The LTA are ill-equipped to create a lasting legacy following Davis Cup success

Outspoken: Andy Murray believes it is a waste of time talking to those who run tennis in Britain because they are unable to affect significant change
(Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images for LTA)
Chris Jones1 December 2015

The 2012 London Olympics and this year’s Rugby World Cup brought promises of creating a “legacy” that would change the face of sport in this country. British tennis now has a wonderful opportunity to build on a first Davis Cup triumph for 79 years, but the cash-rich, ideas-bereft Lawn Tennis Association are just not equipped to jump on a bandwagon that rolled into Downing Street today.

Prime Minister David Cameron knows the value of a photo opportunity when it involves British success but it is clear Andy Murray, the second best tennis player on the planet, sees little point in talking to the men who are in charge of the sport in this country.

Hearing the entire team, including captain Leon Smith, taking it in turns to put the boot into the LTA just 24 hours after making tennis history was highly unusual and highly significant. It was not the result of the team deciding before they walked into the interview room to wash Britain’s dirty tennis laundry in public, more the right questions eliciting candid answers.

The spin was left on the Ghent clay as Murray, his brother Jamie, Kyle Edmund, captain Smith, James Ward and Dominic Inglot used this unique platform to set out their concerns about the state of British tennis.

When former Cup player and captain David Lloyd lets rip about the failings of the LTA, it is easy to dismiss his criticism because we have heard it all before. But, that is precisely Lloyd’s point: he has been banging on about the LTA’s strategies and competence for decades — and while there are no significant improvements in key areas, he will continue to throw verbal rocks.

Now we have Britain’s best claiming it is a waste of time talking to LTA chief executive Michael Downey because they do not believe anything can be achieved by it. That is a terrible indictment on Downey, who took the reins nearly two years ago and has tried to instigate a plan to increase the numbers playing the game on the basis that the more people you have hitting tennis balls, the more likely you are to identify new talent. His is a long-term strategy and he will naturally defend himself by insisting there is no magic wand.

However, his leadership has been largely invisible, with his only time in the spotlight coming during the Bob Brett debacle, when he appointed the renowned coach to the position of director of player development, a role unsuited to his skills set. Brett is gone and, instead, British tennis has Peter Keen, an expert in cycling, as interim head of performance.

With funding cut by the governing body, the majority of the country’s professional men and women players are not able to use the £40million National Tennis Centre at Roehampton, being forced to train at other venues around the country. Under previous chief executive Roger Draper, the LTA were accused of throwing money about, with too much carrot on offer and little stick to motivate young talent. Now, the carrot has gone and the stick is creating incredible negativity.

The LTA failed to build on Murray’s Wimbledon triumph in 2013 and they look ill-equipped to create a legitimate legacy following the recent heroics.

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