Tennis comes to the heart of Eastbourne with new community pop-up at The Beacon

The LTA is bringing tennis directly into the heart of Eastbourne with the launch of an exciting new community engagement scheme at The Beacon Shopping Centre, designed to inspire more people to pick up a racket and enjoy the benefits of the sport.

Launching this week and running through to the end of October, the new pop-up tennis activation has transformed a vacant retail unit at The Beacon into a free, interactive tennis space, giving residents and visitors of all ages the opportunity to try tennis in an accessible and welcoming environment.

Operating during the shopping centre’s opening hours from 9am to 6pm, the activation will feature:

• Two mini tennis courts
• Swingball
• Interactive target walls
• Tennis-themed scoring games and challenges
• Seating and photo opportunities
• QR codes linking visitors to local tennis opportunities via the LTA Play platform
• Information on the LTA Starter Offer Packs

Part of the LTA’s national “Fancy a Knockabout?” campaign, the Eastbourne pop-up aims to engage people who are new to tennis, particularly children, families and young adults who may not traditionally access the sport through clubs or formal coaching programmes.

The free-to-use space has everything you need to have a knockabout, allowing visitors to participate for as little or as long as they choose, creating a flexible and accessible introduction to tennis in a high-footfall community setting. The pop-up can be found next door to Primark via the Tideswell Road Exit Point.