Search For New LTA Chief Begins

Written by: Staff on 15th March 2013

Search For New LTA Chief Begins

epa03622755 Andy Murray of Great Britain hits a return against Carlos Berlocq of Argentina in first set during the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 13 March 2013. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

When the debate gets into full swing on the subject of who should replace Roger Draper as chief executive of Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association, Andy Murray’s voice will have more resonance than most. And the British no.1 is insistent the appointment should most importantly be somebody who is close to home with a tennis background and be well versed in the demands of the job.

The LTA’s new independent chairman David Gregson openly admits he is still learning about tennis and brings with him an impressive curriculum vitae that shows he is successful in business, commerce and charitable work. To balance this world no.3 Murray insists there is sufficient tennis leadership close at hand to do a good job.

“There’s a lot of great people in British tennis,” said Murray who today contests the BNP Paribas Open quarterfinal against Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro in Indian Wells. “I think it’s fine to go elsewhere for certain expertise, but the people who genuinely care about the game in the United Kingdom are going to be British. It’s important you get all those people involved and get that passion back and stop the negativity.

“A lot of the good people in British tennis don’t see eye to eye or speak to each other, if everyone got in a room and was actually mature and gave their opinions I think they could come up with some pretty good solutions.”

One person Murray has ruled out for the new appointment is his mother Judy, who he maintains is too busy with her current roles of Fed Cup captain and helping to mentor and develop female tennis coaches around Britain. But he insists it is now imperative for the habitual in-fighting around the British scene to cease.

““There are a lot of great people in British tennis and none of them see eye to eye,” claimed Murray. “None of them speak to each other.

“I think if everyone got in a room and actually was mature about it and gave their opinions and put them across, I think they could come up with pretty good solutions.

“It’s fine to go elsewhere for certain things, for certain expertise, but the people who genuinely care about the game in the UK are going to be British so I think it’s important to make sure that you get all of those people – guys who have been at the top of the game, coaches who have produced players – try and get them involved, try and get that passion back.

“And from their side – because I’ve seen it and I’ve read about it – just stop the negativity and do something constructive with your ideas

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Andy Murray, British Lawn Association, David Gregson, Fed Cup, Juan Martin Del Potro, tenns news