Watch out Emma Raducanu. At Llantrisant Tennis Club we’ve got our own rising star Emily Jordan.

Emily, our 17-year-old assistant coach, recently won Young Person of the Year at Tennis Wales Awards 2022.

Her win was one of two successes at the annual awards as our Lead Coach Will Croft was also a finalist for Development Coach of the Year.

It’s been a great year for coaching at Llantrisant Tennis Club with record numbers of junior and adult coaching sessions, which is reflected in the increase in membership and players.

Anyone who has taken part in coaching at Llantrisant will recognise Emily, who regularly helps Will on court.

A sixth former at Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive School, Emily has been playing tennis at Llantrisant since she was 12 and was “overjoyed” when her name was announced as the winner at the Tennis Wales glitzy ceremony at St David’s Hotel, Cardiff, on March 5.

Emily, who plans to complete her Level 2 coaching this year, says: “Over the last year I've really focused on my role as an assistant coach as well as my game. Having this recognition from Tennis Wales is incredible and will only encourage me to keep going and pursue my tennis further.

“I can't wait to see where tennis takes me in the future.”

Our club coach Will Croft was also thrilled to be recognised by Tennis Squad and Tennis Wales as a finalist for Development Coach of the Year.

Since joining the club in 2021 Will has worked hard using his positive attitude to develop the coaching programme and says he’s determined to work even harder to win the title next year.

Will has been playing tennis since he was 5 and started his coaching journey at the age of 12 when the manager of his local tennis centre spotted his potential.

“I enjoy coaching at Llantrisant. It’s superb that the club is giving me the freedom to put on as much activity as I can. We are creating a welcoming environment with great people of all ages! It doesn’t even feel like a job as all the people I coach make my work so much fun.”

“Both me and Emily will be looking to use all our experience and expertise to push on and hopefully see Llantrisant Tennis Club and our coaching team up for more awards in the future!

Tennis Squad Director & Coach Robert Wedlake added: “This is well-deserved recognition not just for Will and Emily, but for the whole club.. They show bags of enthusiasm and commitment to help players of all levels progress, not just on the coaching courses but by supporting teams, competition and social tennis activities too.

“We’ve had some challenging weather this year, which can really test resolve, but we are so proud of the dedication and resilience that Will and Emily show, which is mirrored in our coaching programme which has grown to record levels in the past year.

“Our coaches are supported by the wider Tennis Squad umbrella which supports them with training, mentoring and a support team including our directors, the club committee and teenage Tennis Leaders. With an infrastructure including long term facility development planning, welfare support and competition pathways we are in a really strong place to continue the growth of the club and secure its future for years to come.”

For more information on coaching at Llantrisant Tennis Club visit https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/LlantrisantTennisClubCoaching

Find out more about the Wales Tennis Award 2022 winners: https://www.lta.org.uk/about-us/in-your-area/tennis-wales/news/tennis-wales-awards-2022-our-winners-are-announced/