Game, set... but our youngsters are no match in world of tennis

"WHAT'S wrong with British tennis?" It's a question that is asked over and over ad nauseam at this time of year.

Should Andy Murray win his semi-final match at Wimbledon today and go on to lift that trophy, the wonderful achievement will only serve to underline the chasm in quality and performance between him and other British players.

There's no getting away from one embarrassing statistic: last week, for the first time in 133 years, he was the only British player to get as far as the second round of Wimbledon. Anne Keothavong, Heather Watson and James Baker exited on day two, following the defeat of Elena Baltacha, Katie O'Brien, Mel South and Laura Robson on day one. Lawn Tennis Association executives burbled that these results were not a true reflection of the sport nationally.

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Back in the spring, our team's efforts in the Davis Cup didn't reflect well on the British game, either – suffering humiliation at the hands of Lithuania, a trouncing that relegated Britain to the level of Moldova, Malta, San Marino and Armenia. To add insult to injury, this fifth successive Davis Cup loss was to a team of teenagers, only one of whom is ranked inside the world's top 500.

Captain John Lloyd parted company with his team and the Government's All-Party Tennis Advisory Group (who knew there was such a thing?) was asked to consider the parlous state of the British game and how the LTA spends its annual 60m funding. The group's report urged the LTA to be more transparent in how it uses its cash and to take measures to turn tennis into a game for the masses.

Belgium's former world number one Kim Clijsters (seeded number 8 this year) waded into the debate a few days ago, arguing that British tennis players are "spoiled" and lack the will to succeed. She said our youngsters benefit from too much too young in terms of facilities, arguing that money can't buy motivation and hunger.

A vital contributing factor to Britain's poor performance at the sport lies in the attitude of young players at clubs around the country, says one of Yorkshire's top tennis coaches.

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Derek Munro, head coach at Chapel Allerton Tennis Club in Leeds, sees 400 youngsters taking lessons every week at his tennis school. It's a source of frustration that only 30-40 go on to play competitively, and most never play in between lessons.

"It's a typical large tennis club, with one sort of teenager taking lessons then playing and playing to get better in between, also entering as many tournaments as possible. Then we have the other kind, the majority who are playing at 'tennis coaching', which is a sport in itself.

"They come along to learn and perhaps enjoy a bit of the social side, but don't ever play outside the lesson to improve their game and increase their passion for it. Their parents usually drop them off and pick them up, but don't stay to see how they're doing. I want kids to get better at the game and love it, so it's upsetting to see them doing so little to better their game outside of one hour of coaching.

"One girl at squad practice this week said she 'couldn't do much'

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because she was tired after a hard day at school. Where is the hunger, the work ethic and the desire?"

Munro, who has been a coach for 26 years, would agree that tennis is too much a middle class game, but doesn't have easy answers as to how access can be widened to make the sport more inclusive. When a child excels at the game and moves to higher level tournaments, the

commitment by a family involves a huge amount of time and potentially many thousands of pounds spent each year on transport, equipment, accommodation and other expenses.

In his own position, he is probably in a very small minority, as a working class lad from Edinburgh who came to the sport late.

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"My first love was football, and as soon as I got home from school I was out playing in the street. As with a person you love, who you want to be with, I wanted to play all the time. At 17 I was a trainee fitter in the building trade and also a semi-pro footballer. I got injured, then the summer off-season came, and a friend suggested a few of us had a nosey at a tennis club down the road. We knew tennis was another world, very middle-class, but we were curious and found the courage."

Munro took to tennis quickly, found everyone at the club very welcoming, and soon had to choose between his two passions. He spent every moment and every penny he could on tennis, and would hang around the courts each night and all weekend to find new opponents. He went on to better clubs, won county championships, represented Scotland internationally and took professional coaching qualifications.

Wimbledon, much as we love it, simply reinforces the "posh" image of the game, he says. "It's off-putting to working class kids to see this world of strawberries and cream and Pimm's, with Sue Barker chatting away to people like John McEnroe.

"Working class families generally can't afford the lessons, even if the child fancies having a go and joining a club. So then you're left with the middle class youngsters, many of whom lack the effort and

commitment to play enough, give it their best and get the best from it. It's a great shame."