Winners revealed at Tennis Scotland Awards 2024
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The winners of the Tennis Scotland Awards 2024 have been announced, celebrating the formidable achievements and contributions of individuals, clubs, programmes and competitions in 2023.
Scotland’s tennis and Padel tennis community came together for a ceremony held at Stirling Court Hotel and hosted by television presenter Rhona McLeod.
In total, 21 Awards were handed out across 20 categories, including joint winners of the new Padel Award, going to the first-ever Scottish Cup champions Barnton Park Men and West of Scotland Padel Women.
This year’s Lifetime Achievement award, recognising an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to Scottish tennis over an extended period, was presented to Christine Windmill. Christine has been devoted to Scottish tennis as a player, coach, tournament director and volunteer and has grown the game through her positions as President and Board member of Tennis Scotland.
Her efforts were recognised over New Year when she received an OBE in the King’s Honours for Services to Tennis. Recently, Christine was selected to represent Team GB at the ITF Masters World Team Championships in Turkey, where her Women’s 75+ team took home Gold.
Club of the Year
The 2023 Club of the Year was awarded to Kelso Orchard Tennis Club. The club has worked hard to increase junior membership through extensive work in schools and hosting ‘come-and-try' festivals. Adult membership was also boosted after beginners' sessions were implemented.
Additionally, Kelso Orchard established connections with local care homes, increasing the participation of older generations taking up tennis. The club leverages strong connections with the local community and businesses to host fundraising events and carry out various initiatives.
Players of the Year
Charlie Robertson and Jacob Fearnley were once again recipients of the Junior Player of the Year and Senior Player of the Year respectively.
Charlie climbed to a career-high ITF junior ranking of 25 in the world. He has now competed in all four Junior Grand Slam events, including main draw wins at Wimbledon and the Australian Open. Since then, Charlie qualified and won a round at the ATP Lexus Glasgow Challenger, progressing his men’s pro ranking.
Jacob has continued to impress on both the college tour and professional tour, helping Texas Christian University to number one in the Division I college rankings last season, including making history for TCU in winning the ITA National Indoor Championships in back-to-back years. On the pro tour, Jacob teamed up with Johannus Monday to win the Rothesay Challenger doubles title, which they followed up by winning a round in the Wimbledon men’s doubles main draw.
During the few tournaments he has played, Jacob swept the ITF M25 Edgbaston singles from qualifying, beating Kyle Edmund in the final and winning the doubles with compatriot Connor Thomson. He finished the year with another M25 singles title in Luxembourg where he also won doubles with TCU alum Alex Rybakov.
International Player of the Year Maia Lumsden made history in 2023 when she teamed up with Naiktha Bains to become the first British ladies’ doubles pair to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 40 years. Maia won six professional doubles titles in 2023, including two on home soil at the W25 and W60 Glasgow. She also won her first WTA 125 title with Jessika Ponchet at Open Capfinances Rouen Métropole. Additionally, Maia received GB call-ups for the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup squad and the 2024 United Cup team.
'Congratulations to the winners'
Blane Dodds, Tennis Scotland Chief Executive, said: “Congratulations to the winners at this year’s Tennis Scotland Awards, all of whom do so much for the sport and were deservedly honoured during our ceremony at Stirling Court Hotel.
“We had a tremendous field of nominations and we want to offer our thanks to all the individuals and organisations who work tirelessly to further the growth and development of tennis in Scotland.
“With an all-time high club membership, increasing participation and record entries at competitions, we have real momentum in Scottish tennis and as we celebrate the many successes of 2023, we look forward to the rest of this year with confidence.
“Many of our Award winners now go ahead to the LTA British Awards later this year and we wish them all the best of luck.”
Keep an eye on our socials and website as we tell you more about all our Awards winners in the coming weeks.
In Full: Tennis Scotland Awards 2024 winners
Volunteer of the Year: Aidah Isa
Rising Star: Dylan Galloway
Development Coach of the Year: Jordan Gray
Performance Coach of the Year: Ashley Webster
Connecting Communities: Achieve More Scotland
Park Venue of the Year: Meadows Park
University of the Year: University of Stirling
School of the Year: Dollar Academy
Tennis for All: Montrose Tennis Club
Official of the Year: David Duncan
Competition of the Year: Scottish Grass Court Championships (Giffnock Open)
Team of the Year: Scottish Junior Four Nations Team
Padel Award: West of Scotland Padel Women
Padel Award: Barnton Park Padel Men
Club of the Year: Kelso Orchard Tennis Club
Senior Veteran Player of the Year: Frances MacLennan
Junior Player of the Year: Charlie Robertson
Senior Player of the Year: Jacob Fearnley
International Player of the Year: Maia Lumsden
Special Recognition Awards: Richard Cook
Lifetime Achievement Award: Christine Windmill
Award Winners Gallery
