Sport England
Andy Murray believes that the British tennis authorities have failed to capitalize on his achievements, according to Stuart Fraser of the LONDON TIMES. The three-time grand slam champion is "concerned about a decrease in participation numbers" and said that it was "madness" that so few indoor courts had been built in Scotland during his career. Murray, 31, delivered a "damning assessment" of the Lawn Tennis Association’s efforts at grassroots level as he prepared to leave Australia. The former world No. 1 also admitted that he was "likely to undergo a hip-resurfacing operation when he arrived home." Amid the "uncertainty over whether he can ever play again," he was asked for his views on the state of tennis in Britain. He pointed toward the eight British players in the Australian Open singles draws this year -- the largest contingent since 15 played in the '88 tournament -- as a positive, but said that he "feared that an opportunity had been missed to grow the sport." Murray: "To get eight Brits in the main draw is not amazing but that is a decent number. ... The thing that is more concerning, from my understanding, is that participation is dropping. I don't understand how in the last eight to 10 years that participation is dropping. I don't get it." Former LTA Chair David Gregson admitted in the organization's annual report for '17 that there had been a "severe participation decline" over the previous decade but believed it had been stabilized. However, it is understood that another fall in numbers will be revealed this year. Murray is "particularly flabbergasted" by the lack of indoor facilities in Scotland. While three venues have added indoor courts in the past two years, none was built at a public center from '06-16, when the total stagnated at 112. Murray said, "I know in Scotland that there have not been many indoor courts built in the last 10 years. That seems madness. You need to get kids playing and you need to have the facilities that allow them to do that" (LONDON TIMES, 1/16).
