LTA’s Draper To Step Down in September

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 14th March 2013

LTA’s Draper To Step Down in September |

Roger Draper, the most controversial chief executive Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association has known in its’ 125 year history, has announced his impending resignation and will stand down from the post he has held for seven and a half high-profile and much criticized years in September.

Draper’s announcement means he is turning his back on an extraordinary £640,000 (about 1 million dollars) salary and bonus package, that caused consternation both in tennis and British sport in general. But it comes as no real surprise to many British tennis experts following the January appointment of David Gregson as the new independent Chairman at the LTA.

Gregson, a highly successful businessman whose public roles also include being a Director of the Olympic Legacy Board, was brought in from the outside to provide a sharper edge to the organization’s governance.

He made it his first priority to assess the position of Draper, who since his arrival in 2006 has been a polarizing figure in the British game and overseen a huge turnover in staff but not a reduction in numbers, with a staggering 315 now employed.

Draper’s position, long ridiculed by his many critics because of excessive salaries paid to foreign coaches such as Brad Gilbert and Paul Annacone, was made even more difficult last December when the LTA annual accounts were published showing he had been awarded a £200,000 bonus for meeting certain targets. Within a matter of days Sport England revealed that it was withholding £10.3million of funding because the LTA’s plans to expand participation were inadequate.

Concern with what was happening to the funds of British tennis reached such an extent that the British Government’s Sports Minister, Hugh Robertson, is believed to have called Draper in for a meeting two weeks ago and asked for an explanation. On top of this, a review had been instigated by Gregson to explore all aspects of the LTA.

Baroness Billingham, chair of the Government’s All Party Tennis Group, has been particularly vocal. “When you look at the success of so many eastern European countries, who don’t have two pennies to rub together, it’s a disgrace that the LTA cannot do more with their Wimbledon subsidy of around £30 million a year,” she said.

“Draper has been grossly overpaid and yet British tennis is going nowhere.”

After announcing his resignation, Draper said: “It has been a huge honor to serve the sport that I love so much and to play my part in leading British tennis. I have been very lucky to work with fantastic people both at the LTA and across the wider tennis community, and I would like to thank them all for their passion, commitment and hard work.

“As a result, the sport is entering a very exciting phase, and now is the right time for me to hand over the baton to a new leader who can build on what has been achieved in recent years, and take British tennis to new levels.”

Gregson added: “Roger has made a significant contribution to the development of British tennis, and Peter Bretherton (LTA President) and I would like to thank him for all his hard work in driving these changes. His passion and enthusiasm for the sport will be much missed. Roger will be staying on as CEO until the end of September, and we shall now start the process to appoint his successor”.