Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative
About the WJTI
- The WJTI began in 2001 and is a community tennis initiative run by The All England Club in partnership with Merton and Wandsworth. In total Dan Bloxham and his team of coaches have visited over 450 schools and given more than 100,000 kids their first experience of tennis.
- Around 300 children per day also attend free tennis coaching and skills sessions held at the Club 45 weekends a year.
- Squad of 45 selected players receive additional individual coaching before and after school.
- At the Championships: Selected players from the Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative (WJTI) entertain spectators with a mixture of tennis exercises and general sports skills and drills on the middle Saturday and final Sunday.
- Around 250 children and their parents who have shown particular commitment and enthusiasm throughout the year will visit the Club to see the players practising on the Championship courts.
- WJTI has one international player, Lila Simpson (11), a further two at National level, five regional and over 20 county standard players. WJTI players compete at every level from 8 & Under Mini Red to International.
- Winners of Surrey Mini League Red and Orange Girls 2008 HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 and Under Challenge.
- The largest national junior grass court tournament involving some 20,000 young players.
- The National Finals, 64 boys and 64 girls, made up of the 44 County winners and 20 best runners-up are held on Wimbledon's Championship grass courts in August.
