The Sports Minister has confirmed that the governing bodies for tennis and athletics have been awarded funding to support the delivery of their calendars of summer events, whilst the phased return of spectators continues under the roadmap out of lockdown.
As part of the Government’s Sport Survival Package, a loan of £14.3 million has been made available to the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), which meant that they could make a commitment at the beginning of the year to ensure that the grass court season could go ahead. The backing of the loan support allowed the LTA to host two events in Nottingham, and further events in Birmingham, Eastbourne and the Queen’s Club, in the lead up to The Championships at Wimbledon.
All of these events had significantly reduced gate receipts and double the usual net costs due to restricted spectator capacities and COVID-19. The tournaments at Nottingham, Birmingham and Eastbourne were all elite women’s events and helped to ensure that British and international players could prepare for The Championships whilst remaining in COVID safe…
