A FEMALE tennis coach from Bradford had the incredible experience of running a session under the watchful eye of Judy Murray last week.

Mother of three-time Grand Slam champion Andy, Murray has been a huge figure in the development of British tennis for years, and she was in Manningham last Friday to see the work of Nalette Tucker.

Tucker has delivered the LTA SERVES community tennis programme in Bradford for four years now, which sees her coach girls and young women from under-served communities.

And she is still on cloud nine after her experience with Murray, telling the T&A: "For me, the main thing about Judy is her openness, in terms of learning other people's stories and understanding the communities they come from.

"She wanted to make an impact on the girls from Bradford and she even stayed behind afterwards to deliver a session for the coaches, teaching us the kind of training drills we could use.

"They say never to meet your idols, but Judy has more than lived up to my expectations of her, in fact she's surpassed them comfortably."

Talking about her tennis sessions in Bradford, Tucker said: "They're so important, as segregated sessions are required for these girls and young women.

"That means having female coaches like myself is so important, even if it maybe shouldn't have to be.

"But even from a couple of years ago, things have moved in the right direction in Bradford, and we are seeing a few programmes now.

"There are still nowhere near enough given we're in 2021, but at least you have my tennis sessions in Manningham and then a female-only cycling group in Manningham Park for example."

Discussing how her tennis sessions have gone since they started four years ago, Tucker said: "There has been growth and we've seen new participants join us over time.

"But we've had girls and young women who've enjoyed it here since we started running the sessions, and they still attend now.

"Some have even become coaches here, having started off as participants."

The woman's name on everyone's lips in tennis at the moment is Emma Raducanu.

The 18-year-old Brit produced a staggering US Open triumph last month, and asked if that could act as inspiration to those coming through, Tucker said: "What Emma did is probably bigger than people realise.

"We'll probably start to see it more in the next year or two, or even the next decade, where young people come through and want to play tennis because they've watched what she's done.

"Girls will look at Emma too, as someone who did her GCSEs and A-levels, as someone who is like them.

"A lot of athletes don't get to lead normal lives like that but Emma has done, and it shows our girls that they can be normal teens, with exams, but still find time for sport.

"And who knows, that passion could see them end up with a nice cheque."