Judy Murray would enthusiastically welcome the appointment of a female Lawn Tennis Association chief executive, after a survey revealed the number of women getting top jobs in UK sport is dropping.

The Scottish tennis coach, and mother of Wimbledon champion Andy, has spotted an unprecedented opportunity for a woman to assume a "key decision-making position" with a governing body.

With Michael Downey due to depart as LTA chief executive, Murray told the Daily Telegraph: "A woman at the top of an organisation? That would be great!

"If you look at the LTA, there are eight people on the executive team. Only one of them is a woman, who is in human relations. So there are no women's voices in any tennis capacity.

"Everyone looks at the sports stars, like Johanna Konta or Jessica Ennis-Hill, and they are great role models. But even more important, for me, is to have women in key decision-making positions. They will think and act much more on behalf of women, because they know how we tick."

The results of a Women In Sport survey, published on the BBC Sport website, found just under half of Britain's 68 sporting bodies have failed to meet new government guidelines. By April 1, organisations must have a minimum of 30 per cent women on their boards, or risk losing funding.

Nine of the 68 organisations have no women in senior leadership roles, according to the findings.