Special Shropshire tennis prize awarded to much-missed Holly

 The President’s Award was awarded posthumously to Holly Mowling, a hugely popular figure within the county’s tennis community, who sadly passed away last July after a long illness.

Holly’s parents, Mike and Rachel, were presented with the award at Tennis Shropshire’s AGM in Shrewsbury.

Holly was the inspirational ladies team captain for Shropshire for many years, while her talent as a player saw her captain England and also represent Great Britain internationally.

Fiona Jones, the LTA councillor for Shropshire, said: “This is the first time the President’s Award has been presented alongside the awards given annually to the Shropshire winners in the LTA Tennis Awards.

"We decided we would introduce our own special Tennis Shropshire award, the President’s Award, to recognise people who have done something really outstanding for tennis in the county.



“Holly contributed so much to tennis in Shropshire and everyone involved with tennis in the county was so deeply saddened by Holly’s passing. She is very much missed."



The award was presented to Holly’s parents by Keith Smith, the former president of Tennis Shropshire, and Merill Holt, who has just replaced him in the role.



Holly loved tennis after first picking up a racket aged three. She won her first county title at the age of seven and many more followed.



Her first tennis coach at Much Wenlock Leisure Centre was Cathie Sabin, who went on to become the president of the Lawn Tennis Association.



Holly’s future career as a successful tennis coach started at the age of 12, assisting the coaches at Wenlock Leisure Centre, and she helped many players through her coaching at Bridgnorth Tennis Club.



Holly's coaching role gave her the flexibility to enter International Tennis Federation tournaments and she lifted a number of top national titles.



Holly was given the honour of being chosen to captain England's over-35s ladies team at the prestigious Four Nations Championship in Glasgow in 2017.



More international recognition came Holly's way the following year when she enjoyed helping Great Britain's over-35s team finish seventh in the Young Seniors' World Team Championships in the USA.