How Ilkley Lawn Tennis & Squash Club has become a focal point for the community by serving up a wealth of sporting, leisure and social opportunities and boosting the local economy at the same time.

The days of ILTSC being an elitist members-only club that was a closed shop to anybody who didn’t sport the right whites or carry the right racket have long gone and in its place is a club that is now proudly flying the flag for Ilkley and the wider community.

In the space of 10 years it has grown into one of the country’s most forward-thinking and impressive sporting venues that is now dubbed the ‘Wimbledon of the North’ and home to a wealth of sporting and social activities that everybody can enjoy.

The arrival of the prestigious LTA Ilkley Trophy tournament to LS29 in 2015 started the ball rolling and ever since then, the club has grown in stature and size and drastically changed to offer incredible sporting facilities in the most amazing setting imaginable.

Now home to a stunning club house; a spacious bar and café; 13 world-class grass tennis courts; five newly refurbished indoor courts, four squash courts; the arrival of padel tennis; a new state-of-the-art gym and a thriving social calendar for the people of Ilkley to enjoy, ILTSC is a club that is very much on the up and at the heart of the community.

Nowhere is this more apparent than at the annual Ilkley Trophy which each year attracts a staggering 20,000 fans and boosts the local economy by over £500,000.

This year saw record crowds flock through the gates as local shops, businesses, bars, restaurants and hotels all benefited from the influx of visitors to the town.

Over 1,500 nights of hotel accommodation were booked during the trophy week in 2024 and as the event grows every year, that figure is expected to soar even higher next year.

Club chairman Rik Smith, who has helped oversee the growth and development of the club since his appointment in 2021 believes it is now an integral part of the town and plays a huge part in introducing children from not only Ilkley but further afield to take up tennis, squash and keep fit.

He said: “We are incredibly proud to have taken this club from where it was to the world-class sporting facility it is today and our work with the community has been vital to its success.

“In addition to improving our facilities each year and getting more people playing sport we are also actively involved in an Outreach programme which encourages children from all backgrounds to pick up a racket for the first time and get active.

“The money we generate from the Ilkley Trophy each year has been ploughed back into the club and the wider community programmes we run.

“It is a long term plan but we are slowly getting there and making it a club that is at the heart of the community and that is something we are very proud of.”

For more details contact the club on 01943 607182 or visit iltsc.co.uk