The programme is hosted at the headquarters of Focus Birmingham, an independent local charity dedicated to improving the lives of individuals with care and support needs, providing a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment. Through carefully tailored activity plans, participants can get active and experience the joy of tennis in a way that meets their individual requirements.
A Flexible Approach to Delivery
Now in its second year, the programme’s success is rooted in its highly adaptable delivery method:
Adaptive equipment bags: Participants utilize a custom mix of regular and specialized tennis equipment funded by the LTA and provided by Zsig and LUSU Sports, ensuring everyone can engage with the sport in a way that suits them.
Specialist Training: More than 30 coaches, volunteers, and staff underwent dedicated training provided by Sense and the LTA to enable them to adapt activities, equipment, and session pacing to maximize enjoyment and personal development. This training has also ensured the long-term sustainability of the programme moving forward.
Building Confidence: During the first year, all sessions were held at the familiar Focus Birmingham centre to foster trust. In the second year, the programme culminated in a milestone visit to Droitwich Tennis Club, allowing many participants to experience playing in a traditional tennis court environment for the very first time.
Launched in 2022, Sensory Tennis breaks the sport down into distinct, sensory-rich activities. This allows disabled people with complex needs to build fundamental tennis skills and reap the physical and social benefits of the sport in a meaningful way.
Matthew Elkington, EDI Programme Manager for Disabled People, said:
“Focus Birmingham is one of 850 venues that have delivered disability-specific or inclusive tennis opportunities this year as part of our Open Court programme. Annually, we distribute between 30 and 50 Sensory Tennis equipment bags to support clubs and community organisations. Tennis has so much to offer – everyone should have a chance to access tennis in a way that makes sense to them, without the barrier of equipment. This project is a wonderful example of the difference tennis can make.”
Neil Bates, LTA Accredited Coach, Course lead for the sessions, and Open Court Lead, added:
“Person-centred delivery is at the heart of what we do. Every session focuses on individual outcomes and celebrating achievements. To say it is ‘rewarding’ doesn’t do it justice. I love seeing the reaction when someone achieves something they never thought possible. A smile or a high-five tells you the session has made a personal difference. Giving people a way to connect and feel valued is what makes this so vital.”
To date, approximately 45 individuals have benefited from the sessions at Focus Birmingham. The initiative has also created opportunities for long-term progression, with two participants successfully transitioning to the Learning Disability (LD) competitive pathway by joining a specialized session at a local club.
Alice Turner, who leads the Sensory Tennis programme nationally at Sense and developed the partnership with the LTA, commented: “Sensory Tennis has grown significantly over the last four years, with over 40 new sessions set up at tennis and community venues across the UK. This has enabled around 450 disabled people with complex needs to engage in tennis for the first time – an achievement that would not be possible without our fantastic partnership with the LTA and LUSU Sports. The combination of our specialist staff training and the LTA Tennis Foundation funded kits will enable the success of the programme to continue and for Sensory Tennis to be something that Focus Birmingham can continue to deliver independently.”
Explore the Sensory Tennis toolkit to learn more about the programme and discover how coaches and volunteers can access free workforce training, equipment packages, and funding to help them establish new sessions.
Download the Sensory Tennis toolkit here.
