Pristine courts, strawberries and cream and the shout of “new balls please” are the unmistakable sights and sounds of a British summer.<\/p>\n
Now the grass court tennis season has been crowned summer’s most quintessential experience, with 61% of Brits ranking it ahead of cultural classics such as Ascot, Glastonbury and the Chelsea Flower Show.<\/p>\n
The enduring appeal of tournaments such as Queen’s and Wimbledon was put down to heritage and history (24%), atmosphere and traditions (24%), and iconic courts (20%), according to new research by HSBC.<\/p>\n
“The grass court season holds a special place in Britain’s sporting calendar, and these findings show just how much the nation values that tradition,” said Scott Lloyd, chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).<\/p>\n
“With the women’s tournament now in its second year back at The HSBC Championships at Queen’s, we’re seeing unprecedented demand from fans who want to get close to world-class tennis.”<\/p>\n
To celebrate the summer season, HSBC and the LTA have unveiled a spectacular tennis court in the heart of London.<\/p>\n
The free pop-up in Trafalgar Square runs today and tomorrow (June 5 and 6), ahead of the HSBC Championships at Queen’s, which begin on Monday.<\/p>\n
Visitors will be able to soak up the atmosphere, interact with top players, and experience the excitement of grass court tennis as the season gets underway.<\/p>\n
The survey also revealed that Brits are choosing real-world experiences over screen time, with 58% saying they are a great way to connect with friends and family.<\/p>\n
Live sport was named the experience most likely to create lasting memories (36%), ranking ahead of concerts, music festivals and all other live events.<\/p>\n
And when it comes to making an event worthwhile, proximity is as important as price. Cost is key for 42% of attendees, but a further 45% said being close to the action and getting a good price are equally important.<\/p>\n
Brits are backing this shift with their wallets, spending an average of \u00a3154 a year on live sporting experiences, with 24% planning to increase this in the next 12 months.<\/p>\n
Stuart Tait, Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC UK, said, “Our research shows people are craving the kind of moments you can’t stream – there’s no substitute for being up close to the action.<\/p>\n
“Grass court tennis is a quintessential part of the British summer, and with the HSBC Championships returning to The Queen’s Club, we’re proud to bring that excitement to the heart of London.<\/p>\n
“By transforming Trafalgar Square into an immersive tennis experience with the LTA, we’re helping our customers and fans feel the atmosphere up close.”<\/p>\n
To get closer to the action over the next two weeks at The HSBC Championships at Queen’s, limited tickets remain available here: https:\/\/tickets.lta.org.uk\/content?utm_source=hsbc_ticketing_page<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pristine courts, strawberries and cream and the shout of “new balls please” are the unmistakable sights and sounds…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630950,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[101,118,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-630949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-sports","tag-tennis","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}