Up to £30m will be invested in refurbishing thousands of public tennis courts in the most deprived parts of the UK.

The package, which will see £21.9m coming from central government coffers and a further £8.4m from the Lawn Tennis Association, will revive more than 4,500 courts deemed to be in poor or an unplayable condition.

In total, the funding is expected to benefit more than 1,500 venues across the country and has been designed to open up the sport of tennis to people of all backgrounds.

Separately, the government will also make nearly £30m a year towards improving and opening up school sport facilities in England, as well as to improve the teaching of Physical Education at primary school.

Tim Hollingsworth, Sport England CEO, said: “Our research into activity levels during COVID-19 has demonstrated just how much people rely on the facilities in their local area to get active.

“It's also vital that we use this opportunity to tackle existing inequalities by supporting the communities that need it most.

“Therefore, we will be working to ensure that tennis courts in the most deprived areas are prioritised for refurbishment.

“In addition, we are delighted that nearly £30 million extra a year will go towards improving and opening up school sports facilities in England and improving PE in primary school.

“Helping children and young people to be active, following the huge disruption to their activity habits, is one of the priorities in our strategy Uniting the Movement."

The announcement comes as tennis hit the headlines last month with Emma Raducanu's amazing US Open victory. The 18-year-old became the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title since 1977.