The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is on the cusp of piloting an ambitious participation initiative in northern English cities in which it will direct local people to their nearest tennis courts using nearby advertising.

The tennis governing body has booked poster space within a mile radius of park courts which will give local people directions to their nearest facilities.

In two weeks’ time, the governing body will launch a supporting campaign, which includes a television commercial and radio advertising.

Talking at the Business of Tennis Forum, organised by the Tennis Industry Association (TIA), Paul Burditt, the LTA head of business insight and planning, said that the scheme was to bring tennis into the public consciousness before Wimbledon, which “occurs too late" to generate a significant and constant uplift in participation.

The campaign is being piloted in the North – in particular urban areas such as Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds – to try to foster interest away from the sport’s “southeast heartland.”

“If the campaign is successful, the plan is to get board approval to roll it out nationally next year,” added Burditt.

In a busy time for the LTA, Burditt also revealed that the organisation would be launching another campaign in two weeks titled 'Advantage,' for players who would like to play more tennis with an “overtly competitive edge,” who are known as the “Wimbledon Warrior” demographic.

“They want an intense workout, they want a ruthless level of drilling and they want matches at the end of it with a lot of competition going on,” said Burditt, adding that the programme was going to be rolled in more than 100 parks across the country, and that coaches were being specially trained for it.