DETAILS of a "historic" funding initiative for tennis in Scotland will be made public this morning after the boards of the LTA, Tennis Scotland and sportscotland agreed a "multi-million" pound package to help develop the sport north of the border. For all the on-court successes of Andy Murray, Jamie Murray and others, the question of their lasting legacy has been a thorny one, with the lack of provision for indoor courts in Scotland one consistent bugbear with the Murray family.
A prolonged media campaign which culminated in a question being raised by Stirling SNP MP Steven Paterson in the House of Commons earlier this month, however, appears to have borne fruit, with a funding announcement to help "grow the game" and "facilitate all-year round play" which is thought to be significant. Wheelchair tennis No 1 Gordon Reid, minister for sport Aileen Campbell, sportscotland Chair Mel Young, LTA Participation Director Alastair Marks, and Tennis Scotland’s Chair Blane Dodds will be in Stirling today to make the announcement, which will see funding body sportscotland match any sum pledged from the LTA's coffers. A separate proposal, for a combined tennis and golf academy, incorporating a Murray museum, at the Park of Keir site near Dunblane, is currently with Scottish ministers at Holyrood.
While Tennis Scotland is still without a chief executive, after David Marshall's decision to step down after this year's Wimbledon, things appear to be moving in a positive direction at the organisation, where Davis Cup captain Leon Smith now has a key role on the board. While no suitable candidate has yet been found for the top job, head hunters are casting the net wide for the position, and funding has been set aside for two other full-time posts, a national coach and a workforce development manager, who can help develop Scotland's network of tennis coaches.
Only last month, when he was confirming his status as year-end World No 1, Andy Murray - the new BBC Sports Personality of the Year - had expressed uncertainty as to whether enough had been done to build on his successes in Scotland. "Obviously I would be disappointed if nothing changed," he said. "I'm interested in it, for sure. There's not loads I can do about it just now whilst I'm playing. But obviously my mum's heavily involved in tennis not just in Scotland, but in the whole of the UK. She's pretty aware of everything that's going on. I just hope that when I finish, it's better than it was when I started. Whether that's the case now or not, I don't really know."
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