British Tennis Development Debate

A few days ago, Neil Harman, the esteemed tennis writer for The Times in London, wrote a column calling on the LTA to "inspire" the sport in Great Britain. Says Harman of the national federation:

So many good intentions, so little to show. Of course, there are some brilliant people in the sport in Britain, devoted, working endless hours, doing all that they can in a cause they know is worth fighting for. And yet many of them are at odds with a British game gripped as never before by petty factional infights, as emphasised by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) regime that trumpets its devotion to revolution but spends too much time worried about its image rather than increasing the numbers of juniors in competition, which have risen by a meagre amount since it came to office two years ago.

For that is the essence of their job, when all is said and done. A governing body prepares the way for its sport to flourish, it encourages growth, it builds bridges rather than dismantles them, it secures partnerships instead of undermining them, it covets relationships rather than scuppering them the minute “the other” side disagrees. And it keeps its good people rather than losing them, as this new LTA has a tendency to do.

Today there was a followup, with Harman bringing in four people with deep roots and commitments to British tennis, but not currently involved in the LTA, to discuss what's gone wrong and how they would fix it. There's plenty of talk of juniors and their parents, the must-win-now and ranking obsessions, and several other issues in player development.

(The Times website has been balky all night, but I have been able to access the stories on occasion.)

And if you missed it, please check the comments in the Craig Tiley post below. Steve Smith, one of the foremost tennis teachers in the U.S., has plenty to say about Tiley and why his methods will work in Australia.

Tags: junior tennis, Neil Harman, Colette Lewis