Acing the LTA’s digital transformation journey
The UK’s love affair with tennis is undeniable. With a rich history, from the establishment of Wimbledon in 1877 to the founding of the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) in 1888, it has become a sport known for sunshine and strawberries and cream.
Despite this, participation rates were declining, and the sport faced a perception problem: it was seen as exclusive, middle-class and inaccessible. Reflected in a lack of new and younger players, the LTA recognised this challenge and launched a bold initiative, ‘Tennis Opened Up’, aiming to revitalise the sport and make it inclusive for everyone.
The LTA turned to us to support with their digital transformation journey and make this vision a reality. Unlocking the vast potential of digital to get more people engaged and playing the sport, making it more inclusive and accessible to all. Ultimately helping clubs and coaches to grow their businesses and attract new players across the country.
Opening up tennis together
Faced with research that revealed the sport was not reaching diverse communities, the LTA knew they needed a fresh approach. This was exacerbated by a lack of digital integration - making it difficult for clubs and coaches to grow their businesses and many potential players put off after a frustrating ‘first contact’ with the LTA online.
They needed to engage a new generation of players, bringing them into the game to ensure that participation in racket sports continued to increase at all ages. The LTA knew that by unlocking the vast potential of digital they could get more people engaged and playing the sport - breaking down any barrier to entry for potential players to deliver ‘Tennis Opened Up’.
Together with the LTA we had to create a wrap-around approach that not only provided people with new digital tools but also provided them with easy and accessible opportunities to physically pick up a racket. This meant taking a deep dive into the latest tech trends and testing ways to fuse the power of people’s smartphones, cloud-based systems, and the emerging world of AI. By “making booking a court as easy as ordering a takeaway”, we could open up tennis to millions more people.
We know from our customer research that the biggest barrier to playing tennis is being able to easily find somewhere to play. Providing players and parents with a single route to booking courts and other tennis activities is therefore crucial to our strategy.
Matt Hatton, Head of Digital Transformation and Technology, LTA
Building the foundations
To ace the execution of the LTA’s digital transformation, we brought deep industry expertise from across our business, alongside trusted technology providers, Salesforce and MuleSoft, to power the platforms implemented. Together, we built and implemented a series of new digital products tailored to the specific needs of coaches, players, fans, young people, and teachers.
Central to this was Salesforce, creating a single source of truth for customer data. This provided a 360-degree view of players, fans, coaches, and officials, enabling the LTA to understand their audience better than ever before. This involved:
- Building a robust online membership proposition: This provides the foundation for capturing crucial data on player demographics, preferences, and engagement levels.
- Developing personalised communication strategies: Using Salesforce Marketing Cloud, the LTA can now send targeted communications, nudging users to book courts, attend events, or engage with the sport in various ways.
- Creating data-driven dashboards: Custom dashboards built using Salesforce CRM Analytics provide real-time insights into participation rates, venue usage, and other key metrics, enabling data-driven decision-making.
- Developing mobile apps: Two mobile apps now integrate Salesforce Marketing Cloud to deliver personalised push notifications, further enhancing engagement.
To ensure seamless data flow and integration with various third-party systems, from booking platforms to venue management systems, MuleSoft played a critical role. This integration was particularly crucial for:
- Seamless integration: The flagship LTA Play platform built using MuleSoft, centralised court bookings across the UK, simplifying the process for players and making it easier than ever to find and book courts, especially in public parks. This significantly increased accessibility and contributed to a surge in participation.
- Data aggregation and consistency: MuleSoft ensured consistent data flow across various systems, providing a unified view of tennis activity across the country.
Acing the transformation
Together, we’ve delivered a suite of digital products that have led to groundbreaking impact for the LTA and tennis in Britain. Over 2 million additional adults are now playing tennis annually in the UK, making Britain the leading tennis-playing nation per capita globally. The LTA Play platform has been widely adopted, simplifying court bookings and driving participation. Over 4,000 courts across 1,700 venues are now bookable digitally and overall bookings have increased by 40% - with 500,000 bookings made this year alone.
The LTA has also experienced a 40% year-on-year increase in commercial revenue, demonstrating the value of a data-driven approach. From their comprehensive understanding of their fans and players, they can deliver more effective targeting and personalised engagement to their customer database – which has more than tripled from 600,000 to over 2 million. While coach engagement is at a record high of 78%.
The LTA’s vision of ‘Tennis Opened Up’ has not only reversed declining participation rates but also transformed the perception of tennis, making it more accessible, inclusive, and engaging for players of all ages and backgrounds.
Our partnership with Deloitte has successfully delivered against our digital strategy on a number of fronts, enabling our overall vision of tennis opened up.
Chris Pollard, Managing Director Commercial and Operation, LTA
