THE wind of change blowing through Scottish tennis continued last night when David Marshall, the chief executive of Tennis Scotland, announced he is to quit the organisation after this year's Wimbledon Championships. Marshall has spent ten years at the helm of the sport's governing body, a period which co-incided with huge Scottish successes yet one which often found him at loggerheads with high profile figures such as Jamie and Judy Murray, who felt he should have been more pro-active when it came to banging the drum for increased funding for the sport in this country.
His departure continues an overhaul of the organisation in recent times with Blane Dodds, the chair of Tennis Scotland, submitting a legacy plan to the LTA to improve facilities and step up development of the sport in this country. Currently the LTA provide £650,000 out of total funding of £1.7m.
"The Board wishes to pass on our best wishes and thanks to David, who has invested twenty years in tennis administration, with the last ten years as CEO of Tennis Scotland," said Dodds. “Membership has increased year on year under David's leadership despite limited resources. Along with the board, David has led the organisation through substantial governance change. Via partnership funding, £5.4 million has been invested in facilities since 2012, and the profile of our sport within the country is at an unprecedented level with Scotland now a regular venue for home Davis Cup ties.”
Marshall said he was proud of what he had been able to achieve in the post. "I would like to thank the board for their support over the past ten years and also the dedicated staff of Tennis Scotland," he said. "I am proud of what has been achieved over a special period of time for Scottish tennis. Who would have thought that we would have the No1 and No2 Doubles and Singles players in the world, respectively coming from Scotland, in addition to Gordon Reid occupying the World No 1 in Doubles and No 5 Ranking in Singles in wheelchair tennis? Overall there were nine Scots represented at Wimbledon in 2015 which is an amazing result for a small nation and Scotland has had significant representation within the GB Davis Cup teams for many years. There has been transformational change in the performance of our players over this period.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with Tennis Scotland and the journey we have taken," Marshall added. "I now look forward to helping the Chairman in the handover period and to help prepare Tennis Scotland for the next exciting chapter in its growth and development."
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