TENNIS ace Tim Henman made a special visit to a Newport tennis club on Wednesday (August 1) to coach young children and encourage them to be active and healthy.

The former British number one spent the day at Allt-Yr-Yn Lawn Tennis Club and drew quite a crowd of fans.

He put the club’s younger members through a morning fitness and tennis skills session before answering fans’ questions about the sport and his career.

In the afternoon, he took on some of the club’s top performers in both singles and doubles matches.

He said the day had been “great fun”.

“The biggest challenge for tennis in the UK is accessibility and opportunity, and when you get a club like this that’s run by volunteers, it’s great – they’ve got so many kids here”, he said.

“I know with my three kids that if they do an activity and they don’t enjoy it, they’re not going to want to do it again.

“You can see the atmosphere here and how much fun the kids are having.

“It’s a great set-up and we need more clubs like this around the whole of the UK.”

The former men’s world number four said taking up a sport helped children develop important life skills.

“The challenge for all sports is that participation is probably declining, and I think that’s disappointing because I think there are so many other benefits”, he said.

“It’s not just about the individual sport itself – it’s about learning how to compete, win and lose.

“There are huge health benefits to being outside active instead of just sitting in front of a screen and swiping at something.”

Club captain Richie Jones said: “It’s a real coup for us in Newport today – all the kids and members are loving it.

“It was our 90th anniversary last year, so to follow on from that with this is wonderful.

“Tim has been fantastic with the kids, putting in so much effort and energy, and hopefully it will inspire some of them to get involved, play a bit more, or train a bit harder.”

Jon Howell, the Allt-yr-yn club’s current champion, was looking forward to taking on one of the game’s stars.

“I think it’s been a lovely day here, and the kids will remember this”, Mr Howell said.

“It will benefit the club and the Newport area, raising the standard of tennis and its popularity too.”

Alicia Goulding is from Tennis Wales, an organisation which encourages people of all ages and abilities to give the sport a try.

“Tennis is an inclusive sport – there’s something for everyone”, she said.

“It’s great to have Tim here inspiring the next generation, but for the parents and adults who remember Tim, it’s great for them as well.”

Ms Goulding said the sport had a bright future in Wales.

“It’s a growing sport in Wales, we’ve got increasing numbers of school events.

“We’ve got 5,000 primary school children participating in our competitions.

“We run ‘tennis for kids’ courses, getting 4-11 year olds playing tennis and experiencing it for the first time.

“At the elite end, we’ve just had Morgan Cross and James Story competing in Junior Wimbledon, and Evan Hoyt is playing in ATP Challenger events.

“So at all levels it’s an exciting time for Wales.”