An Essex council is looking to piggy back on Olympic tennis fever on the back of Andy Murray's Olympic gold medal defence in Rio and Johanna Konta's inexorable rise up the world rankings.
Waltham Forest Council is seeking to get more people playing tennis after opening new 'state-of-the-art' courts in Ridgeway Park in Chingford.
The park now features six floodlit outdoor tennis courts, two mini tennis courts, a multi-use games area and a new pavilion.
They have run a borough-wide scheme tapping in to the Lawn Tennis Associations Great British Tennis Weekends offering free opportunities for first-time players.
The new courts were installed by Essex business ETC Sports Surfaces, who put in the courts, new LED floodlights and Duo Advantage Tennis mesh from Zaun.
Zaun is the only UK manufacturer of bespoke tennis mesh its Advantage Tennis fencing eliminates many of the downsides of traditional tennis chain link fencing, which deforms over time and is easy to cut, disfigure and vandalise.
A council-led scheme called Play Tennis Waltham Forest is asking people to pay £30 a year for 'unlimited tennis' at courts in Abbotts Park, Chingford Memorial Park, Lloyd Park and Aveling Park.
Families can alternatively pay £45 a year to play tennis on one of the boroughs 18 full-size courts and four mini courts. £5 to play per hour at the new facilities.
All courts can be booked up to seven days in advance and more information can be found at www.playtenniswalthamforest.com.