About Us

Walking Tennis was born from humble surroundings in Bristol, England in May 2018 by retired Physiotherapist and LTA Open Court Lead for Avon County, Helen Abbott.. Helen along with Active Ageing ran a programme of Walking Tennis during its month-long WalkFest. Following WalkFest there was sufficient interest by participants to continue running a regular class at Bristol University Sports Facilities. By running the classes herself, Helen saw the benefits that Walking Tennis had to offer, but at the same time realised that she needed some help.  

In January 2019 Helen enlisted the help of Peter Coniglio; a Tennis Coach, Clinical Therapist, and Sports Therapist. Peter also saw the potential in this form of tennis. However, he had reservations as to the format and the rules. During January Peter experimented with many different rules and formats before settling on the format that you have today. The newly revised format was launched in May 2019 at WalkFest again and the response was amazing with almost one hundred players giving it a try.  

Walking Tennis has not stopped growing ever since with clubs, coaches and players all wanting to try this new exciting and inclusive form of the game.  To manage the growing interest and to help support the growth of the game the Walking Tennis Association was formed. We are really excited about the future of Walking Tennis and we do hope you can join us on our journey.