Ian Wilkinson, one of the leading tennis coaches regionally and nationally, has announced his retirement from coaching. Many readers will be aware of Ian’s teaching career at Greenfield School in Newton Aycliffe, but he has always been modest about his achievements on the tennis court.

Earlier this year a special presentation evening was planned to recognise Ian’s outstanding tennis career of almost 50 years as a player, coach and organiser. The onset of the pandemic unfortunately curtailed the proposed celebration, in which he was going to share his memories and anecdotes with tennis club members, and be presented with a special letter from the Lawn Tennis Association, recognising his exceptional contribution to tennis.

Ian first picked up a racquet in Shildon, when he was 12 years old, and by 14 he was playing club tennis. After entering the Durham County Juniors Tournament at Ashbrooke, Sunderland, on grass, he quickly realised he had a lot to learn. He combined his love of tennis and teaching to progress through the coaching qualifications to eventually achieve the LTA’s highest level after gaining considerable experience coaching junior and senior players.

Ian specialised in developing inclusive and comprehensive tennis programmes adopted by numerous clubs and local authorities in the North East and beyond.

In 1981 he became a full time coach at one of the first indoor tennis centres in Great Britain at Teesside Airport.

In 1983 Ian was a coach at the Bjorn Borg Tennis Centre in Marbella, Spain and in 1984 he was trainer and coach at the Harry Hopman International Tennis Academy in Bologna, Italy. Returning to the north east, Ian was appointed Durham County Coach for girls and boys.

In 2008 Ian was appointed Ambassador for the Tony Blair Sports Foundation after Greenfield Juniors assisted in the launch of the Foundation.

As a player, Ian won honours at Shildon Tennis Club, Durham Archery and Tennis World. He also represented, and was captain of, Durham and Cleveland Men’s County Team. In 1990, he and his partner, John Willis, qualified for the finals of Lacoste Over 35s, at the All England Tennis Club, Wimbledon, after defeating Northumberland, Yorkshire and Lancashire pairs to qualify.

It is a major challenge to establish, develop and sustain a new tennis club in an area where none existed previously. In 2001, Ian worked alongside former head teacher Mike Thornton to successfully obtain funding from the LTA and Government to build a modern three court floodlit facility which became Greenfield Tennis Club as part of a community hub. The Club was launched in the same year and teams have since competed successfully in the Darlington and District League and also the Durham and Cleveland League, and an organised programme of social tennis has welcomed players of all abilities.

Ian has been very proud of the success of the Club, key factors being partnership working with local schools and support from Great Aycliffe Town Council, Durham County Council and the LTA. This enabled the development of a tennis culture, year round, offering quality experience in an inclusive programme of activity suitable for all ages and abilities, and a number of coaches were developed within the system.

We would all like to wish an enjoyable and relaxing retirement for Ian and note that his enduring flame of passion for tennis remains undiminished.