London Tennis Show lays down a marker

Tennis muscled in on the commercial worth of golf this weekend as the inaugural London Tennis show debuted alongside the established Golf Show at the ExCeL arena.

A host of the biggest brands in tennis exhibited their wares to the public in what was described as a “wonderful showcase” for the two sports by PGA chief executive Sandy Jones, who was delighted to allow tennis to co-host the event.

“I hope everyone goes away from the show over the next three days understanding the two sports a bit better,” he said.

On top of a range of retailers showcasing their products, the Tennis Show included a full-size showcourt that bustled with youngsters, who immersed themselves in a range of drills throughout the three-day weekend.

Supervising the activities on the showcourt, Alan Jones, who guided Jo Durie to No.5 in the world rankings during the 80s, praised the event and its ambitions.

“We’ve been well supported by the organisers and anything that identifies tennis with the public is a good thing and should be supported,” he said.

LTA chief executive Roger Draper was equally enthusiastic. “We’d like to thank everybody for allowing tennis to ‘gatecrash’ the party,” he said.

“We’ve been working with the Tennis Industry Association for some time now to really pull together the industry and hopefully emulate some of the success that golf’s had.”

Despite the positive turnout out from the movers and shakers in the tennis industry, the Golf Show drew the bulk of the crowds as the initial event suffered from inevitable teething problems – with the weekend closure of the Jubilee Line hardly helping matters.

Regardless, the majority of exhibitors were understanding and keen to see the event build on its positive start.

“We are happy with this first experience and we are OK for next year,” said Babolat’s Frank Debeauvais, while Draper added that he was eager to see the event get better and better.

“Hopefully we can grow the Golf and Tennis Show over the next few years,” he said.