Richard Edgley was a Tennis Coach in Lincolnshire who strongly believed in Tennis for Everyone. Disabilities of any kind should not be a barrier to our sport.

On Sunday afternoon we all at Sleaford Tennis Club held a social for all who wanted to experience tennis with a twist. The twist is something Richard Edgley had been trying to introduce widely across Lincolnshire for some years.

You didn’t need any special racket or strings or shoes. All you needed was an open mind and experience playing a game of tennis with other players that had disabilities of some kind.

Players could have autism or suffer from epilepsy or play in a wheelchair and they would be paired with an able body player making a mixed doubles game. This produces a game that has a huge amount of moving parts as we and Richard all believed it would.

It turned out perfectly on Sunday afternoon producing fun and exciting games of tennis across all the tennis courts. Richard’s widow, Jackie, came down to support; along with some scrumptious cake. She was delighted to meet Hugh, a friend that knew Richard when he was a teenager playing tennis.

Neil Rossiter, competition organiser and wheelchair player/coach said: “All so proud that Richard’s vision was still strong in other players, and I believe that this afternoon was the true meaning of Fully Inclusive tennis, that proved to be so enjoyable for every player.

But Richard had the right term from the beginning as he always said “It’s Only Tennis”.

Thanks to all the parents who brought along gorgeous homemade cakes, and also big thank you to all the helpers on that day: Jules, Stuart, Jane, Pat, Katie, Jeannete, Lucy, and Giles for creating such an enjoyable afternoon for everyone at Sleaford Tennis Club.