LTA Tennis Foundation partnership nominated for a Charity Times Award
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LTA Tennis Foundation and Community Integrated Care have been shortlisted for the Charity Times ‘Charity Collaboration of the Year’, recognizing the impact of the first year of this groundbreaking ‘Serving Inclusion’ Partnership.
Serving Inclusion reflects the LTA Tennis Foundation’s commitment to improving lives through tennis and making it accessible for everyone. Through investing in Community Integrated Care, one of Britain’s biggest and most impactful social care charities, this pioneering strategic partnership is enabling people to live their best life possible through tennis.
Serving Inclusion aims to fully open up tennis to people who draw on social care – enabling them to experience the sport as players, volunteers, fans and contributors – whilst also tackling inequalities and enabling lives of independence.
A key focus of the programme is improving accessibility across the LTA's grass court events, ensuring more people can enjoy world-class tennis in ways that meet their individual needs. Drawing on the expertise of Community Integrated Care's award-winning Support Squad – a diverse team of people with lived experience of disability, who are employed by Community Integrated Care and work with events and organisations to develop solutions and cultures that champion greater accessibility and inclusion – ensuring the everyone can enjoy equal independence. The programme has helped shape practical improvements at events, from enhanced sensory spaces and accessibility information to the development of tennis’ first easy-read resources for spectators.
These changes are making events more welcoming and accessible while also providing valuable employment and development opportunities for people with lived experience, helping them build skills, confidence, and independence. 
Life skills development
Beyond event accessibility, Serving Inclusion is creating pathways for people to develop life skills and independence through volunteering, employment and community engagement, with tennis sitting at the heart of the programmes.
At the Lexus Nottingham & Ilkley Open, with the support from the LTA and LTA Tennis Foundation, Community Integrated Care delivered its Inclusive Volunteering model, enabling 40 people to gain confidence, develop transferable skills and contribute to the delivery of major sporting events. The programme also demonstrates how tennis can be a powerful tool for personal development, helping people build independence, connect with others, and feel part of their local community.
Opening up tennis across Britain
The programme is also bringing tennis to life, both in person and online, through a range of adapted tennis programmes and experiences through - www.What-To-Do.co.uk – Community Integrated Care’s online hub for free, learning disability-accessible live experiences. In doing so, tennis is being shaped in new and innovative ways – connecting with those who have the biggest barriers to enjoying the traditional game.
These specially designed online experiences are connecting with new audiences, enabling people to discover tennis for the first time. More than 300 people across the country have already taken part in experiences including an adapted wheelchair exercise session and introduction to wheelchair tennis, inspired by the Lexus British Open, and a Wimbledon-themed afternoon tea cooking experience with Great British Bake Off star Nicky Laceby
The reach and innovation of the Serving Inclusion programme is vast, already impacting hundreds of lives from the Highlands of Scotland to Eastbourne. From a sensory soap-making project in Aberdeen for people with learning disabilities, to reminiscence arts sessions in London for people living with dementia through the charity’s Age Exchange hub, it is creating opportunities, empowering futures and sparking joyful memories through tennis.
We're incredibly proud to support Serving Inclusion and the remarkable impact it is having across Britain. By combining Community Integrated Care and the LTA’s expertise, the programme is opening doors for more people to participate, contribute and enjoy tennis.
Serving Inclusion demonstrates the difference that strategic partnerships can make. By bringing together the expertise of Community Integrated Care, the reach of the LTA and the support of the LTA Tennis Foundation funding, the programme is creating lasting change – with this impact now being recognized by Charity Times, a leading magazine for the not-for-profit sector.
Together, we are helping to build a sport where everyone feels they belong – whether they are stepping onto court, volunteering at an event, supporting from the stands, or discovering tennis for the very first time.
Matt Elkington, LTA EDI Programme Manager – Disabled People who is managing the partnership said, “We're incredibly proud to support Serving Inclusion and the remarkable impact it is having across Britain. By combining Community Integrated Care and the LTA’s expertise, the programme is opening doors for more people to participate, contribute and enjoy tennis.”
John Hughes, Director of Partnerships and Communities at Community Integrated Care, said, “Serving Inclusion is possibly the most ambitious and expansive partnership of our charity’s 40 year history. People who draw on care and support face deep health, social and economic inequalities in society – and real exclusion that challenges them discovering and belonging in many areas of life that so many other people can enjoy.”
“Serving Inclusion is shaping a future where people who draw on care and support can discover, watch, support, play, learn and volunteer in tennis – and be part of a thriving community. It’s transforming lives, strengthening social care delivery, and empowering the LTA to be at the forefront of social change. It is driven by lived experience and a commitment to directly providing opportunity and support to those who face the deepest barriers and inequalities.”
“The support from the LTA and LTA Tennis Foundation has been inspiring and vital, beyond words. Their leadership and passion for opening up every dimension of their sport, so that people who draw on care and support can enjoy tennis with equal independence and belonging, is unprecedented. We admire their passion and dedication to creating lasting change and look forward to building upon this impact over the years ahead.”
