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2012 was a decent year for British tennis, wasn’t it? We had our first male Grand Slam winner since 1936, as Andy Murray claimed the US Open after a truly epic match against Novak Djokovic. The same man also won gold in the London Olympics, as well as a silver medal with partner Laura Robson in the mixed doubles.
To add to that Jonny Marray was a Wimbledon men’s doubles champion earlier in the summer, whilst the women’s game appears to have undergone a revival too. Both Heather Watson and Robson are ranked inside the world’s top 50 players – the first time such a feat has been achieved since 1987 – with the latter rising a remarkable 81 places during 2012.
Watson also won the first British women’s singles title since 1988, when she claimed victory in October in the Japan Open after defeating Chang Kai-Chen in the final. Robson, who reached the US Open fourth round last year, is widely tipped to follow in her footsteps, after coming so close in Guangzhou during September.
Clearly, there is much to look forward to in 2013. Murray kicks off his campaign for another Grand Slam title today, with his Australian Open first round match against Robin Haase.
But lurking underneath this surface of outstanding success lies a growing crisis in British tennis. Here’s an example; while Andy Murray was celebrating his success in America, Andrew Fitzpatrick, the British number 11, was competing over in Vietnam in a desperate attempt to rake in some much needed ranking points and cash for his return flight. Here we have one of the finest talents in our country struggling to make ends meet and sustain his career.
I’m often surprised by how few people turn up to my local tennis court to play this beautiful game, especially considering the facilities are pretty good for a rural area. But a quick dig through the statistics sounds the shrill alarm bells. For instance, the number of people playing tennis each year in Britain has slumped by 40,000 since 2008 to just over 445,000 which represents something of an embarrassment. There doesn’t seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel, unfortunately, as the LTA’s grassroots funding has recently been slashed by Sport England from £17.4 million to just £10.4 million, hitting those talented youngsters.
In fact, the whole of the Lawn Tennis Association is in great need of reform. It was revealed in December how the current LTA chief, Roger Draper, earns a whopping £640,000, while a further £13.2 million in salaries is splashed out on just over 300 employees. That wage bill is more than the entire amount allocated to grassroots tennis! Evidently, we have some serious issues.
Tennis retains a stigma for being a sport for the middle and upper classes, and this won’t go away until there is dramatic change. Too much money goes to the elite end of tennis, as Draper’s appointment of elite coaches such as Paul Annacone, Brad Gilbert and Peter Lungren epitomised back in 2006. Schemes such as tennis for free, greater investment in grassroots tennis, and stronger links with schools are vital if British tennis is to perform strongly not just in 2013, but for years to come.
So while Andy Murray, Laura Robson and the rest of our British stars are enjoying the glorious sunshine on one of the world’s finest stages in the Australian Open, tennis back home continues to flounder. In short, tennis in this country can be summed up by the phrase: “All the gear, no idea”, and that’s no exaggeration.