The Duchess of Cambridge visits the National Tennis Centre

Her Royal Highness became Patron of the LTA in December 2016, taking over from Her Majesty The Queen who held the role for 64 years.

On arrival, The Duchess received a briefing from key representatives of the LTA on its latest grass roots activities and high-performance objectives.

As the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, the LTA aims to get more people playing tennis more often.

One of their key schemes is 'Tennis for Kids', which introduces children aged five-eight years old learn how to play and enjoy tennis. The children receive free coaching and a free racket to encourage them to continue playing.

After getting involved with the children's coaching session, Her Royal Highness then watched a wheelchair tennis demonstration.

Wheelchair tennis player Alfie Hewett gave a demonstration of his championship winning skills. Alfie won two Paralympic silver medals at Rio 106 and has won the doubles at the US open and Wimbledon and the singles at the French Open.

The Duchess then had the opportunity to meet some of the UK's top junior talents, as well as members of the training team including coaches, nutritionists and physiotherapists.

The members of the High Performance Support team talked to Her Royal Highness about what it takes to be a top junior player.

To finish the visit, The Duchess met some of the Coach Core apprentices and witnessed their new coaching skills in action.

Coach Core has been working with the LTA over the last 18 months to identify employer partners and additional training opportunities for apprentices around the UK.

In turn this helps the LTA target new workforce and participants in diverse communities around the UK.

Before departing Her Royal Highness received a beautiful posy from Olivia and Ethan - thank you!