On 24^th July, Richard Sackey-Addo was invited to join the celebrations as Guest of Honour, following a plethora of impactful campaign work in the tennis world to help increase diversity and opportunities for all.

Richard joined the University of Bedfordshire in 2011 and earned a BSc Hons in Sport & Exercise Science and a Masters degree in Sports Performance. During his studies his path into tennis began after he was selected to be a University Tennis Coordinator as part of the Lawn Tennis Association’s University Tennis network.

After graduating, Richard continued his career as a Research Officer at The International Tennis Federation – the world governing body for tennis – and was based in Valencia, Spain, where he oversaw the Federation’s international coach education resources, publications and coaching conferences. He is now an Education Project Manager for the International Tennis Integrity Agency – the body responsible for combatting corruption and doping in all professional tennis globally.

Addressing the graduates, Richard said: “I know you must feel a range of emotions now that you have successfully graduated and you might not know what your next steps are. It might take a few interviews, a few years or different job roles to get to that dream career, but that’s ok. The important thing is that you’ve already taken the initial steps needed to build a more promising future.”

Richard also has a passion for inclusivity, equality and accessibility and has used his voice to help drive inclusion and diversity within tennis. He is a member of the Lawn Tennis Association’s Inclusion, Diversity & Equality Accessibility Group and is a representative on the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Tennis Advisory Group for British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS). 

He has also just co-founded the Tennis Black List which celebrates tennis role models – from grassroots level to professional players – from the black community, and was invited to Downing Street in July to participate in a roundtable on widening ethnic diversity in British tennis.

Discussing the Tennis Black List, Richard explained: “We wanted to follow the example set out by the rugby and football black lists, to celebrate excellence of black players in tennis. We know the perceptions of tennis in terms of diversity but people like myself are living proof that there are opportunities in this sport for everyone, and so our list highlights the people doing amazing work in all different areas of tennis, both on and off the court. We hope it will show others that there are many pathways into this sport for people of all backgrounds and ethnicities.”

Thanks to his achievements, he has also recently been selected by the Sports Industry Group to be part of their NextGen leader group, bringing together the brightest 30 under 30 future leaders in sport from across the country.

Juliet Fern, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education, English & Sport, commented: “Richard has achieved a great deal both during his studies and since graduating. He has relished every opportunity that’s come his way and his passion for tennis has led to a prosperous career in the sports industry which the University has enjoyed following over the years. Richard has a positive, pro-active and collaborative approach, and we can’t wait to see what he achieves next!

“We are delighted to recognise the achievements of our graduates, and for the University’s third place for graduate prospects in the Complete University Guide’s 2024 Sports Science league table.”