Suffolk tennis coach, Emily Wharton has been named as one of the East Region’s Ambassadors for Judy Murray’s ‘She Rallies’ initiative.

The initiative has been designed by Judy in partnership with British Tennis (LTA).

Its vision is to attract and retain more women and girls in tennis in the UK by inspiring and empowering a female workforce to create more opportunities for women and girls to participate in tennis activity.

Currently only 23% of qualified tennis coaches in the UK are female, an imbalance that Judy and the governing body are hoping to address by training regional “ambassadors”.

The ‘She Rallies’ initiative is part of a four year Women and Girls Strategy and kicked off in Birmingham on February 3, at the first female coaches conference, followed by training days for its new ambassadors.

“There is still a significant gap in terms of players and coaches at all levels of the women’s game,” admits Judy Murray.

“This has to change. She Rallies will create opportunities in tennis for women and girls from the grassroots through to international level.”

By rallying together a number of ambassadors across the country, She Rallies aims to create opportunities for women and girls of all ages and experiences to be involved in tennis. The ambassadors will rally women together across the UK, empowering them to deliver starter tennis for women and girls in their communities. There are four strands to the program that can be delivered; Lil Miss-Hits, 11+ education, fun days and recreational competition.

As one of four Ambassadors for the East Region, Emily, Head Coach at Wortham Tennis Club and an academy coach at the Elena Baltacha Academy of Tennis, will be providing free training sessions across the county for women from both tennis and non-tennis backgrounds, from tennis coaches, to brownie leaders.

“I am delighted to be an ambassador for the East Region. I have been coaching for 12 years and during that time I have experienced first-hand how intimidating working in a male dominant environment at times can be,” said Emily.

“This initiative is a big step in the right direction to closing the gender gap in our sport. I am excited to meet and work with lots of passionate women who want to help us achieve this.”

If you would like to get involved in the ‘She Rallies’ initiative in and around Suffolk please contact your local She Rallies Ambassador; Emily Wharton suffolk.sherallies@gmail.com or visit www.sherallies.com for more information.