Volunteer to a coach - the Twissts and turns of Arthur’s sporting life

TENNIS

JULIE ARTHUR’s love affair with tennis has taken a new Twisst - and given the sport a big boost on Wearside.

Arthur, who hails from Sunderland, is arguably GB ace Andy Murray’s No 1 fan and has only missed one of his senior singles matches since 2003.

Following Team GB’s first Davis Cup win in more than 70 years in 2015 she took the opportunity to visit Sunderland Tennis Centre to see the trophy. From that point on she decided to get back on court and play at the centre.

Arthur then embarked on her coaching qualifications and within 18 months went from being a volunteer to a Level Two assistant tennis coach.

She launched the Doubles Twisst League, which encourage adults to play in a fun-based social event. She runs the session voluntarily and saw more than 20 adults taking part in the league its first year.

That success led to Arthur running the league for a second year and it continues to go from strength to strength.

Following her passing the Level One course, Arthur met Lawn Tennis Association Regional Participation Manager Jo Cunliffe which enabled her to explore the possibility of joining the North East female coach mentor programme in 2017.

She applied for the opportunity and was successful - and through the programme decided to embark on her Level Two qualification.

She passed the course and within a few weeks had been offered more hours working at Sunderland Tennis Centre.

Arthur said: “I enjoyed every minute of the programme.

“It was great to become part of the mentoring team - I learnt so much and importantly my confidence grew.”

Cunliffe said: “Julie has been an absolute delight to work with.

“She is full of enthusiasm and passion for tennis and her hard work and dedication paid off with her qualifying as a Level Two coach.

“Julie is a local heroine and an inspiration to others and the North East is lucky to have found her.”