Kempsey Tennis Club are aiming to retain their crown as Herefordshire and Worcestershire LTA Club of the Year after being shortlisted for the 2020 award.

The club, which is based at Plovers Rise in the village, have enjoyed one of the most successful years in their 30-year history, despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Although restrictions have limited court time over the past 12 months, Kempsey have gone from strength to strength to put themselves in line for the county honour.

With tennis being one of the few outdoor sports able to take place during the pandemic, the club, which has three courts, saw their membership grow by nearly 70 players, while more than 250 pay and play bookings were made.

In June, Kempsey became the first club in Worcestershire to sign up to and embrace the LTA Rally initiative, which offered the community chance to get involved with the sport.

Kempsey also led the way in the West Midlands by becoming the first club to install a SmartGate, which enhanced security by only allowing players access to the courts with a code sent with their email booking.

The gate is integrated with the floodlights too so players can pay for their use as part of making a booking, and has enabled more than 2,000 extra pay and play hours to be opened up to the community.

Kempsey, who were also Club of the Year runners-up in the Malvern Hills District Council Sports Awards in 2019, are sharing their success and knowledge with clubs across the region by giving online presentations on behalf of the Midlands LTA.

Club chairman Ed Bradford said: “The past 12 months have been challenging for everyone throughout society but what we have achieved as a club shows just what is possible.

“We have attracted new members and brought tennis to people who perhaps either haven’t played before or have decided to dust their rackets off after many years.

“Plans are already afoot for 2021 and we are looking forward to another successful year once we are able to return to the courts.”

Photo: Kempsey members, Ed and Charlotte Bradford, being presented with last year's Club of the Year Award by Ian King, President of Herefordshire and Worcestershire County LTA.