Wherever James Mower goes, his tennis racket goes too and, now that he has arrived in Portsmouth, the teacher-in-training will be using his favourite sport to help him set up home once more.

The 28-year-old, who lives in Southsea, has been a member of five different Local Tennis Leagues since he first joined one in Ipswich, five years ago.

Local Tennis Leagues is a nationwide scheme aimed at adults who use public parks and facilities and want to play friendly, competitive tennis.

Mower has packed plenty in since he joined the LTA initiative, leaving East Anglia to take a marketing job in London, before deciding to do a PGCE at the University of Portsmouth.

The trainee French and Spanish teacher only arrived in the city two weeks ago, but has already signed up for the Portsmouth Tennis League, happy to trust in the scheme which has helped him find friends all over the country.

“I saw a poster in a park in Ipswich advertising the Local Tennis Leagues so I signed up and got to know a couple of the players pretty well there,” he explained.

“I then relocated again to London and joined a league there, one of the best things about it has been the number of people I’ve met and am still in touch with now.

“It’s been a brilliant way to make new friends and socialise, all because of a common interest in tennis.

“It’s exciting moving around, I don’t know where I’ll be this time next year either because the teaching course is just one year and then it depends on where I can get a job.

“As things stand I don’t know too many people around this area other than my course mates because I’ve only been here two weeks.

“It’s always good to have friends who share a similar interest though and, going from experience, I should be able to find good friends through the Local Tennis Leagues.”

Aimed at everyday players, Local Tennis Leagues is among a number of initiatives supported by the LTA, the governing body of tennis in the UK, to demonstrate that tennis is anything but an elitist sport.

The LTA is investing more than £125 million in public access tennis, much of which will be spent on renewing public courts, and ventures like Local Tennis Leagues have helped change perceptions of the sport.

After signing up, Mower could create an online account where he received contact details of his opponents to schedule matches as well as regular updates, reminders and incentives to play. 

While the leagues embody a friendly ethos, all players are entitled to become British Tennis Members and have their results reported to the LTA for ratings.

But the most enticing aspect for Mower was that players can organise matches at a time convenient for them – ideal for someone with a packed university timetable.

“I love the level of flexibility it gives you to arrange the matches yourself, hopefully I’ll get some good games in around my studies,” explained Mower, who plans to play his matches at Portsmouth Tennis Centre, next to the university.

“Much in the way I was able to organise my matches around a full-time job in London, it just gives you the best of both worlds.

“It’s organised competition, but you don’t have to play at a set time – you can arrange matches around your schedule.”

Are you looking to play more friendly, competitive singles matches? The next round of the Portsmouth Tennis League begins on 30 November 2017.  To join, visit localtennisleagues.com/portsmouth and sign up before 27 November 2017. The rounds lasts eight weeks and costs £18 to join, but get 20% off the next round with promo code Save-P20.