We often hear of football and rugby teams heading off to warmer climes to ready themselves for a new season of competition. The same cannot always be said of local tennis clubs.

However, later this month, members of Lowestoft Town Tennis Club will be jetting off to bask in the desert sun of Abu Dhabi, fine-tuning their racket skills and getting themselves in shape for the summer along the way.

The club plays its home games at the Denes Oval and trains throughout the winter months at the outdoor courts in Beccles, making a trip to train and play in the Middle East warmth all the more welcome.

During the eight-day tour, 15 keen players will receive five days of professional coaching at the prestigious CF Tennis Academy and look to ready themselves for the summer, before returning home on March 4.

The trip was organised by club member Andrew Podd, who put the wheels into motion after a chance encounter with an academy coach.

'I was out in Abu Dhabi on a business trip and was fortunate enough too meet one of the coaches from the CF Academy,' said Mr Podd. 'We spoke about organising a tour and the plans developed from there.

'We once took a trip to play in Portugal, but we've never been on a pre-season warm up tour like this before.

'There's going to be 15 of us and we're all really looking forward to it. Although we play some of our matches at the indoor facility in Easton, it will be a pleasant experience to actually play in some warmer weather.'

There will also be a chance for club members to watch the stars of the sport in action at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, including a selection of tennis legends.

'In addition to the coaching, the tour gives us a great opportunity to watch the championships,' added Mr Podd.

'We're really hoping to see Roger Federer in action and we've even made Lowestoft Town on tour banners.'

Lowestoft Town Tennis Club play their matches at the Denes Oval, where they also run a tennis cardio session every Saturday morning from 9.45am. The sessions are run by Heads-Up Tennis and are open to players of all ages and abilities.