Tennis Outlook pilot Winter 2009 (5871kb) - TIA UK

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THE JOURNAL OF THE TENNIS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION UK www.tiauk.org No. 1 WINTER 2009 

A new Tennis Showcase 

Following hot on the heels of the successful Barclays 

ATP World Tour Finals where over 260,000 

spectators attended the O2 Arena, finally, news that a 

Tennis Show providing fans and players alike, the 

chance to see what is available on the tennis market, has 

been announced. 

It has long been an ambition of the TIA 

UK to forge stronger direct links 

between the providers of tennis 

equipment and services with consumers 

in the sport and there can be no better 

way of achieving that than by 

establishing an annual Consumer Tennis 

Show. 

The first edition is now scheduled to take 

place between April 30 and May 2, 2010, 

at the ExCeL Centre in the East End of 

London thanks to an agreement reached 

between the TIA UK and the Golf Show 

Group Ltd. 

The event itself will be attached to their 

successful London Golf Show to take 

advantage of the synergy which exists 

between the two sports, highlighted by Ken 

Schofield CBE, chairman of the Golf Show 

Group, who said on releasing the news: 

“There are many crossovers between the 

two sports. Commercially, many of the 

large brands in golf are also present in 

tennis and many amateurs play both sports 

to relax. 

“The time is right for the launch of a tennis 

show and we are now able to build upon the 

success we have enjoyed with golf shows 

at both ExCeL and the NEC over the past 

five years.” 

Ironically, the suggestion that tennis should 

be added to the Golf Show was first mooted 

by Sandy Jones, the chief executive of the 

IN THIS ISSUE 

Page 

Getting Well Covered 2 

Serena Williams gets off lightly 2 

Bring back the Gladiators 3 

Agassi’s admission 4 

ATP prove there is a bigger market 5 

Getting Covered 6 

Growing Year-on-Year 7 

A name to remember 8 

Working Partnerships & TIA AGM 9 

Tennis Matters 10 

People & Places 11 

Crown Jewels and Blueprint II 12 

Tennis Outlook Editor: Henry Wancke 

Photographs: Fotosports International, David Musgrove 

Design and Print; Delta Print, Watford 

Produced by Abbott Media Services on behalf of the TIA UK Ltd 

Editorial address: Cedar Lodge, Howe Rd., Watlington, 

OX49 5ER Tel 01491 612042 

Ken Schofield CBE, Chairman of the Golf Show Group 

Ltd and Ian Peacock OBE, President of the TIA UK, 

shake hands on the agreement to stage the London Golf 

& Tennis Show in 2010. 

Professional Golfers Association (PGA) to 

Ian Peacock, OBE, President of the TIA 

UK and a former managing director of 

Slazenger. 

“After discussing it with Ken,” recounted 

Peacock, who is also a former chief 

executive of the LTA, “we recognised the 

possibilities of building on the existing golf 

shows to offer an opportunity for tennis 

enthusiasts to see what is being developed. 

“It is an ideal vehicle for businesses and 

companies in tennis to showcase their 

products and services to players, 

enthusiasts and supporters of the game.” 

Speaking on behalf of the TIA UK Board, 

Chairman Steve Matthews, who shortly 

will be taking up his role as an LTA 

Councillor added: “We are very excited 

about the show and already have 

commitments from some major names in 

the game who will give support through the 

TIA.” 

Roger Draper, chief executive of The Lawn 

Tennis Association (LTA), also welcomed 

the initiative. “The LTA is delighted to 

support the London Golf & Tennis Show in 

2010 and we look forward to working with 

our colleagues in golf to create a successful 

show which will promote these two great 

sports,” he said. 

Visitors flocked in to the Golf Show Group Ltd’s NEC 

Golf Show late November. 

Joining the LTA in their support of the new 

format are the English Golf Partnership and 

the PGA. “It’s hugely encouraging that the 

LTA and others from the tennis industry 

have joined with the England Golf 

Partnership and their associates in 

supporting the new show,” Schofield 

declared. “They too can see the promise in 

opening up an already successful show to 

an even larger potential audience. 

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“To our knowledge, never before have so 

many professional bodies from within the 

world of sport come together to endorse a 

consumer show such as this. It is a 

testament to the potential of the event that 

so many people and organisations have 

signed up as supporters.” 

Full details regarding trade participation 

will be released shortly but there is no 

doubt that the show promises to be an 

exciting affair and will meet a desperate 

need amongst tennis consumers, a void 

which has for too long, been ignored. 

Tickets will be made available to registered 

golf and tennis clubs and organisers are 

anticipating an attendance of 30,000 across 

the three days of the event. 

With tennis interest at such a high, the Golf 

& Tennis Show should prove a major 

attraction in the 

spring. 

Tim Henman appeared as 

a guest of the Taylor Made 

brand. 

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THE JOURNAL OF THE TENNIS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION UK www.tiauk.org No.1 WINTER 2009 

GettinG well covered 

As part of the Tennis Industry Association 

UK's commitment to extend a range of 

new services for its membership, the only 

trade body solely for tennis businesses 

has launched TIA UK Insurance in 

conjunction with Advanced Insurance 

Centres Limited (trading as Trident) 

and Tasker & Partners Limited, two 

independent brokers with access to a panel 

of insurers and underwriting syndicates 

offering members, together with their 

family and friends, insurance cover for 

their business and domestic needs. 

"This is an important step forward for the TIA 

UK," said Steven Matthews, Chairman of the 

Board of Directors. 

"We are confident TIA UK Insurance will deliver 

value for money to our members and look forward 

to working with our friends at both Trident and 

Tasker to develop a comprehensive service that 

will meet the needs of the diverse range of 

businesses that now serve the tennis industry." 

A dedicated freephone number (0800 012 1899) 

ensures TIA UK members have immediate access 

to trained staff using state of the art technology 

which enables them to maximise cost savings, with 

no loss of cover or service. 

With no offshore call centres and regular 

assessment, the best levels of service delivery are 

maintained and members will receive a friendly 

and understandable consultation to help meet their 

insurance needs, quickly and effectively. 

"We operate through telephone consultation so we 

can fully assess each client's specific needs," 

explains Robert Marshall, Managing Director of 

Trident. 

"While comparison websites can give some idea 

of what is available in the market, they do not 

provide access to unrivalled competitive rates both 

on and off screen, which we do. As independent 

brokers, we are under no obligation to any insurer 

unless that insurer offers the most competitive 

rates and, more specifically, appropriate cover. We 

go the extra mile to deliver exactly what is needed 

to our clients." 

Both brokers who are authorised and regulated by 

the Financial Services Authority, are members of 

the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, and 

under the jurisdiction of the Financial Ombudsman 

Service so TIA UK members are assured of 

exemplary service. 

"Insurance is often set aside in the 

too-tough-to-handle tray and simply automatically 

renewed," said Ian Peacock, the TIA UK's 

President. 

"Members now have the opportunity to discuss 

both their business and domestic cover with 

experts to ensure they are fully covered for all 

eventualities and in the knowledge that they are 

also helping to fund the association to deliver a 

wider set of benefits to them in the future. 

"It is a very exciting partnership, which we hope 

will be successful and will run and run." 

Raising the TIA’s profile 

The TIA UK has agreed a partnership with Tenniswire.org, and American web site, to help raise the 

profile of the organisation both at home and abroad, as well as provide Members with another benefit. 

In future the TIA UK will supply information to TennisWire for exposure via their distribution lists. In 

addition, Members will receive a discount on rack rates to use TennisWire as a Newsmaker for their 

individual comapnies. 

The Executive committee believe this to be a very valuable PR resource that will become all the more 

important as future projects get under way. 

As Barbara Wancke, the TIA UK’s Executive Vice President points out, “It is also a means of raising 

our profile with major brands, many of whom have headquarters based abroad.” 

Serena gets off lightly 

Serena Williams targets the line-judge that called foot 

fault at a crucial stage of her semi-final at Flushing 

Meadows last September. Picture Fotosports 

International. 

It’s taken a few months but finally the Grand Slam 

Committee have adjudicated on Serena Williams’ 

foul-mouthed outburst at a line judge during her 

US Open semi final against Kim Clijsters. 

Her punishment for committing “a grand slam 

major offence of aggravated behaviour” was a 

suspended ban from the US Open, and the largest 

fine in tennis history. 

Williams, who ended the year as world number 

one on the WTA rankings having collected titles at 

the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the WTA 

Tour Championships, was expected to be banned 

from the Australian Open but it seems the 

authorities felt that the threat of such a ban should 

she transgress again within the next two years at a 

grand slam event, should be sufficient. 

Similarly, her fine of $100,000 — with half also 

being held over in the event of further foul-mouth 

language being used again over the same period 

— could be said to be light punishment for a 

multi-millionairess who actually earned three 

times that amount at Flushing Meadows last 

September. 

She did apologise – twice, as many felt the first 

time was not contrite enough — for her abuse and 

actions which, to many, was worse than Greg 

Rusedski’s understandable foul-mouthed outburst 

during Wimbledon in 2003. He lost his cool thanks 

to a spectator’s stupid call but didn’t abuse an 

official unlike Jeff Tarango’s actions towards a 

Wimbledon umpire during the 1995 

Championships when he walked off court having 

called the umpire “the most corrupt official in the 

game”. 

For that the American was banned from the 

following year’s Championships and it would 

therefore seem that abusing an umpire merits 

tougher action than when a line-judge is targeted, 

even a female one as the younger Williams did. 

Building Bricks 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

British tennis is not held in very high 

esteem abroad thanks to the lack of 

impact our players have made on the 

international stage. We have had a few 

exceptions but it doesn’t obviously 

compare to say Spain where they 

currently have seven male players in the 

top 31! 

So to learn that a ‘tennis’ company from 

these shores has ‘exported’ their product to 

Spain, and in particular to the 

Sanchez-Casal Academy where our own 

Andy Murray honed his trade, must be 

acclaimed. 

The news that the new teaching programme 

produced by Teddy Tennis Ltd is being 

adopted by the Barcelona based academy as 

their standard teaching system for young 

children, is a great endorsement for Richard 

and Stephen Bean, founders of the company. 

The company has produced this new 

teaching method to inspire young children 

aged 3½ - 5½ to play tennis and develop a 

love of sport. It creatively connects to 

children through music, pictures, stories and 

teddy bear characters and it makes learning 

the elementary skills of tennis and sport in 

general, Fun! 

Richard Bean, Co-founder of Teddy Tennis 

said: “We are absolutely delighted that the 

Sánchez-Casal Academy has selected Teddy 

Tennis; its endorsement will help us extend 

the adoption of Teddy Tennis, both in the 

UK and overseas.“ 

Bean continued, “Our system has been 

extensively market tested with the most 

demanding of clients, 3 to 5 year olds. They 

tell you exactly how it is and I am very 

happy to say they love Teddy Tennis”. 

Emilio Sánchez Vicario, co-founder of the 

Sánchez-Casal Academy explained they 

were trying to help parents with the 

complex task of educating their children 

and consequently offer more than just fun 

and sports activities. “We subscribe to an 

exclusive system, created for children, 

which adds a combination of visual and 

auditory stimulation that have a spectacular 

effect on the learning ability and the 

development of the child’s emotional 

intelligence,” he said, concluding “This 

combination is the true secret of Teddy 

Tennis”. 

The programme, which is made up of a 

series of lessons which use music and 

pictures, has been developed in Holland 

Park, West London and this year alone, over 

800 children have participated. 

Roger Draper chief executive of the LTA 

said: “We think it is a great idea for the 3 

and 5 year olds to build a foundation of 

good all round athletic fundamentals with 

music and pictures to help the youngsters 

understand the learning experience of 

tennis, we wish them well in their venture.” 

Peter MacCraw coach educator, leading 

tennis researcher and world-renowned 

developmental coach, added: “Teddy Tennis 

is a unique and innovative program that 

introduces children to the fundamentals of 

tennis. The unique approach of combining 

music with motion creates an ideal learning 

environment for children of all ages and 

abilities to develop sound athletic and tennis 

skills. A child could not receive a better start 

to tennis. Teddy Tennis is the best I have 

seen.” 

If the Spanish think it will help them build 

a base of future champions, some British 

centres of tennis excellence should perhaps 

follow suit. 

2

1 


Bring Back the 

gladiators 

Marketing the game has been a 

major problem but, despite all 

the efforts by both the ATP and 

WTA Tours, as well as national 

associations, the sport remains 

locked in the public’s perception, 

as a middle class experience. 

The re-jigging of the calendars, the ranking points, 

and various rule changes brought in over the past 

few years, have all been the result of the 

professional administrators’ musings, invariably 

agreed to by the professional players. 

The latest rule change to emerge from the States is 

another tweak of the doubles game, again aimed at 

attracting the top singles players to also play 

doubles at the various ATP events, as they used to 

do in the days of old! By reducing sets to five 

games, the organisers say the additional benefit is 

matches will be shorter, faster as well as more 

exciting. 

What is interesting is that there are never any 

suggestions or proposals to tamper with the singles 

game to make matches faster and more exciting, and 

there are plenty, especially in the early part of many 

a draw, which could do with additional appeal. Just 

look at the sparse crowds at the run-of-the-mill 

events, and it isn’t all down to the public being at 

work. 

Interestingly, one of the more flamboyant 

commentators of the sport, Bud Collins of the 

Boston Globe and commentator at ESPN’s Tennis 

Channel, told the New York Times: “Tennis needs 

a disarmament conference to deal with the 

overpowering of the game by high-tech rackets and, 

lately, high-tech strings that impart ungodly spin. 

“Ideally, representatives of the male and female 

professional organizations, as well as the 

International Tennis Federation, should sit down at 

the table and hash all this out. 

“What professional tennis needs to do is regulate 

the size of rackets to be no longer than 27 inches 

and no wider than 9 inches. And it should outlaw 

the new strings. This will give the volleyers a 

chance. 

“On the subject of overpowering, it also applies to 

female voices, and the screeching more often 

Bud Collins wants curbs on tennis equipment. 

Picture Fotopsorts International. 

associated with mythological Harpies. 

“The WTA ought to move to cut out the noise 

pollution of the screamers, whose agonized sounds 

go beyond grunting, and spoil many matches for 

fans. 

“The WTA should remind its members that Billie 

Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Steffi 

Graf and Justine Henin were great players without 

resorting to sound effects.” 

One could add that stricter rules should be drawn 

up to cover cramping and injuries. Too much time 

is wasted on these as players use these time-outs, 

including toilet breaks, to disrupt their opponent’s 

concentration. 

The only change which the WTA Tour has adopted, 

is the introduction of on-court coaching at their 

matches. This should be abolished – the object of 

the sport is two gladiators fighting it out to the 

death, so to speak. 

Players case to be heard in May 

From The 

Board 

I am delighted to be able to 

welcome readers to Tennis 

Outlook, the new publication 

by the Tennis Industry 

Association UK, the objective 

of which is to provide a vehicle 

for communication within the 

tennis industry. 

I am confident that our editor 

Ian Peacock, OBE Henry Wancke, with his wealth 

of knowledge and experience within the world of 

tennis publishing, will produce a lively and 

informative publication which will become an 

important part of the tennis media. 

The launching of Tennis Outlook is another 

initiative the TIA UK has taken, which we hope 

illustrates our commitment to assist the industry 

and play a role in supporting the development of 

tennis in the UK. 

Other initiatives that the TIA 

The Tennis Book 

UK have launched this year 

TENNIS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION UK 2009 

£3.50 

include the Tennis Book, a 

directory of products and 

services available from our 

● Equipment Suppliers 

balls • rackets • apparel • accessories 

● Club Services 

courts • floodlights • indoor facilities • services members, an enhanced Tennis 

● Indoor Tennis 

manufacturers • contractors • designers 

consultants 

● Coaching Aids Shop, a retail outlet for our 

ball machines • stringing 

mini tennis • websites 

● Fanware 

books • DVDs • gifts • magazines members at tennis events, the 

All Things Tennis for Players, Coaches, 

Clubs and Fans… 

TIA Insurance scheme to 

The Tennis Book provide members with an 

insurance service at 

competitive prices and the latest initiative, 

announced elsewhere in this edition, the London 

Golf and Tennis Show. 

The London Golf and Tennis Show is intended to 

be an annual event which will provide the tennis 

industry with the opportunity to showcase its 

products and services to the general public, an 

opportunity which it is denied at Wimbledon and 

at the new Barclays ATP Finals at the O2 Arena. 

Prince Has 

Discovered A New 

Source Of Energy. 

Plug Into It. 

And Turn On Your Game. 

The Tennis Shop at Wimbledon during Davis Cup 

I hope that the membership will support our 

involvement with this successful show and build, 

with our colleagues in golf, a sporting experience 

to attract, inform and entertain the public. 

In all these initiatives, the TIA UK works closely 

with the LTA and we are delighted that our 

Chairman, Steve Matthews will be joining the 

LTA Council next year to represent the 

commercial interests within the game. There are 

many positive signs today about the future of 

British tennis. Andy Murray of course, the 

success of the Barclays ATP Finals, the increased 

number of juniors playing tennis and a general 

feeling that the game in the UK is moving 

forwards. 

The TIA UK intends to play its part in building 

on this momentum and, working in partnership 

with the LTA, help the game expand and grow 

stronger as a leading sport in the UK. 

Ian Peacock 

TIA UK President December, 2009 

General TIA UK enquiries: 

Phone 01737 831 707 

e-mail: gilly@tiauk.org 

Reg. Office. 48 Braeside, Beckenham, Kent. 

Company No: 5345983 

Gael Monfi ls plays 

the 

Rebel. 

Introducing 

Potito Starace, one of five Italians sueing the ATP. Picture Fotosports International. 

Five Italian players are taking the ATP World Tour to court following their bans and fines for 

alleged gambling following Judge James Cohn’s rejection to dismiss the case and ruled that the 

ATP did have ‘fiduciary duty’ to the players and the players themselves had a right to bring the 

lawsuit. The case will now be heard in Florida on the 3rd May 2010. 

The players involved are Giorgio Galimberti, Alessio Di Mauro, Potito Starace and Daniele 

Bracciali as well as the estate of Federico Luzzi (he died in October 2008), who all maintain that 

they were never properly notified of the rules appertaining to gambling and that the consent letter 

all players must sign with the ATP does not represent acknowledgement of all ATP rules. 

Puts More Energy 

Where You Want It - 

Into Your Shot. 

princetennis.com 

ENERGY WHERE IT MATTERS 

3


gamblers take 

advantage of 

sporting gesture 

Caroline Wozniacki, the attractive 19 year-old Dane who made 

the final of the US Open, has inadvertently fallen foul of tennis’ 

gambling authorities whilst competing at the Luxembourg Open. 

Ranked sixth in the world, Wozniacki, who 

originates from Poland, retired during a first round 

match against Anne Kremer of Luxembourg, 

whilst leading 7-5,5-0. 

It was a sporting gesture for Wozniacki knew she 

couldn’t play in the next round because she was 

carrying a hamstring injury. Unfortunately, during 

a changeover, the problem was discussed with her 

father Piotr, who doubles up as her coach during a 

change over as allowed by the WTA. 

Despite speaking in Polish, he was heard to tell her 

to withdraw as the match came near to its 

conclusion. This was picked up via the on-court 

microphones and gamblers, listening in via the 

internet, quickly adjusted their on-line bets to a 

Kremer victory and by all accounts, made a pile! 

As Piotr explained on Danish radio later, he said 

to her: “Caro, it does not matter whether it’s going 

to be 5-0, 4-1 or 3-2. You can not play the next 

Bans 

handed out 

Two Belgians have been hit with one-year bans 

from anti-doping officials in their homeland 

prompting the WTA to call for an amendment of 

the ‘whereabouts rule’. Both Yanina Wickmayer 

and Xavier Malisse failed to comply with 

regulations stipulated by World Anti-Doping 

Agency and are consequently suffering the 

consequences. 

US Open semi-finalist Wickmayer, the 20 year-old 

world number 18, failed to declare her 

whereabouts on three occasions, in accordance 

with the controversial rule introduced at the 

beginning of the 2009 season, a rule which Malisse 

also contravened twice, and then compounding 

that by also missing a drugs test by not being at an 

address he had stipulated he would be at for that 

purpose. 

The bans took immediate effect early November 

forcing the two players to pull out of events they 

Former Wimbledon 

semi-finalist, Xavier 

Malisse, banned. 

Picture Fotosports 


were scheduled to play though Wickmayer has 

indicated she intends to appeal to the Court for 

Arbitration for Sport. 

At a press conference, a tearful Wickmayer said: 

“The anti-doping system in theory is OK but not 

in practice, especially when it condemns the 

innocent. 

“Because I was not in the top 50, I was not on the 

programme of the World Anti-Doping Agency. I 

knew nothing of the Flemish regulations. Then 

there were two violations beside my name.” 

Wickmayer then claimed that written 

correspondence was sent to her house when she 

was travelling abroad. “I do not understand why 

they did not try to contact me when they noticed 

their registered letters were returned because I was 

not home,” she added. 

“I’m 16th in the world and that is thanks to the 

hard and honest work of the past years. Do the 

people who have suspended me think about that 

round, so you shouldn’t take the risk. I’m very 

proud of Caroline, because she stopped the fight 

and gave her opponent a chance.” 

Gambling and match-fixing is an area the 

governing bodies of tennis have taken very 

seriously, setting up a Tennis Integrity unit to 

investigate any claims which might arise. 

Some win, others lose 

By all accounts, this incident was extremely 

unfortunate and was meant to be a sporting gesture 

for an opponent playing before her home crowd. 

As expected, Wozniacki professes her innocence. 

“So, people bet on my matches,” she said. “ Some 

win, others lose. I just know that I am clean. It is 

most important to me. “And if anyone is in doubt 

about my injury, I can both produce scans from the 

hospital and a report from the tournament 

physiotherapist.” But while that may well be the 

case, she could still be fined for ‘lack of effort’ 

according to ITF rules! WTA spokesman Neil 

I have nothing to reproach myself for. I am 

punished because of administrative and 

organisational reasons; it is inhumane and 

unsporting. Athletes are not robots, but people.” 

She then concluded: “Now I let my lawyers work 

on the case and I’ll wait and try to keep busy with 

other things.” 

Yanina Wickmayer 

to appeal. 

Picture Fotosports 


WTA wants changes 

Meanwhile the governing body of women’s tennis 

would like to see the World Anti-Doping Agency 

(WADA) revise its ‘whereabouts rule’ which they 

maintain is too stringent. 

“Basically each quarter, they (the players) go in to 

the computer system and have to give at least one 

hour a day where they’re going to be,” WTA Tour 

chairman Stacey Allaster said. 

“There’s no doubt that this anti-doping programme 

is rigorous and I think everyone in sport who is 

part of the WADA code are all united that we want 

to have a clean sport. 

“This rigorous testing for out of competition, 

which is really what the whereabouts rule is about, 

is meant to ensure the integrity of the testing 

system and the integrity of the sport. 

“But I think together with the (men’s tour) ATP, 

we do believe that the procedures for reporting 

during competition could be modified. I think 

when the athletes are in competition it’s easy for 

WADA to see where the athletes are.” 

Allaster sympathises with players at an event who 

find it difficult to inform authorities where they are 

going to be on a daily basis. 

“If I’m at a tournament I don’t know when my 

match is, I don’t know when I’m practising. That 

does become challenging for the athletes in 

competition,” she added. 

“So together with the ATP we have been 

advocating through the International Tennis 

Federation, to WADA, to make procedural 

changes to the reporting structure of the 

whereabouts programme in competition.” 

The delectable Caroline Wozniacki, runner up at the US Open, is entangled in a betting mess. 

Picture Fotosports International. 

Robinson commented: “We’re just looking into 

everything that happened in this match,” adding 

that he believed the information would go to the 

integrity unit. “I would think that would be the 

way it would go. They are aware of it.” The Tennis 

Integrity Unit does not comment on cases, and 

neither would Betfair, an online gambling site 

that works closely with tennis authorities. “Under 

the terms of our memorandum of understanding 

with sporting bodies worldwide, it is up to the 

sporting authorities to comment,” Betfair 

Agassi’s Admission 

The shock of Andre Agassi’s recent 

revelations in his autobiography 

‘Open’, is still being felt around the tennis 

world. He has certainly salved his own 

conscience but in so doing, opened up a can 

of worms as regards the ATP, the ITF and 

even WADA! 

At the time, the mid 1990s, there were rumours 

that a big name was involved in a drug scandal 

and many of the top names at the time were being 

bandied around. It was felt then that a big 

cover-up was underway to protect the player, the 

game, and even commercial rights. 

We will never know whether this was the incident 

that fuelled or even just started the rumour, but 

in the light of it, questions do arise. Were there 

other instances where a player has lied or even, 

which is far worse, produced a positive test which 

was ignored by the authorities to protect the good 

name of the sport 

Depressed state 

Agassi has revealed that he willingly took a drug 

in 1997 whilst in a depressed state. He then 

admitted, when the authorities told him he had 

tested positive, that he wrote a letter to the ATP, 

lying about the circumstances of that ingestion, 

claiming it was via a spiked drink usually taken 

by his assistant, which was accepted. In addition, 

he also disclosed (in his book) that his father had 

fed him a pill before many of his junior matches, 

a pill which he later was told was a ‘speed’ tablet. 

In those days the testing was done under the 

auspices of the ATP. It wasn’t until 1999 that the 

ITF took over that role on behalf of the whole 

sport and through WADA, went on to establish 

rigorous testing in accordance with the Olympic 

criteria. 

Nowadays there is an eight year statute of 

limitation so under the current rules, Agassi can’t 

be punished for the self-confessed crime. 

However, the matter is so serious that David 

Howman, the director general of WADA, is 

writing to the tennis authorities requesting them 

to investigate ‘the possibility of perjury’ or even 

a ‘breach of the law’ following the player’s 

admission. 

Howman wants the ATP and the ITF to act 

‘responsibly’ as he did not consider the matter a 

‘dead issue’. He wants clarification on whether 

Agassi ‘lied on oath’ after he had tested positive 

for crystal meth and suggest that even Agassi’s 

lawyers could have committed an offense if they 

knew their client was lying. 

That is the legal side. More worrying is the 

spokesman Tony Calvin said. 

The problem of match-fixing first became public 

in 2007 when suspicious gambling patterns were 

spotted during a match between Nikolay 

Davydenko and Martin Vassallo Arguello when 

the Russian withdrew with a foot injury but both 

players were eventually cleared by the ATP. Since 

then many players have revealed they have been 

approached whilst others have been fined for 

gambling. 

revelation that his father fed him pills during his 

junior days, seemingly just before matches. The 

pills, initially Excedrin with a high caffeine 

content, were given to lift the youngster during 

tournaments, subsequently – it is alleged – the 

pills became ‘speed’ tablets . 

The question here is: is this a common practice 

in the junior game It is unlikely, but there is now 

doubt thanks to these revelations. 

And what of Agassi’s image. Hats off to him for 

coming clean; presumably one can assume that 

having revealed these instances, there are no 

others and, having now tarnished his previously 

unblemished reputation, he can now become 

more involved in the fight to ban drugs in sport. 

In his defence, the drugs used are classified 

socially as recreational in nature. They 

were not the acknowledged performance 

enhancing ones so there can be no question that 

his on court successes were not achieved other 

than by individual merit 

and effort. However, drugs are drugs, and the 

rules appertaining to their use in 

sport, must be adhered to and WADA, as the 

ultimate authority, must be seen to be applying 

them fairly across the various sports. 

4


atP prove there is a bigger market 

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals have 

drawn to an end and, when the organisers 

debrief, they can reflect on having staged 

one of the best tennis events ever. 

There were a few hiccups but notwithstanding 

those, as a marketing exercise, a lot can be learnt. 

The man tasked with the job was the event’s 

managing director, Chris Kermode, who is better 

known as the guy who makes the tournament at 

Queen’s work. Needless to say there was some 

initial apprehension when the job arrived on his 

desk. 

“The two difficulties we had was that tennis [in this 

country] is so based in the summer with a focus on 

Queen’s and Wimbledon with people switching off 

after them. 

“Consequently there was a lot of concern as to 

whether we could attract people to a November date 

especially as most people weren’t aware that the 

event itself had been going for 40 years.” 

The fact that it had moved around the world during 

those years didn’t help the ATP breaking into a new 

market, despite the fact that players like Stan Smith, 

the first ever winner, plus legends like Lendl, Connors, 

McEnroe and Agassi becoming ATP Tour Final 

champions, had all competed at some time or other. 

But Kermode was not 

put off: “Bringing it to 

London was definitely 

the right move as you 

can see by the numbers 

who have come, but 

working on it two years 

ago we were worried 

whether people would 

Chris Kermode, the man 

behind the Barclays ATP 

World Tour Finals at the 

O2 Arena. 

Picture David Musgrove. 

come.” 

The final attendance was 

just under the 260,000 

mark making it the most 

attended tennis event in 

Britain, ranking amongst the largest sporting events 

held in the country. 

To achieve those numbers Kermode had to cast the 

net wider than the conventional marketing approach 

without upsetting the traditional, albeit small, tennis 

All ends well 

Earlier this year the All England Club 

launched a $4.6 million writ against the 

architect and subcontractor involved in 

building the Broadcast and Media Centre on 

their grounds, claiming serious defects in the 

building. 

The 45 page writ filed in the High Court against 

Building Design Partnership (BDP) and 

subcontractor FB Ellmer stated that they were 

responsible for ‘defective design’ and ‘poor 

workmanship’ listing defects that have appeared 

in the nine years following the completion of the 

Millennium building including, window 

condensation and internal misting, untreated 

A boxing arena atmosphere was created. 

Picture David Musgrove 

market by going overboard with the razz-ma-taz. 

“We wanted to attract people who had never seen 

tennis before and when they went away, they left 

having seen a good show which is why we went 

with the boxing ring approach, highlighting the 

court. We were selling an event and we had to make 

the event transcend the sport.” 

In order to establish that feeling they adopted a 

simple strategy when it came to tickets. “The whole 

ticket strategy was through data base collection; pre 

registration,” Kermode revealed. “We gathered the 

data base but we didn’t release the tickets and 

allowed the data base to grow to really substantial 

numbers and, through that delay, we created the 

feeling that this was a massive event. Being able 

to buy your tickets straight away would have 

reduced the impact.” 

Merchandising was not a priority, at least not yet. 

As far as he was concerned, “Merchandise in tennis 

has never been great apart from the Grand Slams. 

The only events that make any decent money in 

merchandising terms are Indian Wells and Miami.” 

As far as he is aware there hasn’t been a huge 

demand for tennis merchandising in this country 

but it is done. Interestingly, tournament 

programmes are successful in Britain where he 

The Millennium Building as viewed from the old No2 

Court. Picture AELTC. 

timber leading to warping, splitting handrails and 

distortion as well as visible daylight between 

external timber joints resulting in rain penetration 

believes one-in-three spectators purchase one, 

unlike continental Europe where, he declares, 

“People don’t like programmes at all.” 

Nonetheless Kermode admitted that they are trying 

to build the ATP brand as a trademark and their 

T-Shirts sold well at the O2 but, whilst they had no 

contracts, they did not want to blatantly sell other 

people’s products, especially as they had good 

relations with official suppliers. 

The Barclays ATP Tour World Finals have another 

four years at Greenwich and already plans are 

being laid for next year which includes a practice 

court in the entertainment district of the O2 Arena. 

“This is outside the Hall and would create an area 

for people to view the practice, something which 

people enjoy, as they do at Queen’s and 

Wimbledon,” Kermode said. 

“Also, in the O2 at any given time, there are 5,000 

people who are not there for the tennis, but for the 

cinemas, restaurants and nightclubs. The other 

night I was standing by the practice court and there 

must have been 2,000 people crowded round that 

court, people who had never seen tennis before in 

their life. It was Nadal practising and they didn’t 

know who he was; they had never seen professional 

tennis – but, having watched the practice, could 

well take an interest in the sport.” 

Nonetheless the main problem remains: “The real 

difficulty is putting on a show production while not 

upsetting the traditional tennis market – we will 

play around with those levels for next year,” 

Kermode concluded. 

What the conventional tennis market makes of a 

‘show production’ with the O2 state-of-the-art 

lighting and the gismos, is not known, but they will 

have to get used to things like the travelling ring of 

neon news circling above the lower tier 

proclaiming ‘ACE’ when one is struck, and 

drawing attention to Set and Match Points when 

they are reached, as well as the dry ice smoke when 

players make their entrance into the auditorium to 

raucous music and loud announcements. 

It’s a show and the numbers attracted to this year’s 

staging, prove there is a bigger market for our sport, 

than the conventionally accepted one. 

through doors and windows which have ‘bowed 

and twisted’. 

The sum claimed covers the cost of replacing 

glazing and timber with a drained and ventilated 

glazing system which Galliford Try, 

the main contractor of the original project, have 

proposed, plus £600,000 consultancy fees. 

Galliford Try, by the way, have been appointed 

by the Club to build the new No3 Court. 

While BDP have defended their position claiming 

the Club should have raised the problems 

much earlier and pointing out that they had 

already paid £56,000 in 2004 towards reparation 

costs, an ‘out of court’ settlement was agreed 

and work has started on correcting the defects 

outlined by the Club. 

Recession 

won’t halt 

expansion 

Britain is still in recession and its turning out to 

be the longest in the nation’s history. 

In tennis terms the effects are being felt in various 

areas, mostly in the corporate hospitality sector. 

This was highlighted during this year’s US Open, 

by the head of the ATP Tour, Adam Helfant who 

told reporters at Flushing Meadows: “There are a 

lot of companies and industries and people that are 

having difficulty. The tour is not immune to that. 

“Corporate hospitality is generally off at our 

tournaments because corporations have less money 

to spend or don’t want to be seen spending it.” 

Having said that, he confirmed that sponsorship has 

been holding its own pointing out that: “Only one 

tournament on our tour this year lost a title sponsor 

and we’ve had 14 ATP World Tour events that have 

Adam Helfant, 

CEO of the ATP 

Tour. 

Picture ATP. 

either signed a new or renewed sponsorship deals 

in 2009 alone, which is truly remarkable.” 

The situation is not necessarily the case at smaller, 

non ATP events or even national ones which keep 

competition alive at grass-roots level. 

But the recession doesn’t seem to have hit 

attendance figures. “Attendance, if your look 

tour-wide to date, we’re flat to slightly up,” Mr 

Helfant added. “There are pockets where we’re 

doing better or doing worse but in general our 

attendance is up. 

“But what you have to remember is that with 

corporate hospitality being down, our fans are still 

showing up. Attendance figures are very good, all 

things considered.” 

The Tour itself seems to be buoyant with officials 

looking to expand it further by establishing events 

in countries and areas where tennis is not 

established. Johannesburg was a new event this 

year and India is looking to hosting more events 

while Asia has already benefited from this drive. 

The same message was delivered by Stacey 

!! 

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! ! ! ! ! ! ! 

3$!/#$!244,5,&+!5#&-,/6!24!/#$!! 

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Canopy photomontage view 

from North West; 

Picture Hayes Davidson 2009 

getting covered 

The ‘Home of British Tennis’ was relocated As a result, early in 2008, the LTA appointed 

officially to Roehampton when the new a design research team to analyse how each 

National Tennis Centre was opened by HM type of globally available moveable and 

The Queen on a wet day early in 2007. demountable structures, could work on one 

Then the plaudits as regards design and pair of courts over an area of 38m x 38m. The 

construction were unanimous with the team assessed lifetime performance, technical 

facilities being hailed as the best in sport to aspects and player performance needs that 

become the envy of all other sporting would not only work within international 

bodies. 

playing envelope criteria, but that would also 

Now the LTA are in the process of ‘covering’ meet national and local planning policy 

two courts to provide all year round play on guidance to preserve the open character of the 

outdoor clay, and, in keeping with the NTC surrounding landscape. 

building, it is again an innovative addition to In late 2008, after a comprehensive study, the 

the complex. 

conclusion was that the available tennis court 

Clay tennis court surfaces need constant coverings would work well on different sites 

attention and, while they perform well in the but would not meet local planning policy so 

UK during the summer, frost, damp and rain a new type of structure was required. 

have a tendency to make them unusable Research in the global non sports sector 

during the winter. However if adverse found that large span structures, as developed 

weather conditions can be kept off the court in Switzeralnd, provided a new option for the 

the benign weather in the South East of NTC. 

England makes it possible to keep clay courts In March of this year, the LTA, the project 

operational throughout the year. 

team and local Planners concluded that the 

Against this background and with the success open and transparent canopy with its simple, 

of the player support programme at the NTC, elegant, inspirational design consisting of 

the LTA decided to embark on a project to materials would complement the existing 

optimise the use of its outdoor clay courts, NTC Centre as well as be a positive 

thereby facilitating wider community contribution to the local landscape. 

participation and player development As a result the canopy was awarded Planning 

opportunities. 

Permission by unanimous vote in May. 

The new demountable design which has 

never been built before is now being 

completed on site, measuring 1438m2 in plan 

with an unobstructed 40m clear span with 

main beams comprising of air inflated fabric 

with internal steel ribs, all connected together 

at the upper level with a waterproof structural 

membrane. 

For the technical minded, the upper structure 

is supported by unitized and demountable 

Y-shaped steel columns at the end of each 

span, fixed at ground level to linear concrete 

foundations. With a total beam and infill 

fabric area of 2325m2, the fabric membrane 

allows ample daylight through, thereby 

resulting in only very limited artificial light 

being required on darker, cloudy days. 

The canopy itself can be erected in five days 

and at the NTC, the components will be kept 

in containers in off-site storage. Erection, 

using a large crane for a short period, is 

expected when the wet weather arrives in 

September and the process would be reversed 

in March. What is interesting is that while 

the canopy is open on all sides, side panels 

can be attached when needed should further 

weather protection be needed. 

In summary, the demountable canopy is 

lightweight, low in profile, inspiring, 

functional, compact and easy to transport. 

During the service life, components are 

replaceable from any number of steel 

fabricators and paintwork is repaired using 

standard paint systems. Once the fabric 

membrane has passed its service life, the steel 

frame can continue in use with new fabric, 

whilst the fabric tensile cabling is re-used and 

the membrane recycled. 

It would seem that the LTA have added a very 

useful facility to the ‘Home of British 

Tennis’. 

Project team 

Client - The Lawn Tennis Association; Lead 

design Architect - George Stowell; Planning 

Consultant - Rolfe Judd; Project Managers - 

Buro Four; Structural Engineer (Ground) 

-Arup; Service Engineer - Arup; Structural 

Engineer (Roof) - Airlight; Fabric Engineer 

- Form-TL; Main contractor - Shelterdome; 

Steel Fabricator - Tubular Erectors; Fabric 

fabricator - Canobbio; Foundation 

contractor - Spadeoak 

National Tennis Centre site. Clay court canopy to top RH side (blue); Picture George Stowell 2009 

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6


Growing Year-on-Year 

It is always difficult to pin point when a 

brand name becomes established in the 

public consciousness. For many years 

Babolat was just associated with racket 

strings but latterly it has become one of the 

major racket suppliers thanks, no doubt, to 

the successes of some of their contracted 

players, more especially Rafael Nadal, 

Kim Clijsters Andy Roddick and Carlos 

Moya. 

The company’s first racket was unveiled 

in 1994. At first the Babolat racket was 

perceived as a useful addition if not a 

marketing exercise to promote their 

stringing products but when Carlos Moya 

won the French Open in 1998 to claim the 

company’s first Grand Slam success 

which a few months later he followed by 

topping the world rankings, the tennis 

world realized they had to take this racket 

seriously. 

Over the next decade, that initial success 

was complemented by Roddick’s and 

Clijsters’s twin 2003 US Open victories 

with the American and the Belgian also 

going on to top their respective world 

rankings. 

But it was Rafa Nadal who really 

cemented the credibility of the racket with 

his four successive French Open titles 

(2005-2008), his Olympic gold and 

Wimbledon crown (2008) resulting in it 

now being treated very much as an 

established brand. 

Babolat has most certainly arrived and to 

many, the French company is looked upon 

as a young vibrant operation with a great 

future. It has turned the corner and is no 

longer perceived to be a simple stringing 

operation but what is even more 

surprising, is the company will be 

celebrating its 135th birthday next year. 

First established by Pierre Babolat in 

1875, which, in the context of tennis 

history, is one year after Walter Clapton 

Wingfield launched his Sphairistike (now 

Lawn tennis) game on Victorian society, 

two years before the first Championship 

was played at Wimbledon and three years 

before the LTA was established! 

That first tennis string was natural gut 

which sustained them for the next 

century when they introduced their first 

synthetic string, the Elascord, in 1975 

followed, in 1986 by their first 

multifilament string. 

They created their first electronic 

stringing machine, The Exclusive, in 

1981, the Sensor in 2000 and this year 

introduced the Start 5 machine.. 

It remains a family business to this day 

with a fifth generation member of the 

Babolat family, Eric, in charge. He can be 

credited with the company branching out 

from being just a string manufacturer 

and, in Britain, directing the company 

into one of the nation’s main racket 

suppliers, currently vying with Head for 

second place behind Wilson. That has all 

been achieved in the 20 years they have 

been operating in Britain where annual 

growth has been in the region of 20% 

year-on-year, especially in volume. 

As a company, Babolat supply everything 

including balls, clothing and more 

recently, performance clothing as well as 

tennis accessories. Under the direction of 

Franck Debauvais from their offices in 

Weybridge, the Babolat name continues 

to not only build on its heritage, but also 

expand on its good name. 

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7


A name to remember 

where supervision of children is a priority. 

Clubs where Serve Ace installations can be 

found include Burgess Park TC (Southwark), 

Merrow LTC (Guildford), Crablands TC 

(Sussex), Ashford TC (Middlesex) and 

Kennington Park (London). 

JB Corrie remains a family business. The 

current chairman is Richard Corrie, grandson 

of the founder, who in turn will be followed on 

soon by his eldest son John Corrie and as 

Maurice Hickman points out, “the company 

prides itself on the fact that we have a high 

percentage of long serving employees, 

something that is rare in today’s workplace.” 

One could also add that it would be rare not to 

find a Corrie product at a tennis club. 

A Serve Ace 

Tennis Practice 

Fence in place 

on a court. 

The Petersfield Headquarters of JB Corrie Ltd. 

It isn’t a name that readily springs 

to mind in sporting terms but the 

company is a long and well 

established firm with a proud 

heritage that can be traced back to 

1900. 

It was then that John Bradford Corrie founded 

a machine tool agency in Victoria Street but it 

wasn’t until 1925 that JB Corrie was 

incorporated into a limited company, 

specialising in the manufacture of steel 

dropper fencing. 

Fencing remains its main core business and 

today the company is one of the market leaders 

in the fencing industry with a £10 million 

turnover, serving customers both nationally 

and internationally via a modern fleet of 

transport from two bases within the UK. 

The first, doubling up as company 

headquarters, is in Petersfield, Hampshire, 

serves customers ‘south of the border’ and 

those north of that divide are looked after by 

the Scottish Contracting division in 

Blairgowrie, Perthshire. 

So, from humble beginnings and following the 

acquisition of Flextella Fencing & Engineering 

in 1946, Corrie’s moved onto their Petersfield 

site in 1959 following the extension of the 

original Flextella buildings. There they now 

employ 100 staff engaged in the development, 

manufacture and installation of all kinds of 

perimeter fencing, gates, etc , in a factory 

boasting over 3,000 sq metres of floor space 

processing thousands of tonnes of steel 

annually. 

It wasn’t until 1970 that Corries started to 

make a name for itself as a major player in the 

sports sector – namely through tennis, hockey 

and multi purpose games areas, establishing 

their traditional Angle Iron Tennis Court 

surround which remains extremely popular to 

this day. 

It was also in 1970 that the current Sales and 

Marketing Director, Maurice Hickman, joined 

the company and he was quick to realise, by 

speaking to some of the major tennis club 

contractors both in the UK and Europe, that 

Maurice Hickman, the Sales & Marketing Director at 

JB Corrie Ltd. 

trends were changing, exposing a gap in the 

market for an affordable, high quality, modern 

looking Tubular Tennis Court fencing 

construction. 

As a result, Corries developed the Tuba Tennis 

Court system which, along with the Angle Iron 

surround already mentioned, is used by most 

of the major tennis contractors in the UK. 

And, by working closely with those 

contractors, further variations of fencing have 

been developed to suit customers specific 

needs, such as Finial Tennis Court Fencing, the 

Corrie Shield Top Link Protector (for use on 

low vision sections) and Tennis Court Gates 

with self closing devices and a coded lock 

where restricted access is required. 

A view of the 3000 sq metre factory. 

More recently, as a result of players’ increasing 

serve speeds, Corries have added to their 

catalogue, chainlink fencing with a smaller 

aperture; chainlink being the best and most 

cost effective form of court perimeter cladding 

which deadens the power of the ball, dropping 

it to the floor rather than rebounding it back 

into the playing area as a panel or roll mesh is 

prone to do. 

Traditionally 50mm apertures were sufficient 

to contain the balls within the court, but the 

power of some servers could force the ball 

through, so 45mm aperture chainlink is now 

available. 

Club Secretaries and maintenance people will 

no doubt be fully aware of these Corrie 

products while ordinary club members will 

simply accept them as part of the club’s fabric. 

However, Corries produce a product which 

certainly would be noticed by the membership, 

namely their Serve Ace Tennis Practice Fence, 

developed, as the name implies, as a practice / 

warm up aid for players of all ages and 

abilities. 

The beauty of the ‘aid’, which features a white 

coated rail positioned to mimic the height 

characteristics of a tennis court net and upper 

rail set to mark the ‘out of play’ areas, is that 

it is a simple alternative to the conventional 

brick built ‘wall’ and can be either installed as 

part of the fence line of old or new courts, or 

simply set up as a stand alone utility for 

players and coaches. 

In areas where planning can be a sensitive 

issue, it is the obvious solution. In addition, it 

doesn’t create the shadows thrown by a ‘wall’ 

and so helps dry out courts quicker and goes a 

long way to reducing the incidence of moss. It 

also has good visibility and through vision 

Tennis court 

with a Tubular 

Fencing 

construction. 

8


Tennis Matters 

Mercedes-Benz turns from ATP Tour to US 

Open sponsorship 

The United States Tennis Association has 

announced a multi-year marketing 

partnership with Mercedes-Benz USA in a 

new partnership designating Mercedes-Benz 

as the Presenting Sponsor of the US Open 

Men’s Singles Championship and the Official 

Vehicle of the US Open, replacing Lexus as 

the official car. 

The familiar Mercedes-Benz logo affixed to 

nets has been a common sight at ATP Tour 

events but the German car manufacturer did 

not renew its three-year agreement when it 

concluded on 31 December, 2008 after a 

sponsorship partnership that spanned 13 

years. 

Meanwhile the ATP has not signed a new title 

sponsor as some companies have opted to 

align themselves with single tournaments. 

The new four-year agreement between 

Mercedes-Benz and the USTA includes a 

significant on-site presence at the US Open, 

national TV media exposure, an extensive 

presence on USOpen.org, and all 

transportation fleet services for the more than 

250 athletes participating in the US Open. 

Mercedes-Benz also becomes a sponsor of 

Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, the interactive tennis 

and entertainment festival that serves as the 

unofficial kick-off of America’s Grand Slam. 

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed 

but Daniel Kaplan from the SportsBusiness 

Journal reported that the deal is worth $35 

million - $11 million more than Lexus paid 

over three years 

According to SportsBusiness Journal, 

Mercedes paid $13 million annually in the 

final years of its deal with the ATP Tour. 

“The partnership with the USTA aligns with 

our strategy to place Mercedes-Benz at the 

forefront of marquee events,” said Stephen 

Cannon, Vice President of Marketing for 

Mercedes-Benz USA. 

“The Open takes place in one of our most 

important markets and is an unrivalled 

opportunity to uniquely connect with fans and 

attendees.” 

“Mercedes-Benz has a world-renowned 

reputation for excellence and innovation, 

which make them an ideal fit for the US 

Open,” said Pierce O’Neil, Chief Business 

Officer of the USTA. 

“As with all of our partners, Mercedes-Benz 

will play an integral role in the presentation 

and operation of the 2010 US Open and well 

into the future.” 

The 2010 US Open will be held from 

Monday 30 August through Sunday 12 

September. 

French Open to move 

The French tennis federation (FFT) is 

threatening to move the French Open from 

Roland Garros if plans for a new roofed 

centre court are not approved by the Paris 

City Council. 

Reuters reported that the FFT said the plan is 

facing ‘hostility’ from the Council and local 

residents to its planned expansion of Roland 

Garros, which would include a new centre 

court with a retractable roof. 

The project was agreed on earlier this year 

and an architect was appointed but the Paris 

City Council is now getting cold feet, the 

FFT’s Director General Gilbert Ysern said. 

“We are now forced to look for other options, 

including that of leaving the premises,” said 

Ysern. 

Paris City Council and the French 

government were to put €20 million each 

towards the total cost of €120 million. 

“It seems that the mayor’s entourage has 

become more hostile to our project,” said 

Ysern. “Add to that the residents’ opposition 

and we are now forced to look for other 

options, including that of leaving the 

premises.” 

Last May, tennis officials said a new centre 

court equipped with a retractable roof, would 

be in use at Roland Garros for the French 

Open by 2013 or 2014. 

The new showcourt is planned to seat around 

14,600 people and officials had initially 

hoped to complete building in time for the 

2012 Olympics but, since Paris lost out on its 

bid to host the Games, the project was 

subsequently targeted for completion one or 

two years later. 

FFT President Jean Gachassin suggested in 

May that the new court would also eventually 

host the Paris Masters, the annual October 

indoor event that has been staged in Bercy 

these past years. 

“This project is very important for French 

tennis, our tournament’s future depends on 

it,” Gachassin said. 

The big switch 

Andy Murray has signed a “long-term” 

sportswear deal with German firm adidas, the 

world’s second largest sports goods maker 

and Tim Henman’s former supplier, thereby 

ending the Scot’s long-standing partnership 

with Fred Perry. 

No details on the length and value of the deal 

have been revealed though it is generally 

assumed to be in the region of £3 million per 

annum for five years. 

“The 22-year-old Briton will sport the iconic 

3-Stripes from January onwards,” the 

company said in a statement late in 

November, adding that the deal was 

“long-term”. 

“I’m really excited to be joining adidas as 

they are a massive global sports brand with a 

credible heritage in tennis,” Murray said in 

the statement. “I’m in no doubt that this deal 

will help me both on and off the court.” 

World number four Murray, who briefly rose 

to number two earlier this year, has won 14 

singles titles since 2006 and will now wear 

the new adidas kit from the start of the new 

season in January after six years with Fred 

Perry Sportswear. 

According to the London Times, Murray was 

“determined to stay loyal” to his long-time 

sponsor, Fred Perry, until after the celebration 

of the founder’s 100th birthday this summer. 

Murray will be showing off his new 

“exclusive” adidas look at January’s Hopman 

Cup, where he’ll be pairing up with Laura 

Robson, who signed her own deal with the 

same company at the ripe old age of eleven. 

Wimbledon continues to support British 

Tennis 

The LTA will be receiving a £29.2 cash 

injection from this year’s Wimbledon, the 

sum being this year’s surplus which is usually 

paid to the governing body for investment in 

‘British tennis’. 

Roger Draper, Chief Executive of the LTA, 

said: “The 2009 Championships once again 

showed that this country has the best tennis 

event in the world. Record attendance and 

world class tennis captivated tennis fans 

around the world. We would like to thank the 

All England Club for all their hard work and 

look forward to working with them over the 

coming year.” 

The figure is up £3.5 million on last year. The 

Centre Court roof with increased capacity, 

coupled with two weeks of superb weather 

and Andy Murray’s excellent run to the 

semi-finals, all contributed to the increase in 

attendance and subsequent improvement of 

the ‘surplus’. 

The LTA has promised that they will be 

focusing, over the coming year, on improving 

tennis facilities across Britain to ensure there 

are thriving places to play tennis in local 

communities across the country. This 

investment is part of a renewed focus on 

growing the game alongside the ongoing 

work to develop future British tennis talent. 

Scot boosting tennis economy 

Research at the University of Liverpool 

reveals that Andy Murray’s emergence as a 

top flight player with the potential to win a 

grand slam and hopefully Wimbledon itself, 

is boosting the British economy by some 

£405 million. 

According to the report by Professor Tom 

Cannon and sponsored by Barclays, the 

tennis economy is already worth £1.27 billion 

placing it fourth behind football, horse racing 

and golf. Murray, on reaching the semi-finals 

at Wimbledon and a world ranking of two, 

has not only lifted the tennis economy but is 

helping to close the spending gap of £1 

billion between tennis and golf which sees 

participants spending £2.33 billion. 

Contract extended 

Anyone who has sampled Aegon hospitality 

during their first season as sponsors of 

British tennis, will have been impressed and 

no doubt, ever hopeful of being invited 

again! 

Sportsworld, the company contracted to 

Aegon to deliver this standard, has had their 

contract extended until 2013. 

Steve Clode, director of marketing and 

customer strategy at the life and pensions 

company, said on announcing the extension 

during the Aegon Masters Tennis, the year 

end finale to the ATP Champions Tour, at the 

Royal Albert Hall, said he was delighted 

with the decision . 

"Sportsworld has proven to be a 

hard-working and trustworthy event 

management partner throughout 2009," he 

said. "In addition to the hospitality expertise 

and administrative efficiency Sportsworld 

brings, its management reporting is 

insightful and adds value to our 

measurement of ROI." 

Sportsworld operations director Jeff Hunter 

was equally delighted to have the contract 

extension. "We're pleased that the key 

performance indicators put in place for 

Aegon's sponsorship hospitality programme 

have scored exceptionally well in this first 

year. We look forward to building on this 

success over the next four years," he said. 

The Prince’s Trust is chosen 

Liverpool’s International Tennis Tournament 

has announced its new official charity for 

2010 as The Prince’s Trust. 

Anders Borg, tournament director, said: 

“The Prince’s Trust is such a fantastic 

charity and we are so pleased that it is going 

to be the official charity of the tournament 

next year. 

“It has a similar ethos in helping and 

developing young people, and we wanted to 

support the charity and raise as many funds 

as possible to ensure its excellent work can 

continue to benefit the young people of 

Merseyside and beyond.” 

Ian Smith, fundraising executive for The 

Prince’s Trust, added: “The tournament has 

established itself as one of the highlights of 

the sporting calendar in the North-West, and 

we are so pleased to be affiliated with such 

a prestigious high-profile event.” 

Maligned but successful 

There are plenty who are critical of the 

Davis Cup and in many ways, it still isn’t a 

top attraction in sporting terms, a problem 

which can also be associated and, to a 

greater extent, to the Fed Cup, won earlier 

this year by Italy. 

Defending champions Spain defeated the 

Czech Republic in Barcelona 5-0 to retain 

the Davis Cup and become the first nation to 

achieve back-to-back success since Sweden 

in 1998, and the first nation to whitewash 

their opponents since Sweden inflicted a 

similar defeat over the USA in 1997. 

While the general public may underrate the 

event, a recent report by London based 

Fathom Financial Consulting aimed at 

drawing new sponsors, shows the sell-out 

crowds over the three days of the final will 

have generated $37 million for the host city, 

while the competition itself generates $184 

million annually across all its divisions. 

The ITF has also revealed that there has 

been a “steady increase” in the number of 

cities bidding to host Davis Cup matches, 

and that on average, $2.25 million is 

generated for each event in the top three 

tiers. 

They also point out that the number of 

matches played provides “many 

opportunities” for cities to reap economic 

benefits. The ITF itself benefits to the tune 

of $53 million which allows them to invest 

in facilities and develop tennis. 

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9


Working Partnerships to build the sport 

Evolution and change is the basis for progress 

and the first ten years of the Tennis Industry 

Association’s existence is testimony to just 

such a process. 

The trade body seen today bears little 

resemblance to the group that masterminded its 

birth and set its original objectives. 

Born out of concern over the decline of the sport 

in the UK, 36 tennis businesses banded together 

to form the Tennis Industry Association in 1998 

and lined up the game’s governing body in its 

sights as the target of its discontent. 

In itself, that was not particularly unusual since 

the Lawn Tennis Association has traditionally 

borne the brunt of criticism for most of the 

wrongs of tennis in this country. 

What was significant, however, was that 

commercial companies were prepared to organise 

themselves into an entity with a collective voice 

and the will to muster resources to help grow the 

game and so expand the market. 

The Tennis Book 

TENNIS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION UK 

1 

Clubs and Fans… 

2009 

● Equipment Suppliers 

balls • rackets • apparel • accessories 

● Club Services 

courts • floodlights • indoor facilities • services 

● Indoor Tennis 

manufacturers • contractors • designers 

consultants 

● Coaching Aids 

ball machines • stringing 

mini tennis • websites 

● Fanware 

books • DVDs • gifts • magazines 

All Things Tennis for Players, Coaches, 

£3.50 

The Tennis Book 2009 launched by the TIA UK in June 

Picture TIA UK 

That made sound commercial sense, and it still 

does so today, but the climate has changed and 

while the original board members took a 

somewhat militant and aggressive stance towards 

the LTA, these days the trade body is working 

hard to build effective partnerships across a wide 

range of activities of mutual interest. 

“The governing body is the organisation 

entrusted with nurturing the game,” says Ian 

Peacock, a former Chief Executive of the LTA 

and now President of the TIA UK. 

“People may come and go, but the entity remains 

in place and it is important to work together if 

any real progress is to be made.” 

The TIA’s ups and downs over the years can be 

measured by the support of its membership and 

in its second year of existence, the tally dropped 

to 24 companies. This rose to 31 in 2000, to 35 in 

2002 and 44 in 2006. Currently it stands around 

the 60 mark and continues to show growth. 

A new constitution and membership structure 

was adopted in 2001 in an attempt to revive an 

ailing TIA but the major brands left when 

consensus could not be reached about 

amalgamating with the Racket Sports 

Association and this led to a period that could 

only be described as the ‘lean years’. 

“The small tennis businesses were left to hold the 

fort and the turning point came in 2005, when the 

membership stood at 45 companies and the TIA 

UK Ltd was registered at Companies House to 

become a legal entity after its formative years as 

an ad hoc voluntary association,” said Henry 

Wancke, who has been actively involved from 

the start, first as Secretary and then as Chairman 

from 2002-2009. 

“While the relationship with the LTA was, at best, 

lukewarm during this time, the officers of the TIA 

recognised that co-operation with the sports 

governing body was paramount but it wasn’t 

until 2006 that the first signs of a warming 

relationship became evident following the 

appointment of Roger Draper as Chief 

Executive.” 

In December of the following year, at a 

Meet-&-Greet Gathering held at the newly 

opened National Tennis Centre, the two 

organisations finally established a rapport that 

The Tennis Shop in action during a Davis Cup Tie at 

Wimbledon. Picture TIA UK 

has subsequently developed into a positive 

working relationship. 

That meeting brought together key leaders of the 

tennis industry and the LTA, from which it was 

accepted that it was in everyone’s interest to form 

an alliance for the overall benefit of the sport. 

That gathering strengthened the TIA UK and 

membership immediately increased with the 

majority of the brands returning to the fold. 

The election of Ian Peacock, OBE, as President 

in the summer of 2008 proved to be the catalyst 

the TIA UK needed to drive the association 

forward and at its annual meeting in June 2009, 

a major revamp in mission and goals established 

the trade body as a professional and credible, 

working organisation. 

Concentrating its efforts on the benefits it brings 

its membership and not, as originally conceived 

in 1998, to ‘grow the game’, the TIA UK fully 

supports the LTA’s development programme. 

The launch of The Tennis Book, produced and 

published entirely by the TIA UK with 

distribution funded by the LTA, demonstrates the 

tangible collaboration arising from the working 

relationship between the two organisations. 

The fresh strategy embraced in 2009 caused the 

TIA UK to adopt a new mission statement: 

“To promote, foster and protect industry growth 

and vitality in the UK and to provide commercial 

benefits to tennis businesses while supporting the 

LTA’s efforts to promote the sport at all levels.” 

After ten years of mixed fortunes, the tennis 

industry is bonding to help meet the challenges 

ahead for British tennis in partnership and 

collaboration. 

The launch of The Tennis Shop in 2008 

introduced a retail outlet for TIA UK member 

sales at selected events around the country, while 

The Tennis Book’s wide outreach provides a 

handy and valuable information resource on all 

things tennis for clubs, coaches, media, 

aficionados and fans. 

The publication of Tennis Outlook as the 

industry’s dedicated broadsheet is further proof 

of the TIA’s commitment to improve 

communication and relay information whilst TIA 

UK Insurance provides members with a more 

than worthwhile benefit. 

“We believe there is now real value for money to 

join the TIA UK,” Steven Matthews, TIA 

Chairman who has been elected to the LTA 

Council, said. 

“For the price of a modest annual subscription, 

members are guaranteed their entry in The Tennis 

Book, preferential rates in Tennis Outlook, and a 

cost-effective means to trade at events through 

Tennis Shop. 

“Membership is a no-brainer and companies 

should sign up now to ensure they are included in 

the 2010 Tennis Book! Watch this space because 

there is a lot more in the pipeline for members”. 

It is a far cry from the group of major brands and 

associated tennis businesses that met at the 

Roehampton Tennis Club to examine the 

decreasing market asking why tennis was fast 

becoming a minority sport. 

With an organised trade body working to provide 

tangible business benefits for its members, the 

sport is healthier as a result of sound working 

partnerships caring for the future of our sport, and 

the future looks bright! 

Ian Peacock, OBE, was elected President of the 

TIA UK in 2008. Picture TIA 

tia brings in the changes 

The Annual General Meeting of the TIA UK 

was held during Wimbledon and attracted a 

record attendance of 24 representatives of the 

tennis industry, who unanimously approved a 

re-structuring of the trade body that will enable 

this to become a more effective entity in the 

years to come. 

“The TIA has just undergone a major revamp 

that will improve communications and 

efficiency,” said Ian Peacock, the TIA UK’s 

President, presiding at the AGM. 

“New steering groups now offer all our 

members the opportunity to discuss their ideas 

and issues together and their representatives 

can take consensus to the Board of Directors 

on their behalves.” 

Around 60 companies currently comprise the 

TIA UK and these will now be classified into 

6 groups of businesses with similar remits and 

objectives. 

The Board recommended a change in its 

format to ensure that all steering groups are 

represented at meetings in future, which was 

approved by the membership. 

In a change to the membership categories, it 

The TIA UK Board and company delegates pose for the 

camera following the conclusion of the 2009 AGM held 

at Wimbledon. Picture TIA UK 

will no longer be possible for companies to 

join the TIA as associate members and, as a 

result, current non-voting members will be 

asked to upgrade to full membership when 

their annual fees fall due. 

Associate membership is being retained, 

however, for individuals who wish to support 

the work of the TIA UK and receive 

newsletters. 

“All this has arisen out of the work the team 

has put into developing the draft manifesto 

over the past year,” explained Ian Peacock. 

“This highlighted the areas the association 

needs to concentrate on and the structure 

required to enable the industry to maximise the 

opportunities that a trade body should 

provide.” 

A new mission statement was also approved 

and the TIA UK will now “promote, foster and 

protect industry growth and vitality in the UK 

and provide commercial benefits to tennis 

businesses while supporting the LTA’s efforts 

to promote the sport at all levels.” 

“I reported at the last AGM that we were 

pursuing practical projects, not just concepts 

and ideas, and the recent publication of The 

TIA UK Tennis Book and the staging of The 

Tennis Shop testify to this,” said Chairman of 

the Board, Henry Wancke. 

“The change of mission signifies a new 

direction that not only entails delivering the 

practical projects at a busy time of year but 

also developing areas such as a code of best 

practice, the TRS Scheme and business 

benefits such as insurance cover and 

professional services, all of which we hope to 

have news on over the coming weeks and 

months.” 

In a changing of the guard, Henry Wancke 

Mike Ballardie, Ian Peacock, Steve Matthews and 

Barbara Wancke listen to the financial report from 

Treasurer Peter Risden. Picture TIA UK 

opted to stand down as Chairman and was 

unanimously elected Honorary Vice President 

in recognition of his unstinting service to the 

TIA since its foundation in 1998, first as 

Secretary and then in the Chair. 

Following the election, the new Executive 

Committee is now: Steve Matthews 

(Chairman-David Lloyd Leisure Ltd) Mike 

Ballardie (Vice Chairman-Prince Sports 

Europe Ltd) Peter Risdon (Treasurer-Celebrity 

Tennis Ltd) 

Richard Jones (Director of Events & 

Marketing-The Tennis Gallery Wimbledon) 

Barbara Wancke (General Secretary - Tennis 

Interlink Ltd). 

Also elected to Board of Directors are: 

Jan Booth (Sunbaba) Robert Fuller (The Silver 

Tennis Collection Ltd) Alan Chalmers 

(representing the Group of Independent 

Traders - The Tennis Bookshop) Maurice 

Hickman (representing the Group of Court 

Equipment & Services - J B Corrie & Co Ltd) 

Jeremy Holt (Chairman of the TRS Board and 

representing the Group of Tennis Sports Shops 

- Apollo Leisure) Sally Lockyer (SLSP) Dave 

Shaw (representing the Group of Brands & 

Equipment Suppliers - Head UK Ltd) Ross 

Matheson (representing the Group of Tennis & 

Fitness Clubs - The Harbour Club) Henry 

Wancke (representing the Group of Service 

Providers & Media - Tennis Today Ltd) 

In a motion to recognise the contribution made 

by Barbara Wancke, the AGM voted to appoint 

her Executive Vice President. 

“I am very honoured by the gesture,” she said 

afterwards. “It has been an enormous task over 

the past couple of years as the TIA UK has 

expanded its membership and developed more 

projects. 

“I am indebted to the whole Board but 

particularly to the Executive Committee for all 

their help and support and I am looking 

forward to working with Gilly English and the 

new Board of Directors over the coming weeks 

and months to help drive the association 

forward.” 

In-coming Chairman, Steve Matthews, 

thanked the membership for bestowing their 

trust in the new team. “We have many 

challenges ahead of us but the decisions the 

members took today go a long way towards 

making the TIA into a more influential and 

successful trade body. 

“We are grateful to Henry and Barbara, as well 

as to Richard and Peter, for their leadership 

and, on behalf of the new Board, pledge our 

best efforts to continue and build on their hard 

work.” 

In his closing remarks, Ian Peacock 

emphasised the need for continued and 

on-going dialogue with the LTA to further 

develop the working relationship with them 

and placed the subject of research high on the 

agenda for 2010. 

“There are several areas we are working on 

together with the LTA, including improving 

arrangements for trade areas, collaboration 

over The Tennis Book and providing 

user-friendly research results. 

“It is an exciting time for us and the future of 

the TIA UK is looking all the more promising 

as these new projects are rolled out.” 

10


People and Places 

Philip Brooke to 

succeed Tim Phillips 

The All England Lawn Tennis Club, 

Wimbledon, has elected Philip Brook 

as Vice Chairman, with a view to him 

taking over from Tim Phillips as 

Chairman at the Club’s AGM in 

December 2010. 

The appointment, forming part of the 

long term succession plan for both the 

Club and the Wimbledon 

Championships, comes after Tim 

Phillips indicated his intention to 

retire on completion of 10 years as 

Chairman in December 2009. 

However Tim was invited to remain in 

office until December 2010 to allow 

his successor to have one year in 

office as Vice Chairman. 

Philip Brook, the Chairman elect of 

Wimbledon. Picture AELTC 

Brook, 53, has been a Member of The 

Committee of Management of The 

Championships since 1997 and, as a player, 

is a former captain of Cambridge University 

lawn tennis team and Yorkshire Men’s 

Singles Champion. 

He recently retired as a Global Practice 

Director of Watson Wyatt Worldwide. 

Born on 18 February, 1956, Philip Brook 

was educated at Queen Elizabeth’s 

Grammar School, Wakefield, and 

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. 

After studying mathematics at Cambridge, 

Philip joined M&G Reinsurance as a 

trainee actuary in 1977. He became a 

Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 1984. 

In 1991, he joined R. Watson and Sons (now 

Watson Wyatt Worldwide) and became a 

Partner in 1992. From 2003-09 he was a 

Global Practice Director of the firm’s 

Insurance and Financial Services Practice, 

managing a business line with revenue of 

£80m and over 420 staff worldwide. He 

retired from the firm in June 2009. 

As a tennis player, Philip was a member of 

the Cambridge University team in the 

Varsity Match in 1975-77, captaining the 

side in 1977. He played in the Prentice Cup 

in 1976, was Yorkshire Men’s Singles 

Champion in 1978, and represented 

Yorkshire at County Week from 1977-1990. 

Philip has been a member of the All 

England Club since 1989 and was elected to 

the Committee in December 1997. He serves 

on the following Sub-Committees - Catering 

(Chairman), Staff (Chairman), Media, 

Marketing, Order of Play, and Risk 

Management. He has also been a member of 

the International Lawn Tennis Club of Great 

Britain since 1977 and was Treasurer from 

1986 to 2001. 

He was Captain of the International Club of 

Great Britain in 1993 and is a member of 

the Prentice Cup Committee. 

Philip lives in Woldingham, Surrey, with his 

wife, Gillian, and their two daughters. 

If you have a story for 

People &Places 

Contact us on 

01491 612042 

Email: tennisoutlook@tiauk.org 

Roger Draper, Chief Executive in his office 

at the home of of British Tennis. Picture 

Tennis Today 

Name Change 

It won’t come as a surprise that the 

Chief Executive of the LTA, Roger 

Draper, wants to change the name of 

the organisation he serves. It has 

been evident over the years, that 

British Tennis is favoured over The 

Lawn Tennis Association, but so far 

no move to bring this about has been 

made though British Tennis, as a 

phrase, is now used in conjunction 

with the LTA, even when it comes to 

the association’s logo. 

The change won’t happen until the 

LTA can show success, that is the 

message which Draper offered 

delegates at a recent Leaders in 

Performance conference at Stanford. 

He said: “The name LTA carries 

with it 50 years of baggage. When 

our players didn’t win titles, it was 

always the fault of the LTA as we 

didn’t have the right system in place. 

When I came to the job, I wanted to 

change the name but I decided 

against it. I think we are gradually 

moving forwards towards British 

Tennis and will ditch the LTA name 

as part of the change as a brand. But 

it is better to change when you’ve 

been successful, so we will have to 

wait a bit.’ 

Never rains but pours 

Mike Ashley, the controversial 

entrepreneur millionaire owner of 

Newcastle United Football Club and 

Sports Direct which in turn owns the 

brands Donnay, Dunlop Slazenger as 

well Lillywhites, is finding life tough. 

His company Sports Direct and JJB 

Sports are allegedly being investigated 

by the Serious 

Fraud Office 

SFO) who believe 

both companies 

contributed to the 

economic 

downfall of 

Iceland. 

Mike Ashley facing 

problems. 

The investigation 

was sparked off 

by JJB Sports who pointed the finger at 

their competitors via the Office of Fair 

Trading (OFT) and the investigation, 

which is centred on Ashley and JJB 

Chief Executive Chris Ronnie’s 

involvement with the Icelandic 

Kaupthing Bank which collapsed. 

The OFT’s is more concerned with 

price fixing and has been investigating 

that possibility since January and if 

found guilty, the perpetrators can face 

under the Enterprise Act of 2003, 

unlimited fines and up to five years in 

prison. It is estimated it could cost 

Direct Sports £140 million. 

The SFO investigation also carries 

fines and jail terms, theirs amounting to 

a possible 10 years. 

But that is not all. Ashley has also lost 

his corporate privileges at The O2 

arena as the tickets they attract have 

been linked with ticket touts. 

Exsports, another company owned by 

Ashley through Sports Direct, has been 

stripped of its £1,112, x 500 VIP 

membership of the arena following an 

investigation by The O2’s owners 

found that the tickets allocated to the 

firm were apparently being sold at 

hugely inflated prices on eBay and 

elsewhere. The company had no fewer 

than 30 VIP memberships and 

consequently access to 4,500 tickets! 

AEG, the owners of The O2 arena have 

a ‘zero tolerance’ anti-touting rule and 

all tickets must be purchased direct 

from them or through authorized 

outlets. ‘As a result of our inquiry, we 

have terminated Exsports’ contract for 

all future concerts,’ a spokesman said. 

Gerry Sutcliffe MP following a 

constituency meeting. 

Picture Office of Gerry Sutcliffe MP 

Taking Stock 

Followers of football will know that 

Gerry Sutcliffe, the Minister for 

Sport, has been pushing the FA to 

reform and threatening to withdraw 

Government funding if they don’t. 

It is also alleged that he is now 

focusing his attention on the LTA 

and that he has recently met up 

with Roger Draper who has outlined 

how the association is developing 

the game at grass roots level, a bone 

of contention with the Minister. 

Whether he has been satisfied is not 

known so watch this space! 

A chocolate partnership 

Roger Federer has landed another 

great sponsorship deal, this time with 

Swiss chocolate manufacturer Lindt & 

Sprüngli, a company he is to now act 

as global brand ambassador. 

Roger Federer the new Chocolate Man. 


It is the first time in the 160 year 

history of the company that they have 

felt the need to ally themselves with a 

sporting icon. “I am Swiss by birth, 

and since my childhood, I have always 

been a great fan of Lindt chocolate,” 

Federer commented when the deal 

was announced. “I am very excited to 

partner with the global leader in 

premium chocolate and I enjoy their 

products and am very impressed with 

their plans for future growth.” 

Presumably his two children will 

ultimately benefit from the free 

samples which no doubt come with 

the job, provided Dad (or Mom) 

doesn’t scoff them first. 

Looking to pastures new 

Butch Buchholz, the founder and 

tournament chairman of the Sony 

Ericsson Open, has announced that he 

will be stepping down as chairman at 

the end of the 2010 tournament to 

pursue new entrepreneurial 

opportunities. 

“After discussing this with my family I 

have decided that this is the best time 

for me to step down from the Sony 

Ericsson Open,” said Buchholz. “The 

event is in tremendous shape, has 

strong leadership in place, and has 

what I consider the best tournament 

staff in tennis.” 

Buchholz added, “I am really looking 

forward to spending more time with my 

family and pursuing some new 

opportunities. I definitely plan on 

remaining active in tennis, and helping 

to promote this wonderful sport.” 

Butch Buchholz, stepping down after 

30 years. 

Nikolay Davydenko with the biggest prize 

he has earned in his career. 


Still unknown 

Nikolay Davydenko, the Russian who 

was the surprise winner of the Barclays 

ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena, 

despite being in the world’s top five for 

the past five years, is still relatively 

unknown outside of the tennis fraternity. 

Commenting after his victory, the biggest 

in his career, he admitted he hadn’t been 

asked for a single autograph during the 

week. In contractual terms, it is also 

well known that he has had trouble 

landing endorsement contracts and he 

plays with Prince rackets because he 

likes them rather than for receiving any 

financial returns. 

New face at LTA 

A new appointment has been made at 

the LTA with effect from January 4 

when James Munro arrives from the 

BBC as Head of Media. A well 

respected sports correspondent who 

has also served with ITV and Sky, he 

will be responsible for improving 

communications with the media which 

for some time has been deteriorating. 

The appointment of an individual who 

understands the needs of tennis 

correspondents has been well received 

by the Lawn Tennis Writers’ 

Association. 

Amelie Mauresmo struggling for motivation. 

Picture Fotosports International. 

Mauresmo retires 

Two-time Grand Slam champion 

Amelie Mauresmo has retired from 

tennis saying she no longer had a 

burning desire for competition. 

The 30-year-old Frenchwoman, 

champion of Australia and Wimbledon 

as well as a former world number one 

who finished the 2009 season at No. 

21, said she lacked the will to keep 

playing at the highest level. 

"I don't want to train anymore," 

Mauresmo said. "I had to make a 

decision, which became evident in the 

last few months and weeks. When you 

grow older, it's more difficult to stay at 

the top." 

STOP PRESS 

Break-up 

The two professional tours have 

recently been promoting the ‘One 

Game’ approach which was 

reflected in the Official Guide to 

Professional Tennis, a joint 

‘media’ guide of all the top 

professional players from the ATP 

and WTA. The book, which was 

first published as a joint effort in 

2005, also appeals to ‘fans’ who 

like to keep abreast of players’ 

records. However the WTA 

decided in November that they no 

longer want to be a part of the 

joint publishing venture and as 

one ‘wag’ described the news, the 

‘one game’ objective (which also 

involved more joint tournaments) 

seems to be ‘withering’. The ATP 

Tour will still publish their own 

media guide but the WTA have 

decided that an ‘online’ player 

guide will be sufficient to meet 

their needs. Future historians will 

find their decision extremely 

irritating but then, the history of 

the game as far as current 

administrators are concerned, is 

not an aspect of the sport which 

merits much attention these days. 

CEO ‘departs’ 

Mike Lynch, the chief executive of 

the British Tennis Coaches 

Association, has left the organisation 

following what is described as 

‘irretrievable breakdown between 

the Board and the C.E.O.’. Mike 

Lynch has been an effective leader 

over the years he has been at the 

Wolverhampton based organisation 

so his departure came as a surprise 

bearing in mind that a few weeks 

earlier, TO had been discussing his 

organisation’s future in the light of 

their forthcoming survey featured on 

page 12. 

11


crown 

Jewels 

Within 24 hours of the LTA receiving 

the news that they are to receive £29.2 

million from Wimbledon as part of the 

annual ‘surplus’ passed on to them 

from The Championships — for the 

benefit of ‘British tennis’ — came the 

news that Wimbledon was to be 

treated as a ‘Crown Jewel’ sport. 

To most of us this has always seemed to be the 

case, but the new recommendations being made 

for Government consideration, changes the 

position which Wimbledon has enjoyed since 

1956. 

Should the recommendations be accepted, then 

The Championships, Wimbledon, in its entirety, 

would be one of the major events ‘protected’ for 

free-to-air viewing rather than as at present, just 

the final weekend. 

In other words, the BBC and other broadcasters 

have to pay the market price for broadcasting for 

the days leading up to that final weekend and that 

is what the new proposals are attempting to tamper 

with. 

Not unexpectedly, both Wimbledon and the LTA 

have reacted negatively to the proposals, stressing 

that the income which accrues from The 

Championships is of vital importance when it 

comes to the development and expansion of the 

game in this country. 

Roger Draper, the LTA’s Chief Executive, was the 

first to make the point. “We are extremely 

concerned at the recommendation due to the 

negative impact we believe this will have on 

investment in tennis. Why change the status quo if 

Wimbledon, the major financier of tennis. Picture AELTC 

the only effect is to damage the sport” he asks. 

Twenty-fours earlier, he had commended the 

AELTC on the news of the £29.2 million cash 

injection to LTA coffers, the ‘surplus’ providing 

just over 50% of the association’s annual income. 

Roger Draper asks why 

change the status quo. 

Picture LTA 

Ian Ritchie believes it 

won’t be in the interests 

of the fans and the sport 

itself. Picture AELTC 

As reported in Tennis Matters all that could be 

jeopardised as Ian Ritchie, the Chief Executive at 

the AELTC points out: “Wimbledon has been 

extremely successful and it seems strange at this 

time to alter a model that works for viewers, the 

public and funding of tennis. We value our 

relationship with the BBC but the market place 

needs to be balanced. The proposed change is 

based on entirely erroneous information and will 

seriously damage our ability to obtain the best deal 

for The Championships and British tennis. Listing 

the whole event is not in the interests of Wimbledon 

or tennis fans and we will be vigorous in presenting 

our case during the consultation period.” 

This consultation period is to last 12 weeks with 

the Government promising to reach a conclusion 

before March in what could well mean before the 

expected General Election. 

It affects other sports as well, cricket being the 

most vociferous with The Ashes a prime target. 

Giles Clarke, chairman of the England and Wales 

Cricket board predicts that, if adopted, the 

proposals would lead to a ‘decade of decline’ in 

British sport, a view most sporting governing 

bodies support as all believed their incomes would 

decline if they were unable to market their 

broadcasting rights to the highest bidder. 

All the sports are now joining forces to lobby and 

persuade Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw to water 

down or even abandon the recommendations. 

Meanwhile the BBC and ITV have welcomed the 

recommendations while Sky, the main beneficiary 

of the current system and as such the ‘financier’ of 

many sports, commented the proposals would 

have a ‘disastrous impact’ on the long-term health 

of the sport. 

Now its up to a Government who, by all accounts, 

has a limited life span so the Tories, who are 

expected to replace them, have intimated they 

could well reverse the decision. 

Blueprint II 

It could be considered very contentious 

but the decision by the BTCA, which 

now trades as tenniscoachuk, to 

produce its own version of a Blueprint 

for British Tennis, is more than 

commendable and certainly should be 

supported. 

The LTA’s original Blueprint, published in 2006, 

promised much but many of those objectives are 

still to be realised. In fact, there is very little 

reference being made to it these days. 

So, the coaches’ decision to do their own and 

publish the results and their recommendations 

next June, could be interpreted as throwing down 

a gauntlet if not act as a reminder to governing 

bodies of their responsibilities. Depending on the 

results, the timing, just before Wimbledon, should 

attract a lot of media attention when, no doubt, 

many comparisons will be made. 

That will certainly be the case for, as Mike Lynch, 

the Chief Executive of Tenniscoachuk, pointed 

out, the document will provide a practical action 

plan for the future of tennis in Britain as 

perceived by the front line salesmen of the sport, 

namely the coaches from all levels of the game, 

summarising their thoughts, views and proposals. 

This is all confirmed on their website 

(tenniscoachuk.com) when they first unveiled the 

project as follows: “The document signals our 

intent to honour our pledge to our members to 

proactively represent the interests of coaches. The 

Tenniscoachuk Board are currently working with 

our new team of Regional Advisers to finalise the 

framework and scope of the document, and we 

will then be inviting members to participate, 

firstly through a national coach survey that will 

go out in the next issue of our magazine 

(Coachline), and then via a series of regional 

workshops we will be running throughout the UK 

in the new year.” 

The whole project is being funded by the 

organisation, a fiercely independent professional 

body representing some 2,600 member coaches 

which has over the last few years changed 

direction as regards their ‘mission statement.’ 

They no longer provide coach certification 

services, leaving that to the governing body of the 

sport, the LTA, following their introduction, some 

years ago, of a licensing scheme. The BTCA’s 

thrust these days is to provide impartial and 

financial advice to their membership, irrespective 

of their qualification and their working 

allegiances, stressing that the Tenniscoachuk is 

financially independent of the LTA and 

consequently able to have an open mind to draw 

on coaching practices and experiences from 

around the world. 

Interestingly, a number of clubs, tennis centres 

and county LTAs have already been in contact 

with the Wolverhampton based Tenniscoachuk, 

requesting involvement in their Blueprint 

programme, a move welcomed by the organisers 

who are keen to produce representative. 

Topics being canvassed include, as you would 

expect in the first instance, various coaching 

subjects like development, training and 

certification. But then it becomes more 

interesting as respondents are asked to comment 

on the role of the LTA and its Blueprint, Funding 

and the part county associations play. In addition 

more general views on Growing the Game 

(Clubs, Schools, Community, British Tennis 

Membership), Performance Tennis and the Role 

of the Media, are being sought. 

For further information and the opportunity 

of making a contribution, log onto the aptly – 

albeit cheekily – named 

Britishtennis.org.uk, the 

website dedicated to this 

survey. 

The results in June should 

make interesting reading 

and TO looks forward to 

publishing s summary of 

them when available. 

Tennis says No! 

12

Tennis Outlook pilot Winter 2009 (5871kb) - TIA UK

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