Sportscotland has awarded an £86,802 grant towards the upgrade of Arbroath Tennis Club’s courts.
The award is 50% of the funds that it requires to upgrade to all-weather courts and install floodlights.
Club fundraising over the last few years plus the support of many local trusts and organisations mean that the court upgrade will begin at the end of August.
This will mean that play will be possible at the club throughout the year rather than just for six or seven months as at present.
Club secretary Jan Fairlie said: “This is what we have been working towards for the last few years and we are very grateful to sportscotland for this commitment to us.
“It shows that things at the club are moving very much in the right direction.
“We still need to secure some funding but we are confident that this will be in place by the end of August.
“Being able to play on the courts all year round is what we need in order for the club to grow. It will also allow us to build our coaching programme without the constant fear of disruption due to the weather.”
The club, which was founded in 1909, has 110 members. The club also works closely with schools.
The Arbroath club has already helped bring through Jonny O’Mara and is hopeful of lending a guiding hand to more budding young stars in the years to come.
Stewart Harris, chief executive of sportscotland, said: “We are delighted to invest over £86,000 in the upgrade of the courts at Arbroath Tennis Club.
“We are building a world-class sporting system for everyone in Scotland, and this project is a great example of this and will provide a real benefit to people playing sport in the local area.”
The upgrade of the courts will be the first part of proposed improvements at the club with the next phase being the clubhouse.
Meanwhile, Justine Williams has entered the Great North Run and has offered to raise funds for the club.
Justine, whose children Leo and Lexi are both keen tennis players, has only just started running.
Anyone interested in sponsoring her can visit www.justgiving.com.
Also, the club received a signed Andy Murray tennis racquet which they are proposing to raffle.
The winner will be drawn at the opening of the new courts, hopefully later this year.