Dumbarton Tennis Club legend wins Lifetime Achievement at Tennis Scotland Awards

Patrick Leonard won the Lifetime Achievement Award to reward nearly 60 years of dedication to Dumbarton Tennis Club.

The 89-year-old is the longest-serving member of the club, having joined in 1968, and has been inspirational as a player, volunteer, committee member and friend to many.

Even now, he remains hands on, going the extra mile and devoting his spare time to helping with grass cutting, tree pruning, wall repairs, painting and even mending the gardening equipment.

Over the years, he represented Scotland in the Senior Home Nations, played for West of Scotland in County Championships, competed on the grass courts of Wimbledon and was honoured by his local council for services to sport in 2011. His club now has a mixed doubles tournament named after him, which is a fitting legacy to a fantastic ambassador for tennis and a role model to so many.

Patrick said: “I started my journey through local leagues and made my way to the veterans’ teams. Tennis has been very good to me, and I have enjoyed it thoroughly. It feels lovely to win even though I tend not to look for recognition. I have to keep myself busy and I have been a member at Dumbarton for more than 50 years and I’m now the only holder of a lifetime membership.”

In total, 22 Awards were handed out as the tennis and Padel tennis community came together to celebrate a year of success and growth for the sports at Stirling Court Hotel on Friday 28 March.

Blane Dodds, Chief Executive of Tennis Scotland, said: “Congratulations to the winners at this year’s Tennis Scotland Awards, which was a fantastic celebration of people who make our sport so special.

“We have an immense appreciation for all the volunteers, coaches and officials who give their time to supporting players, events and venues across Scotland and it was inspirational to hear the incredible stories behind all the finalists.

“It was a pleasure to reward their amazing contributions to our great sport and I look forward to continuing to work with them to grow and develop tennis and Padel tennis in the future.”