TWO senior figures have quit their roles with the governing body for Scottish tennis in a row over cronyism and secrecy at boardroom level.

Ian Conway, who was president of Tennis Scotland, and his deputy, Jacqui Duncan, walked out because of concern over the recruitment and selection process for staff.

In a joint letter to the chairman and company secretary, they said it was unacceptable that jobs had been handed out "by senior personnel acting with apparent impunity". They added: "Information flow about company matters is not as free as we believe it should be."

It is understood the dispute concerns two appointments made by Tennis Scotland this year, including a head of participation who was given a six-month contract.

The development will be seen as a major embarrassment to Tennis Scotland, which has made major efforts to build on the success of Andy Murray, currently world No 11. In their resignation letter, the pair said: "We cannot discount the possibility that recent appointments involve cronyism and we have sought, via board meetings, to have these concerns adequately addressed.

"Appointments appear to be made by senior personnel acting with apparent impunity. This is, in our opinion as board members, unacceptable. We cannot operate as board members whilst senior personnel act in this way.

"We have also found during our board tenure that the information flow about company matters is not as free as we believe it should be. At times we believe we are provided with information on a need-to-know basis only and once again we are not comfortable operating within this environment … we have no option but to resign with immediate effect."

It is understood the resignations have come as a huge shock to the organisation, with sources saying both approved the recruitment process which saw the chief executive and two other board members form a selection panel. Mr Conway declined to comment, while Ms Duncan could not be reached.

Tennis Scotland chairman Gordon Baker confirmed the "unexpected" resignations. He said the organisation had been taking appropriate advice about "various inaccuracies" within the letter.

He added: "We are extremely disappointed at the turn of events which comes at a time when the profile of our sport in the country is at an all-time high."

Stewart Harris, chief executive of Sportscotland, the country's national agency for sport, said his organisation had the utmost confidence in the "reformed and modernised governance structures" of Tennis Scotland.

Lawn Tennis Association. chief executive Michael Downey said: "We know from our close contact in recent years that improved governance is something that is a high priority for Tennis Scotland and we look forward to continuing to work with Tennis Scotland for the benefit of British tennis."