next British No.1 - it is about improving lives through tennis, ensuring more young people can access the sport and benefit from the opportunities it provides.
Levelling the Court Grants support players across Great Britain from low-income households on the LTA player pathways, providing targeted funding to help break down the financial barriers that can limit progression in the sport.
Performance eligibility criteria:
Levelling the Court grants will be open to defined cohorts of players at given times and therefore, your level of performance will not need to be demonstrated in an application, other than confirming your child is part of the defined cohort of players.
We are currently accepting applications from players aged 10 - 14 accepted on to the Regional Player Development Centre (RPDC) long list, or who are on the Wheelchair Performance Pathway NAGP 14U Programme who meet the need eligibility criteria, detailed below.
The LTA Performance Team will proactively contact individuals within the defined cohort for the grant round, inviting them to apply. If you believe you should have been contacted, but have not been, please email playerpathway@lta.org.uk.
We hope to extend the cohort of players Levelling the Court grants can support in the future.
Need eligibility criteria:
Whilst level of performance will not need to be demonstrated in your application, we have limited funds available and, like any other charity, we need to ensure our grants reach those that need it most.
The two main eligibility factors are:
- Having a gross household income of £55k or less (we will consider income levels above this where there are multiple children, disabilities, long term health conditions, caring requirements, significant change of circumstance, or any other special circumstances within the household that are relevant to take into account).
- Your child should not attend a fee-paying school, however, there can be exceptions to this, including: when the child is in receipt of a significant bursary, when it is a fee-paying school for pupils with special educational needs or disabilities, and we will also take into account those who attend online schooling.
Please note that, as part of your application, you will be required to upload supporting documentation to demonstrate your eligibility.
The following additional factors will be taken into consideration when assessing application forms:
- Your child will be deemed to be in greater need if they are in receipt of Free School Meals and/or the household is in receipt of Universal Credit.
- Your child will be deemed in greater need if they can prove they, or anyone in their household, has a disability, long-term health condition or caring requirements.
- Your child will be deemed in greater need if they live more than a 60 minute drive time away from their main training base.
- Your child will be deemed in greater need if they live with IMDs 1-4, i.e. the 40% most deprived areas of the country.
We recognise that there are many costs associated with playing and competing in tennis.
These grants are designed to help reduce those financial barriers and can be used towards a range of expenses, including equipment, travel to training and competitions, and other costs associated with a player’s tennis development.
Individual grants will be awarded up to the value of £2,500.
Applications open at specific times of the year for designated age groups. Dates will be published here when available, and eligible applicants will be notified directly.
We are currently accepting applications for players age 10 - 14 accepted on to the Regional Player Development Centre (RPDC) long list or who are on the Wheelchair Performance Pathway NAGP 14U Programme who meet the need eligibility crtieria
Applications for this round will open on Friday 23rd October and close on Friday 27th November.
Outcomes will be communicated by week commencing 14th December.
Applications will be assessed against the criteria set out above by a panel of LTA colleagues, with the fund subject to the overall oversight of LTA Tennis Foundation Trustees.
LTA Tennis Foundation is aware of how complicated and time-consuming the application process can be. That is why we are officially signed up to The Institute of Voluntary Action Research’s (IVAR) eight commitments around open and trusting grant making:
Explore IVAR's eight commitments
If you have any queries at any stage in the process, or if you think we could do anything better in relation to IVAR’s eight commitments, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
You can view a copy of the Assessment Checklist which guides the assessment process below:
LTA Tennis Foundation works with its learning and evaluation partner, Bean Research, to understand the difference our funding makes. We are committed to being the best funder we can be, so successful applicants will be expected to work with LTA Tennis Foundation and Bean Research and provide information about how the grant may have made a difference to them.
This insight helps us evaluate the effectiveness of our funding, improves our grant programmes, and contributes to the wider evidence base that informs the charity's work and other funding streams.
We appreciate the time and effort involved in completing an application and understand that an unsuccessful outcome can be disappointing.
Funding decisions are made following our assessment process and, as grants are awarded at the discretion of LTA Tennis Foundation, there is no appeals process. Decisions are final, and we are unable to reconsider applications through an appeal.