Upgrade underway for tennis courts in EK

Published: Thursday 19 October 2023

This is a generic image of a tennis ball resting on a court

Work is underway on new tennis courts in East Kilbride.

South Lanarkshire Council is working with the LTA to invest in and refurbish the park tennis courts at Whitemoss.

The three courts at the tennis venue will be renovated with a £93,000 investment from the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation, delivered by the LTA to ensure that quality facilities are available for the local community. 

Alongside the investment, South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture will also work with the LTA to deliver a range of activity across the park sites. This will include weekly organised free park tennis sessions for all ages, playing levels and experience where equipment is provided, meaning that people will not need someone to play with or their own racket. Local Tennis Leagues will also provide friendly, sociable, opportunities to get active through local competition. 

Once opened in the new year, the courts will be available to book online including via the LTA website, making it far easier to find and book a court or activity.  

Chair of the council’s Community and Enterprise Resources Committee, Councillor Robert Brown, said: “We are delighted that the tennis courts at Whitemoss are to benefit from this funding from the LTA.

“We understand that the courts need this level of investment and look forward to the work being completed and the tennis courts opening in spring of next year.

“Park tennis courts are vital in providing opportunities for children and adults to get active, delivering significant physical and mental health and wellbeing benefits to participants. Accessible facilities in parks are particularly critical to opening up the sport to those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and women and girls.”

Julie Porter, Chief Operating Officer at the LTA, said: “We are delighted to be working with South Lanarkshire Council to improve their park tennis facilities and provide more opportunities for anyone to pick up a racket and get active.

“This investment is part of the UK Government and LTA’s Parks Tennis Project and will mean that courts will be available for people to use for years to come.

“We will also be working closely with South Lanarkshire Council to ensure that the local community have a range of accessible opportunities to get on court and open up our sport to many more people.”

The project is part of a nationwide investment by the UK Government and LTA Tennis Foundation, delivered by the LTA, to refurbish public tennis courts across Great Britain, and open up the sport to many more people. This investment will see thousands of existing park tennis courts in poor or unplayable condition brought back to life for the benefit of communities across the country through renovation works, and improved court accessibility with new gate-access technology and booking systems. Over 1,500 courts have already been transformed as part of the project so far.