TENNIS coach Margaret Whitehead is evangelical about the sport she's been playing for more than 30 years. "Tennis is fantastic. It's great fun, you meet lots of people and it keeps you fit," smiles the 44-year-old who teaches all ages.

"The great thing about tennis is that you can play it all your life. I'm coaching a man at Stillington who's 82. It's absolutely fantastic that he wants to come to coaching, which lasts an hour and a half."

Margaret's aim is to get more people as hooked as she is on the sport. She'd like to see more tennis taught at schools and better council facilities.

"The view of tennis is that it is elitist, expensive, inaccessible and confusing - people don't understand the scoring system.

"We need to broaden the base to stand a better chance of finding a champion, and to do that we have got to get kids playing."

That's harder than it sounds. Tennis, says Margaret, has to compete with a wide range of sports and pastimes and it can be expensive to take up: you need a racket and ball for starters.

Another aim is to encourage people who used to play to take it up again.

To that end, Margaret runs group coaching sessions, where up to 20 people at a time meet to play together and get tuition on technique.

One such group meets on Thursday mornings at Clifton Park, York, where Margaret puts them through their paces with the help of fellow coach and former York champion Jack Butcher.

Tennis, says Margaret, is a brilliant way to develop all-round fitness. You won't end up with a physique like tennis muscle queens Mary Pierce or Venus Williams, but you will become more toned.

"Technically, it's a difficult game," says Margaret. "You have got to move your feet, watch the ball, control the racket and hit the ball. And you've got to be able to serve.

"But it's a brilliant work-out - particularly singles. It's great for all-round fitness. You don't just play with your arm, you have to put your whole body into a shot, using an elastic energy which comes through your entire body."

The group coaching session begins with a five-minute warm-up: a brisk jog around the courts, a spell of wide side-stepping and some running backwards. "You need to move in all directions with tennis," Margaret explains.

After some stretching, everyone teams up and has a knock-about. Margaret tours the court shouting out helpful hints to players. "Two bounces aren't allowed," she reminds everyone.

After ten minutes, the heavens open, and all but the keenest of the keen run for cover.

Among them is Daphne Taylor, a 44-year-old mum of two who has been playing for ten years.

"I wanted to get fit," she admits. "I'd always liked tennis. I watch Wimbledon and I played as a child. So I decided to take it up again. I began with some lessons and realised how much I enjoyed it. It didn't seem like hard work, it was fun."

Daphne admits you get a lot more from the game the fitter you are. She also rides her bike, walks her dog and does yoga.

"Yoga has helped my flexibility and if you are fit you find you can last longer in the second and third sets."

Daphne has passed on her enthusiasm to her family: husband Paul, and children Chris, 16, and Jessica, 12, all play together.

District nurse Sylvia Woods took up tennis just 15 months ago, and like Daphne, has got her family interested in the sport. She has taken out a family membership at Poppleton Tennis Club for herself, husband Ian and son Neil, 12.

Sylvia says: "I'm a health visitor and I'm always advising people on the benefits of regular exercise but I wasn't doing anything myself.

"Then a friend bought me a tennis lesson and I've been playing three or four times a week ever since."

Sylvia says it's much more enjoyable than going to the gym and not as elitist as she thought.

"Initially, I was put off by thinking that everyone would be really good and it would be really cliquey, but it's not. Everyone is really friendly. I'm one of the weaker players here, but I enjoy it. And I'm getting more exercise than I've had for the past two decades."

Sylvia says she feels more toned and a lot fitter since she started playing, but admits it was hard at first.

"After my first lesson, my buttocks were seizing up and the next day my body was completely stiff. Now I play several times a week with no side effects."

The downpour put a bit of a dampener on the coaching session, and highlighted one of the major obstacles in tennis's path towards becoming more mainstream: the British weather.

The sooner York gets an indoor tennis centre, the better, was the general consensus among the group.

The lack of such a facility can seriously limit a tennis player's fitness levels. Daphne says: "I only play from Easter to October. As a result, I'm not as fit in the winter."

Ideally, says Margaret, the council would provide indoor courts, which would be the cheapest option for players.

City of York Council favours a private tennis centre, but says it is investing in tennis facilities. Courts at Rowntree Park are to be upgraded as part of a Millennium project.

The council points out its imminent consultation on leisure facilities in the city will give residents a chance to speak out about what they would like to see in York.

In the meantime, Margaret advises that if people want to play, they should join a club or use the pay-and-play council-run courts in the city parks.

She adds that individual lessons followed by attendance at group coaching is a great way for beginners to learn the sport and meet people to play with.

To find out more about tennis lessons contact your local tennis club or Margaret on 01904 640156.

Picture - Tennis for health with coach Margaret Whitehead, centre, Sylvia Woods, left, and Daphne Taylor at Clifton Park