Game, set and match: Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis and Squash Club named Tennis Club of the Year
Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis and Squash Club have been named Tennis Club of the Year at a prestigious national awards ceremony, writes Matt Wilson.
After a 'secret shopper' dropped in on the Newbridge club anonymously, Wolverhampton were made finalists in four categories of the Club Mirror awards held at the Palace Hotel in Manchester.
They were up against sports clubs from all over the country for website of the year, manager of the year, and environmental club of the year.
But they came away victorious in the tennis club of the year category, and operations manager Marc Hughes was delighted.
"I didn't expect that," he said. "We've not done this before, but we thought we'd give it a go. It's been a fantastic experience. We're over the moon to get the award."
Hughes said a number of recent changes the club has made were pivotal in the judges' decisions.
"It's a sign of how the club's changed actually," he said. "It was always seen as an exclusive club many years ago, we've tried to be a bit more an open club and be more welcoming. I think that's why we've won the award.
"It used to be members only, now you can do pay and play. We do a lot in the community in West Park and Aldersley, delivering tennis coaching to people in the community.
"We've really improved the facilities as well, modernised the bar and the restaurant.
"We've put solar panels on our indoor tennis courts, we've got LED lights indoors, and we're the first club in the country to put LED lights on outdoor courts.
"We've also upgraded the majority of courts with a new artificial grass surface."
Wolverhampton have 11 outdoor tennis courts and three indoor courts as well as six squash and racketball courts.
The club have 12 men's and ladies teams in the Staffordshire Tennis League and six squash teams that compete in the Shropshire League and Warwickshire League.
They have 300 juniors and 250 adults playing on a regular basis and have hosted the Staffordshire County Tennis Championships for the past two years.
Hughes thanked the tennis committee and the club's every point rackets academy coaching team led by Paul Hodgetts.