A BASINGSTOKE mum joined one of the biggest names in British tennis in a bid to get more women playing the game.

Sarah Rutherford from Basingstoke joined Judy Murray at an event in Bristol on behalf of She Rallies, an organisation that Murray founded with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) two years ago to retain and increase the number of female players and coaches across the UK.

The She Rallies event, which took place on Wednesday, 13 June, saw more than 100 teenage girls taking part in a range of tennis activities, with 60 women trained to become She Rallies Activators - volunteers tasked with running community based tennis programmes for girls - was one of a number taking place across the country over the summer.

Sarah who is a Totally Tennis coach and holds sessions at the War Memorial Park, has become an ambassador for she rallies in Hampshire, as well as also captaining the county’s U10 girls team.

She said: “Being asked to become the She Rallies Ambassador for Hampshire was the proudest moment of my coaching career, so it was amazing to spend time with Judy today and see first-hand her passion for getting more women into tennis.

“I’d urge anyone who wants to make a difference and get more girls active and playing tennis in their local communities to get involved. It is such a rewarding experience.”

The event is part of a drive to recruit 2,500 women from a range of backgrounds to train as Activators over the next 12 months.

After the event Mrs Murray said: “It’s been a fantastic day and really showed the passion in this part of the world to get more women and girls involved in tennis. Having positive female role models as coaches, particularly at community level is absolutely vital to achieving this.”

A number of local courses for women become a She Rallies Activators are available, for more visit sherallies.com/get-involved.