Tennis center rally to celebrate its 20th anniversary

A tennis center in Newquay is coming together to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

Heron Tennis organizes various events to celebrate the twenty years that tennis has been offered in the city.

As part of the celebrations, the annual junior and adult awards were recently presented, including a special exhibition competition and live music from Sally Summers.

The winners of the 2024 junior awards included James Askey, young boy of the year, Ethan Roseveare, senior boy of the year, Poppy Clemo, young girl of the year and Scarlette Hetherington, senior girl of the year and girls player of the year.

The Boy's Player of the Year was awarded to Blake Silver, the Ken Bunt Award to Oscar Weston, the Positive Influence Award went to Coach Artem, while the Young Superstar Awards were presented to Javier, William, Jago, Louis, Benji , Ted and Isla.

The Participants of the Year were awarded to Barney, Harry, Evelyn, Zac, Fenna, Albert, Jed, Beatrice, Gabe, Bella, Katia, Lara, Noah, Luca, Sebastian, Darcy, Lenny, Sophie, Elijah, Sofia, Jack, Millie and Felix.

Winners of the Adult Awards 2024 included Woman of the Year, Lizzie Poole, Man of the Year, Pete Atherton, Club Nighter of the Year Dean Hughes, Team of the Year, Men's C Team, Family of the Year, the Hetheringtons while padel player of the year was won by Lindsay Anning and Sam Hunter.

Thanks were also due to team captains Ali, Mark, Dave, Brian, Paul, Steve A, Karen and Charlotte.

Josh Burt said: “These are the best days when we all come together to have fun times and celebrate all the efforts and successes of our juniors and adults.

And a special thank you to all the parents of the juniors for supporting their children's tennis.

Also thanks to Whirlwind Sports for some prizes.

The night of celebration started with some of Ace Academy's future stars putting on a display before becoming ball kids in the practice match.

In the match, Artem Sitak, a two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist who is now head of Heron's Ace Academy, defeated Finn Bass, a current professional player, multiple 2024 doubles champion and member of Heron, in a super show of professional tennis and captivating the 120 attendees.

Sally Summers then sang beautifully as food, drinks and good times were had before the adult awards ceremony.

Some of Heron's most successful players in 2024 were honoured, including eight-year-old Poppy Clemow who competed in national events in Bolton, Aldershot, Nottingam, Sunderland and Corby.

Poppy came first in the Bath Regional event and is currently leading the way for young Cornish players.

The Ace Academy team of Ethan, Lenny, Zac, Millie, Sophie and George competed in Germany last summer.

The Heron's Ladies A team competed in the national division of the British National Club League, finishing the season as one of the top-ranked club teams in the region.

Robbie Hampshaw reached the Virtus World Tennis Championships LD in France, winning both a bronze medal in singles and a bronze medal in doubles.

Taylor Marsland, a GB LD squad player, competed in the LD Wimbledon tournament and placed sixth in singles and third in doubles at the British Nationals.

Coach Anthony, who attends some of Heron's disability sessions, and coaches Taylor said: “Heron is a truly inclusive tennis venue and we are so proud of our LD students, especially Robbie and Taylor who have done great things this year and are helping Heron and to put Cornwall on the tennis maps of Great Britain and the world.”

Heron also marked the occasion by celebrating its veteran coaching team, including Artem Sitak, the head of Heron's Ace Academy, who recently retired after 22 years on the pro tour.

Artem was once ranked 33rd in the world for men's doubles and is a former Davis Cup player. Anthony Summers was previously the head of junior programs at two David Lloyd Clubs in Kent.

Josh Burt, head of Heron's adult tennis program, an experienced junior, adult and disability coach who has won multiple Heron Club championships.

Steve Graves, the Head of Pickleball at Heron, a former county junior player and qualified racket re-stringer.

Annie Watson, one of the youngest Level 3 coaches in Britain and multiple junior champion in Cornwall.

Steve Askey is a former Cornwall Junior and Adult Champion, while Jon Askey has experience on the pro tour and is a former Cornwall Adult Champion in singles and doubles.

Heron is also proud of its young assistant coaches who help organize junior sessions and competitions, including Hugo, Grace, Blake, Sofia, Ethan and Jess.

The vision for the Heron Tennis Center was created by Terry Askey, owner of Land-Sea-Air Travel and right back for Newquay Football Club.

Heron has established itself over the years as a prominent tennis venue in the region by offering tennis coaching and competition programs for juniors and adults, tennis social sessions, team tennis, disability sessions and the Ace Academy program for high-achieving players. It has also built a reputation for being a welcoming club.

Heron director Steve Askey said: “Our aim has always been to create a tennis house for people of all ages, where juniors can come to learn tennis and make friends, like a 'tennis youth club'. For adults we hoped that It would be a place where they come with friends, to learn and play tennis, and to meet people and chat.”

Heron's successes over the years include more than 240 junior and adult Cornwall Championships singles and doubles titles won by Heron players.

Won seven Men's Premier League titles in the Cornwall Summer League.

One Women's Premier League title won by a Heron team, composed mainly of juniors.

Two juniors received full tennis scholarships to Division 1 U.S. colleges. Seven players advanced to the national championships for their age group.

Tad Maclean, Heron and Cornwall's pioneer of the past twenty years, who started at Heron at the age of seven, went on to Junior Wimbledon.

He became the youngest Briton in the world rankings on the men's tour and came within one point of winning the prestigious NCAA Doubles Championships in the US.

Heron has built on what it has achieved in recent years by planning a facility upgrade in the form of adding two new artificial, floodlit clay courts, which is the best playing surface for tennis clubs given Britain's climate.

The club is building two indoor padel tennis courts, one of the fastest growing sports in the world.

Heron also recently added Pickleball tennis to its program, which has become popular in the US.

Steve Askey said: The investment and improvements to the facilities have been made possible in part thanks to the support of members through five-year memberships, donations and through attendance at a range of social events such as the Doubles Tennis Marathon.

A special mention to Mike Hammond who, as a Heron member, accompanied Heron directors Jon and Steve Askey. Mike passed on his extensive business experience to craft Heron's development plan and make it financially viable.

Jon Askey said: “When we told our members about our plans, we were overwhelmed by how many people offered to help us.

Mike Hammond's mentoring not only made our plans feasible, but it was also fun to learn from someone who had so much knowledge of the tennis world and who was so successful in the business world.

We would like to thank Mike and everyone who supported our plan.”

The next Heron socials continuing the 20th anniversary celebration will include an evening with Artem Sitak.

The event will feature a special Q&A to find out more about his playing career, including a five-nil record against Andy Murray.

There will also be advice for aspiring players and their parents on the junior tour. A parent and child doubles tournament will also be held.

Coach Artem said: “Being a World Junior Champion and having played at the highest level for 22 years, I know what it takes to reach the top level. Heron and Cornwall have some very talented and dedicated juniors and parents who absolutely But their costs are so high that they just need the opportunity and attracting sponsors is so important to help with this.”

People can find out more about Heron Tennis Center and what it has to offer, including social tennis, tennis coaching, disability tennis, padel tennis, pickleball, indoor and outdoor court hire, table tennis and the Heron Room for fitness classes and events. reception, visit online at [email protected] or call 01637 877555.

People can also find Heron on his Instagram tennisheron or Facebook at Heron Tennis and Ace Tennis Coaching & Academy.

Steve Graves, who has worked at Heron since the club opened, said: “Heron has such a wide variety of opportunities to play racquet sports and there really is something for everyone.

For more information about Herons Set Cafe Lounge run by Karl and Sam, come and see them or send an email [email protected]

Steve Askey said: We are always looking for individuals and companies who want to support some of our most dedicated, ambitious juniors in their bid to reach the professional ranks.

As we live in Cornwall the costs associated with traveling to competitions across the country and Europe are particularly high so we welcome anyone interested to contact us so you can meet our players and the head of our Ace Academy and learn more about their plans and goals.