As the mother of a double-Wimbledon champion, Judy Murray certainly knows her way around a tennis court. Here, she shares her top tips for encouraging children to get engaged with the sport
What are the benefits of introducing tennis to children"
Tennis is a sport that you can play from age four, right into your 80s! It doesn?t favour men more than women ? it?s a sport that can be enjoyed by the whole family. It can also be played both indoors and outdoors, but getting children outside and enjoying the fresh air can only be a good thing.
How can parents encourage their children to get involved in tennis"
The most important thing is that you love the sport, and that you engage with it ? not just play it, but follow it on television. Watching the best, most exciting tournaments and the top players helps develop a real passion for the sport, in the way that many people do with football. The aim is to get children to understand the world of tennis, as well as play it. Tennis is competing with so many other things for children?s attention, that we have to make our sport fun, stimulating and as easy as possible. We should help them to develop the skills that they need to be able to improve, because if children are good at something, they grow in confidence and are more likely to stick with it.
How do you keep your motivation going during the dark winter months, when playing outside can be challenging"
That is certainly one of the challenges, as tennis is traditio...