On 14th June, we welcomed around 70 club and county volunteers to our 3rd Annual Volunteers' Day at Bournemouth University's Chapelgate Sports Ground, a fantastic day celebrating the incredible people who make tennis and padel happen across Dorset.
The day featured inspiring talks from Dorset Tennis & Padel Ambassador and wheelchair tennis professional Lucy Shuker, ex professional player James Auckland, Andy Murray's former doubles partner and Sarah Samuel who shared the remarkable journey of her son Toby from learning to play at local club St Leonards & St Ives to becoming a professional, currently rising in the world top 150.
A highlight of the day was presenting the LTA Awards 2026, recognising outstanding contributions from volunteers aged 16 to 93 – a brilliant reminder that our sport is truly for everyone. Award winners can be found here.
This year also saw the introduction of two new Dorset Tennis & Padel awards:
🏆 Small Club of the Year – Marnhull Tennis Club
🏆 Inspiring Player of the Year – joint winners Toby Samuel, Liam Foy and Judith Cooling both from Southbourne Tennis Club
With glorious weather, a fantastic BBQ, an entertaining exhibition doubles match and plenty of on-court action during the volunteer mix-in doubles session, the day was a wonderful celebration of our tennis and padel community.
A huge thank you to Bournemouth University for hosting us, Ricky and the Kingsgate Kitchen team for the superb BBQ and hospitality, our guest speakers for sharing their stories and James Aukland, James Davidson, Rich Irwin and Rafe Samuel for putting on a brilliant, entertaining exhibition match. Many thanks also to Quay Rackets who kindly donated tennis balls and prizes.
Most importantly, thank you to every volunteer who attended and to all those who give their time, energy and passion to tennis and padel across Dorset.
