Thread by @GuruAnaerobic

British Tennis.

Now Andy Murray is out, the familiar story at the Wimbledon grand slam is that they'll be no British players going through to the 2nd week. Six years ago I highlighted the systemic problems the LTA suffers from.

express.co.uk/sport/tennis/5…

After my 2 meetings with the LTA performance director, I wrote (2016);

'The Lawn Tennis Association are presiding over a long tortuous slow crash of their sport. Once Murray retires the full horror will be revealed and the post-mortem will begin'

express.co.uk/sport/tennis/6…

In May this year the LTA appointed two non-executive directors from the minority ethnic community to "make the game more inclusive and diverse"; missing the point that it isn't about diversity but affordability.

skysports.com/tennis/news/12…

The promises, first from chief exec Roger Draper, then Michael Downey, that juniors were coming through were never realised; anyone from a non-tennis working-class background could spot what the problem was. Now Scott Lloyd spouts about 'inclusion'

lta.org.uk/about-us/tenni…

Judy Murray @JudyMurray observes that 'Sports days with no winners or losers fail to prepare children for real life'.

I'm not sure how true this is as most schools have competitive sports, and some kids are naturally competitive, regardless.

telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/06/2…

The general problem with British Tennis is that its faults are built into the system; they are a feature, not a bug. This means that the next Andy Murray will arrive from outside the system, not because of it.

Diversity & equality misses that this only reflects the demographic change of the middle-class, not that the sport is reaching 'down and out'.

British Tennis do not understand in their bones that millions of kids cannot afford coaching, joining a club, etc