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Can Henman Or Rusedski Save British Tennis?
When Andy Murray reached the final of the Australian Open it was a great moment for British tennis fans. Yet, just a few months later British tennis has hit an all time low. As Murray took a well earned break from competition, the British Davis Cup team lost to Lithuania and now face the possibility of dropping down to the lowest tier of the Davis Cup.
Should the Lawn Tennis Association get rid of current captain, John Lloyd and turn to one of its former stars? Greg Rusedski already works with some of the young hopefuls, while Boris Becker has suggested that Tim Henman is the man to breathe new life into the Davis Cup team.
Can either or these past masters save British tennis from the doldrums or are the players simply not good enough?
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Comments
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Give me a decent coach, a few milling quid and a group of children from inner-city council estates and I'll give you a British tennis champ. Simple.
Posted by Ben Hardwick, 12/03/2010 9:59am (5 months ago)
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Lets just hope that Laura Robson ends up being brilliant, its been a very long time since we saw any success in the womens game.
Posted by Aidy , 11/03/2010 10:55am (5 months ago)
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Unfortunately I think too much of that £40 million is spent on keeping those playing surfaces nice and green rather than on honing the skills of our young players.
Let us not forget that the most talented player in our ranks - Andy Murray - moved to Barcelona at the age of 15 in search of better training than that which he received in the UK.Posted by Ian Smith, 11/03/2010 10:18am (5 months ago)
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What is interesting is that the LTA has a budget of £40million per year to invest in improving facilities and helping young players. Lithunia had a budget of £90,000 per year, yet they are managing to bring through some talented young players.
Posted by Aidy , 11/03/2010 5:39am (5 months ago)
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Unfortunately I think neither Henman or Rudsekski will be able to breathe any life into British Tennis. What strikes me is that Tennis is that it seems to be limited to the few whose parents introduce them to the sport from a young age, I can hardly remember any tennis lessons when I was a youngster back at school. If we are to find talent then British children need to be encouraged to play the sport through schools in much the same way as Football or Rugby.
If we are to overhaul Tennis in this country we need to start from the very bottom and only then will we start to reap the rewards in the future.Posted by Ian Smith, 11/03/2010 5:27am (5 months ago)
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If Tim Henman is the man to "breathe new life" into the Davis Cup team then we are in serious trouble. The man wouldn't know killer instinct if it came up and slapped him in the face.
The Davis Cup suffers from the simple fact that British people don't really care all that much about tennis. It's popular for a couple of weeks every year (and a day or two more if Murray makes a final) but I can guarantee the majority of people couldn't tell you who we lost to recently.
I've always viewed British tennis as suffering froma real lack of 'edge', where are the talented youngsters for whom tennis is everythng? Nowehere. And why? Because the majority of tennis players come from well-off backgrounds and don't have the killer instinct required.
British tennis needs a massive overhaul and needs to think of a foreign captain for the Davis Cup.Posted by Ben Hardwick, 10/03/2010 7:25pm (5 months ago)
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