Andy Murray Hopes For A National Academy In Scotland

Written by: on 18th September 2012
US Open Tennis
Andy Murray Hopes For A National Academy In Scotland

epa03393042 Andy Murray of Great Britain hits a return to Novak Djokovic of Serbia during the men's final match on the fifteenth day of the 2012 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 10 September 2012. The US Open has been extended a day for the fifth straight year due to weather. EPA/JASON SZENES  |

US Open champion Andy Murray wants more of his fellow countrymen to follow him onto tennis’s world stage and is demanding a new national tennis academy for Scotland.

 

Murray grew up playing at the Scottish National Tennis Center based at the University of Stirling just a few miles from his boyhood home in Dunblane. But it only boasts six indoor courts and two outside shale courts.

 

The Olympic gold medalist and world no.3 discussed the potential of a Scottish academy with Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond during his momentous homecoming on Sunday and said: “One of the things that is missing in Scotland is a focal point for tennis that a lot of the promising juniors can go to practice at and have the best coaching.

 

“They have it in London but that doesn’t always work for everybody. People like different environments and I think it would be nice if we could have a quality national tennis center.”

 

Murray is a regular visitor to the state-of-the-art National Tennis Center in Roehampton, situated just a couple of miles from Wimbledon. But that is too far for most of his fellow Scots to travel and appreciates a replica north of the border would financially be out of the question.

 

“It doesn’t need to cost £40m like the one in Roehampton,” said Murray. “It will be much, much less than that. But if we could have something like that, I think it would make a big difference.

 

“It’s a suggestion I will make and we’ll see what happens. I know how difficult things like that can be to pass off and it is a lot of money as well but it would be a nice thing to have and I will support it.”

 

First Minister Salmond has long been in dialogue with Murray’s mother Judy on several matters involving both tennis and more social issues like childhood obesity and physical education.

 

“Both Andy and Judy are passionate about developing tennis in Scotland to ensure that youngsters have a greater access to the facilities and coaching that they need to make the most of their talent and potential,” said Scotland’s foremost politician Salmond

 

“We had a positive discussion about their idea for a tennis academy which is certainly in line with the Scottish government’s ambition to improve young Scots participation in sport.

 

“We’ll be exploring this with the Murrays’ and their team over the next two months and we hope to make an announcement in this regard in the near future.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: , , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.