Two days after guiding Great Britain to their first Davis Cup title since 1936 Andy Murray has made the headlines once again, but to the despair of the British Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).
The world No.2 has sharply criticised the LTA’s management of tennis in Great Britain by saying that he doesn’t know where the next generation of British players will come from. Murray has openly said that he doesn’t talk with the senior figures of the LTA because ‘he doesn’t like wasting his time’. One topic currently alarming the Brit is the lack of junior players.
‘”It’s concerning not to have any juniors in the grand slams because that is something we were always very good at. It’s not ideal.” Murray said.
Murray also spoke about the lack of action occurring at the National Tennis Centre (NTC). The £40 Million building was closed in 2014 but is used occasionally for training camps for ‘elite players’. Earlier this year Murray went to the 22-court building for some training sessions, but was stunned to discover that he was the only player there.
“I was there on a Monday at about 3pm and then on Tuesday, at the same time,” he said.
“There was not one person using any of the indoor courts and not one person in the gym. I took photos of it because the place cost like £40m and there are no people.”
The criticisms by Murray of the LTA might come across as a surprise to the British public, but not for other British players who have also raised issues in the past. In May Heather Watson also complained about not having anybody to practice with at the NTC. The world No.55 was also dissatisfied with the conditions of the courts and stated that ‘she doesn’t know what is going on there’.
“You’ve seen my footwork. But we were running for drop shots and the court was just like tarmac. I think it’s hard to keep a court that doesn’t get sunlight on it”. Watson said.
It isn’t just the players that have expressed their despair. Former LTA coach Julien Hoferlin has also spoken out. The Belgian coach has worked with Dan Evans, who reached the third round of the 2013 US Open, as well as Jo Konta. Currently Hoferlin is working with Belgian world No.86 Steve Darcis. During an interview with The Guardian in 2014, the Belgian said that some players are ‘too spoilt’. He cited Dan Evans as an example. The Brit has demonstrated exceptional tennis in the past, but he has failed to reach his full potential due to ‘lack of motivation’.
“The transition between the juniors and the seniors seems to be very, very bad. There’s not an exceptional ‘tennis culture’ at club level and the players are too spoilt.” He said.
In October Naomi Cavaday was another player to express her concerns about the LTA. 26-year-old Cavaday achieved a ranking high of 174th in 2010 and won three ITF $10,000 titles last year. In one of her blog posts, she gave her assessment of the current state of the LTA.
“Fewer tournaments, fewer performance centres and no funding (unless you are in the top 1%). Surely this can only make the game even more elitist and difficult? I need to just clarify that the pressure for the top ones is still there to an extraordinary level, even though the funding is not (unless you are in the top 1%). That makes even less sense to me… now they are getting all of this pressure but not really for any reason other than the culture that is British Tennis”. Cavaday wrote.
These statements are just some expressed by many players in Britain. The issue isn’t that there is a lack of passion for tennis in the country. Sports England reported in June that weekly participation in tennis has increased by 38,200 to 422,400. Tennis was one of only three sports to report an increase in their participation numbers during the report.
The fact that the concerns about the LTA has only reached the mainstream media after Murray spoke out will be frustrating for the other British players. They have spoken out for a long time about the state of the LTA. The only hope is that Murray’s words will finally trigger change. For this to happen there needs to be greater interaction between the LTA and those directly affected by their decisions.
