“No bold targets to be set”, Leon Smith, Head Lawn Tennis Association – Tennis News
Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has been unable to fulfill their promises in the past and they have been severely criticized for that purpose. Leon Smith, the newly appointed head of men and women tennis, brought an end to this dilemma
by clearly stating that he is not going to set any kind of targets that he would not be able to achieve or further dismantle the image of LTA.
It has been really disappointing on the part of LTA that they have just been able to produce one ATP top 100 player, Andy Murray, and it has been really frustrating for Britons to see their players knock-out in early stages of
every tournament. Leon Smith praised the performance of Britain’s double’s performers and stated that it’s a good sign for younger breed to have national icons which can boost their morale.
Leon Smith said "What I've learned is not to give targets. We've done that before - it's not the way to go. If we focus on the process, these could be exciting times”.
Six players from Britain are in the ITF top 100 double’s ranking. Recent achievements from British tennis players include doubles, Futures, Challengers and Junior Davis Cup title. The top of the list performers from Britain in
recent times are Oliver Golding, George Morgan, Liam Broady and Kyle Edmund who have managed to reach to the semi-finals or finals of Grand Slam Tournaments.
Britain women tennis is relatively doing well with three players in the WTA top 100 rankings including Elena Baltacha, Heather Watson and Anne Keothavong. Laura-Robinson has also been an impressive performer in this season and
has reached her career top ranking of 132.
Smith clearly stated that it’s a results-driven business and there is no room for poor performances. He was enthralled by the new responsibility and said “British tennis is going places, there's a buzz about the place and the public
have got a lot to look forward to in the next two or three years”.
Roger Draper, CEO of LTA, has experimented a lot with big name coaches and highly paid professional coaches but results were not as expected so he had to revert to someone who could produce results. Smith was the best of the lot
at the moment. Smith denied the fact that those big names were totally a fail and said “A lot of people say it was a waste of money but I totally disagree, absolutely not. The results might not have been there but those 'big names' contributed to what we're
seeing today”.
He praised those big name coaches and stated that he inherited a lot of coaching skills from them and would try to produce results in the coming future. He was appointed the head of men and women tennis on Tuesday, October 11th.
Tags: