Andy Murray Hopes For A National Academy In Scotland

Written by: Staff on 18th September 2012

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: Andy Murray, British tennis news, Scottish National Tennis Center, Sports, Tennis News, US Open Champion