Portsmouth tennis legend Jenny Sayer lands national LTA award for services to the sport

A Portsmouth tennis official who gives up countless hours of her time has been rewarded for her efforts by scooping the ‘Official of the Year’ award at this year’s LTA Tennis Awards.
Jenny SayerJenny Sayer
Jenny Sayer

One of 18 national winners, Jenny Sayer received the accolade from the governing body for tennis in Britain on account of her work refereeing and running the game at all levels, including disability competition.

Tennis competition wouldn’t happen without the dedication of nearly 1,000 officials who support the game from grassroots to elite tennis.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Jenny has legendary status at Portsmouth Tennis Centre where her passion for the grassroots shines through her work as the competition co-ordinator.

On top of this, she also finds time to be her county’s safeguarding officer.

In a virtual ceremony, Jenny was presented with her award by James Keothavong, chair umpire who has taken charge of major events across the world, including the men’s singles final at Wimbledon.

‘This is such a wonderful surprise – a couple of my good friends and I tuned into the virtual award ceremony together, which was exciting,’ she said.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘To see that I had reached the top three was great but when James read out my name as national winner, we leapt out of our seats!

‘It is still sinking in but I feel very proud and honoured to receive this award.

‘I want to say a big thank you to all the players, parents and colleagues that have supported me over the past 12 years.’

Jenny’s daughter, Natalie, added:’Congratulations to my mum.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘If you know my mum, you know how many hours she spends organising tournaments and events for all different age groups so that everyone can have a chance to compete.’

Currently in their fifth year, the LTA Tennis Awards celebrate the achievements made by outstanding volunteers, coaches, officials, venues and players in Britain.

Presented by Leon Smith OBE, the national ceremony – which was digital for the first time in the awards’ history – saw the likes of current British No.1s Dan Evans and Johanna Konta pick up the LTA’s Men’s and Women’s ‘Player of the Year’ awards respectively, alongside 16 other national winners.

This year saw more than 2,000 nominations across grassroots categories including Young Person of the Year and Club of the Year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Nominations were drawn from more than 25,000 volunteers, 4,400 coaches, 940 officials, 20,000 schools, 2,700 clubs and more than 9,700 LTA approved tournaments - demonstrating the extraordinary contributions of individuals and venues who help to open up the sport and bring new fans and players to the game.

‘The LTA Tennis Awards are a real celebration of the people that make our sport thrive,’ said LTA president, David Rawlinson.

‘They celebrate the achievements made by outstanding volunteers, coaches, officials, venues and players, who are all vital in helping us to grow the game.

‘To be named a national winner out of over 2,000 public nominations is a fantastic achievement so I’d like to congratulate all of this year’s winners and extend my thanks to each and every one of them for all that they do to help tennis in Britain.’

*

Inspired by Jenny’s story? To find out more information about the LTA Tennis Awards or for information on how to play, coach, volunteer or officiate in tennis, head to www.lta.org.uk.

Related topics: