Annie Watson Tennis

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What does truly inclusive sport actually look like? 🎾

This weekend I had the opportunity to volunteer at the GB Visually Impaired Tennis camp and learn more about VI coaching from Louise Assioun, Frankie Rohan and Stephen Eccles during the sport psychology sessions.

It was really interesting to spend time on court learning about the language and communication used within visually impaired tennis, getting involved with the B1 athletes, and watching and learning from the coaches during the B2-5 day.

The weekend gave me a much better understanding of the adaptations, detail and awareness that go into making tennis accessible and high-performing for all athletes.

A really valuable experience and one that definitely challenged me to think more deeply about inclusion within sport and coaching. Thank you to the LTA and Loughborough Sport!

Tell me… can your sport be more inclusive?

Incredibly proud to finish my first year at university (nearly!) having contributed over 50 hours to the CVA and over 130 hours to building my private affiliate tennis coaching business, all whilst navigating the challenges of first year studies at Loughborough University.

Alongside this, I’ve committed many hours each week to training, AU matchplay, planning for next year, summer opportunities, and supporting external sport events.

This year has taught me so much about balancing performance, leadership, coaching, and academics, and I’m really grateful for every opportunity, challenge, and person who has been part of the journey so far. Excited to keep building in second year 🎾

As Semester 2 comes to an end and exam season begins, I’ve been reflecting on what has been such a busy, rewarding, and memorable few months 💖🎾

From being Tournament Director for the Loughborough International Visually Impaired Tennis Event and debriefing with the LTA on ways we can improve the event next year, to coaching the IMS All Stars team alongside Scott, this semester has given me so many opportunities to grow. Working with the top 10 IMS tennis players and collaborating with the IMS exec team on ideas for the future of racket sports has been such a rewarding experience 💜

I also feel incredibly grateful to have been recognised at the AU Tennis Ball as Volunteer Coach of the Year, alongside our team winning Team of the Year after winning both the league and the cup 🏆

Another huge highlight was completing the Female Coach Leadership Programme, finishing with a presentation and dinner with Loughborough Sport reflecting on my growth throughout the programme and the confidence and leadership skills I’ve developed.

Academically, this semester has been just as interesting, exploring topics including Hawk-Eye and the fan experience, corruption in sport, managing doping, climate change and behaviour change in sport organisations, and the relationship between sport, media, and politics and the implications for viewers.

Now onto exams in leisure market microeconomics and academic research skills!

Feeling very proud of my year at Loughborough Tennis, especially seeing everything reflected in our club photo, and very excited to become Chair next year 💖

“Why guess when you can know?” 💭🎾

Last night I completed the Female Coaching Leadership Programme with Natalia and Mark after being part of the programme throughout this academic year.

The programme included workshops, collaboration with other coaches, work with a coach developer, and ended with a final presentation for Loughborough Sport.

One thing I valued most was being encouraged to slow down and reflect. Loughborough throws so many opportunities at you that it’s easy to keep moving from one thing to the next without properly taking it all in. This programme really made me stop, reflect on my journey so far, and think more deeply about the way I coach and communicate with players.

The coaching point “Why guess when you can know?” really stayed with me. It highlighted the importance of building strong relationships with players, understanding how they are feeling, and adapting sessions accordingly rather than making assumptions. It also made me more aware of not overloading players with too many teaching points at once.

Such an insightful and thought-provoking experience and I’m really grateful to everyone involved for creating such a valuable opportunity for female coaches 💜

So proud to have spent the last month coaching the IMS All Stars Tennis team alongside Scott 🎾

Working with the top 10 IMS tennis players and watching everyone compete with so much energy, effort, and team spirit made the whole experience incredibly rewarding. I couldn’t be prouder of the team and everything they achieved 👏

I also loved working with Eve, Anton, and the IMS exec team to help deliver the event and start developing ideas for how we can make it even bigger and better for racket sports next year.

Very grateful for the opportunity and for such a fun few weeks with such a great group of people.. thank you Loughborough for the opportunity!

What a weekend this was!!! 🎾🔥

I had the opportunity to be Tournament Director for the international visually impaired tennis tournament for the LTA held at Loughborough University, leading the delivery of the event from planning through to competition. A great opportunity made possible by the CVA and David Boddy.

From the outside, it looked like a great tournament. Behind the scenes, it took a lot to get there.

By 10pm on Friday night we were still setting up courts. The balls hadn’t arrived, the trophies were in the wrong place, and catering still wasn’t sorted. By Saturday morning it was time to go anyway, so it became a case of making decisions quickly, solving problems on the move, and keeping everything ticking!

Across the weekend that meant pulling together volunteers (and then finding more when we needed them!), supporting players on court, coordinating officials, putting together food for 30+ people, sourcing replacement medals, tracking down equipment, and adapting constantly around a really busy weekend in Loughborough.

I worked closely with Ali Dalton, Sophie Hall and referee Steven Piltcher throughout the event.

What really stood out was how well it all came together. The level of tennis, the atmosphere across the weekend, and the feedback from players was genuinely brilliant! There was so much positive feedback for the event as a whole, which made everything behind the scenes completely worth it!

A huge thank you to all the volunteers who gave up their time, stepped in when we needed more support, and played such a big role in making the tournament what it was 🙌

A lot of hours went into this from a lot of people, and I’m really proud to have delivered it. I would love to be involved in more events like this in the future and continue building experience at this level 🚀LTA - Tennis For BritainThe Esplanade Hotel

What a term of sport…

Back to club tennis…. Heron Tennis and Ace Tennis Coaching & Academy Loughborough University