The areas most likely to produce the next British tennis superstar

• Surrey is the area most likely to produce Britain’s next Wimbledon winner
• Hertfordshire and Avon take second and third place for the next tennis ace
• Buckinghamshire and Warwickshire round out the top five

New data reveals Surrey as the tennis capital of the UK.

Research by tennisworldusa.org analysed the accessibility of tennis facilities, performance level coaching, and the number of high ranking players from each county. Each area was assigned a score according to its rank in each of these categories to determine the places most likely to produce Britain’s next tennis superstar.

1. Surrey

Surrey is the UK area most likely to produce the next tennis superstar. The area has the most access to tennis courts, coaches, high level coaches, and high level youth coaches. It is also home to the most top 100 ranked players of any county.

Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) registered venues in the country number more than 550, this equates to almost 50 per 100,000 residents, over 40% more than its nearest rival in the category. Access to coaching is also superior with almost 1,000 coaches of all types in the area making for almost 80 for every 100,000 residents. Surrey also has the most performance level coaches per capita at almost 30 per 100,000, as well as the most performance level youth coaches, with 120 across the county. 

Across U18 boys, U18 girls, open male and open female LTA rankings, Surrey has 50 players included in their top 100’s. Surrey is for sure the place with the strongest promise of producing the next tennis superstar who would join the likes of Anna Smith, Chris Eaton, and Hannah Collin who all reigned from the county.

2. Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire ranks second with access to more than 30 LTA registered venues per 100,000 capita. Herts is also second in each coaching category, boasting almost 650 coaches at 55 per 100,000 residents. In terms of performance coaches, Hertfordshire has more than 250, and more than 70 specialised in coaching youth talent. 

LTA rankings define 25 Hertfordshire players in the top 100 ranks of their categories, including two top 10 ranking U18 girls, illustrating the great promise which makes Herts the second county from which to look out for upcoming champions. 

3. Avon

The region recognised as Avon by the LTA, which encapsulates Bristol and much of the surrounding area, comes in third. With just below 30 LTA registered tennis venues and more than 40 coaches accessible per 100,000 population in the area, the racquet sport is in good hands in this area of the South West. 

Avon has almost 70 performance level coaches, of whom 35% qualify to work with youth players. With ten U18 players in the UK’s top 100 ranks for their categories, and boasting the British fifth ranked female player, Katie Swan, Avon sits as the third most likely spot to produce future stardom. 

4. Buckinghamshire

With close to 200 LTA registered venues making for just over 20 per 100,000 residents, Buckinghamshire comes in fourth place for access to LTA registered facilities. Almost 300 coaches in the county equates to more than 35 per 100,000, with more than 16 performance coaches per 100,000 and 40 youth performance coaches.

A total of nine players ranked in their top 100’s, including six in the U18 categories shows the county’s potential for producing Britain’s next King or Queen of the court. 

5. Warwickshire

In fifth, Warwickshire hosts just over 100 registered LTA venues, enough to make for almost 18 per 100,000 residents. Near to 150 coaches at just over 25 per 100,000, means improvement on the court is highly accessible in the county, while over 11 performance coaches per 100,000 make competitive talent a welcome byproduct. 

This is proven with the nine Warwickshire players ranked in the top 100 UK players of their categories. These include two of the top five ranked Brits in the Open Male category with Daniel Evans and Lloyd Glasspool who rank fourth and fifth respectively

6. Herefordshire & Worcestershire

The counties of Herefordshire & Worcerstershire’s combined LTA area sports just fewer than 140 registered venues, just below 20 per 100,000. An abundance of coaches, over 330, makes for more than 40 per 100,000 which is in fact the third highest ratio nationally. With 90 performance level coaches, and 21 performance level youth coaches, this particular area of the South West is yet another from which to keep an eye out for emerging talent.

7. Berkshire
   

152 LTA registered venues mean that residents of Berkshire have access to these facilities at a rate over 16 per 100,000, as well as access to slightly fewer than 25 coaches per the same portion of the population. More than ten performance coaches per 100,000 and almost 30 of these paying focus to youthful talent, Berkshire makes seventh on the list of counties to watch the courts of.

Players such as Marcus Willis of Wokingham, who made his tour debut at Wimbledon in 2016 and even faced Roger Federer on center court, illustrate Berkshire’s knack for producing superstars of the court.

8. Bedfordshire
   

LTA registered venues in Bedfordshire number just over 20 per 100,000 residents while access to coaches comes in at a similar figure. With nearly 60 performance coaches in the county, and 20 performance coaches working with U18 players, Bedfordshire ranks eighth most likely to produce the UK’s next tennis superstar. 

9. East Sussex
   

East Sussex becomes the penultimate county in the top ten playing host to LTA venues at a rate just below 14 per 100,000. Coaches are accessible at a rate just below 20 per 100,000 population while the county has 60 performance level coaches and 30 who work with young players.

     10) Leicestershire

Leicestershire rounds out the top ten as a county with around 15 LTA venues accessible per 100,000 population. Close to 180 coaches make for about 17 per 100,000 population while approximately 80 of these coaches focus at performance level of the game. Nine top 100 players allow the county to finalise the top ten counties from which stardom is most likely to emerge.

The top 10 tennis capitals of the UK
County	Overall Score (Max. 50)
Surrey	50.00
Hertfordshire	32.33
Avon	26.69
Buckinghamshire	22.70
Warwickshire	18.88
Herefordshire & Worcestershire	16.76
Berkshire	14.25
Bedfordshire	13.59
East Sussex	12.44
Leicestershire	12.41

A spokesperson for tennisworldusa.org commented on the findings: “With the huge popularity of tennis in the UK, both in terms of competitive and leisure purposes, it’s no wonder that facilities are so greatly accessible in the country. 

While it’s been an agonising few years for British fans awaiting a grand slam title, their time is surely coming with a wealth of talent in the pipeline being demonstrated by players like Emma Raducanu and Cameron Norrie. 

While those fans are undoubtedly hoping to see the current cohort of Brits start dominating on court, it’s interesting to see where the next generation are likely to spring from.”

Tennisworldusa.org is a news site providing news, reads and videos around the sports of tennis and golf.

Credit to https://www.tennisworldusa.org/ who supplied the above post.