Cardiff Metropolitan University awarded Lawn Tennis Association Excellence Award for University of the Year 2025
Cardiff Metropolitan University has been awarded the Excellence Award in the University of the Year category at the 2025 Lawn Tennis Association Tennis Awards, recognising its outstanding contribution to university and community tennis. The LTA is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man.
The LTA University Excellence Award is a national honour to recognise institutions delivering exceptional impact and innovation in university tennis. Unlike the National LTA Awards, which recognises a single winner, the Excellence Awards allows the LTA judging panel to highlight programmes that have demonstrated outstanding achievements beyond the final shortlist.
The award was presented during the 2025 Lexus Eastbourne International, where representatives from Cardiff Met were invited for an on-court presentation and a Q&A session with Wimbledon mixed doubles finalist, Harriet Dart.
Cardiff Met Tennis has seen significant growth in recent years. It is now recognised as Tennis Wales’ University of the Year for both 2024 and 2025 and is home to the only on-campus indoor tennis centre at a Welsh university. The programme also hosts the National Performance Programme in partnership with Tennis Wales, supports over 100 children per week through a thriving junior coaching programme, and recently launched a new community tennis initiative based in Llandaff Fields as part of Tennis Wales’ Parks Strategy.
Billy Barclay, Head of Tennis at Cardiff Met, said: "We’re incredibly proud to receive this recognition from the LTA. It reflects not just our competitive success, but the inclusive and wide-reaching tennis programme we’ve built, from developing performance athletes to making tennis more accessible across our local community. The award is a testament to the dedication of our staff, students, and partners."
The University also regularly hosts professional tennis competitions in partnership with the UTR Pro Tour events and Amazon, helping raise the profile of tennis in Wales and the United Kingdom.