Dear LTA member

Possible re-establishment of a Tennis Club at the Hunstanton Recreation Ground

As you know Hunstanton Recreation Ground is the site of an open tournament held every year since 1920. According to the Hunstanton Lawn Tennis Tournament’s website, the event is the largest tennis tournament in the UK and maybe the most popular grass tennis tournament in the world. The ground is maintained year-round to a very high standard as the quote from BBC TV tennis commentator and former British number 1 tennis player Andrew Castle attests below.

“The long-established Hunstanton Recreation Ground grass courts are, without doubt, among the best quality in the UK, and favourably compare to those at Wimbledon and Queen’s Club. In addition to the Ground staging the 100-year-old Hunstanton Lawn Tennis Tournament - the largest annual Tournament in terms of competitor numbers in the country - the Lawn Tennis Association uses the courts for the prestigious annual Summer County Cup. The Cup is possibly the oldest tennis event on the domestic calendar having been founded in the 1890s and was one that I always looked forward to competing in for Somerset. As a tennis player I always enjoyed playing on top quality grass courts. Therefore, it is fantastic that the Hunstanton courts continue to be maintained to a world-class standard and enjoyed by tennis players of all abilities.”

There are 10 permanent grass courts and the facilities have recently been supplemented with the addition of 2 artificial surface courts. These courts can be booked online using LTA membership. Given this heritage and facility it is perhaps surprising that no year-round tennis club exists. In fact, a club did previously operate here. There is a pavilion on the site from which such a club could operate, but the facilities (whilst functional) need refurbishment and modernisation.

Several local people, with the support of the Borough Council of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk, which operates the site, are exploring the opportunity to re-establish a tennis club on the site. However, without the support of a committed membership and funding to modernise the current facility, such an aspiration is unlikely to be achieved.

If you would support this endeavour, we would appreciate it if you could send an email expressing your views to the following address hello@hunstantonadvisorygroup.co.uk. This commits you to nothing but would help to assess demand and support any grant funding applications for pavilion refurbishment. Dependent on the response it is intended to hold an open day in early summer to show case the facilities and seek further support for membership.