Given Evo's strange GB- and Futures-centric schedule over the last year or two, and Wardy's more obvious Challenger level campaigns primarily in North America and Asia, I wonder just how many times these 2 have actually played in the same tournament in recent history outside DC and the short GB grass court season?

Can only be good for both if they can practice at a high level and intensity together, support each other for a few weeks at a time during tournaments and build their friendship. Part of the challenge James has always had is that he's pretty much on his own when overseas, and this aspect of the life of a pro is probably the biggest barrier for Evo.

In Futures, there's often a small group of Brits who travel together to tournaments overseas. In Challengers, the same goes for the French, the Germans, the Japanese, the Spanish, the Belgians. the Australians, etc. But we have so few players who are playing at Challenger level (or who even try to make the jump with any seriousness) that it's a fairly lonely prospect for those that go for it.

It appears that the LTA's policy of putting on an almost constant stream of $10k Futures at home has been one of the factors (among many) in boosting the volume of our men with rankings in the 400-600 range.....and when these players play overseas in Futures they certainly now hold their own with far greater regularity as well. Phase II must be for the LTA to encourage our players to make the next jump up into Challengers (and even ATP qualifiers).....partly through bringing back 2 or 3 GB Challenger tournaments outside the summer......and partly by tinkering with the bonus and travel assistance schemes to make Challenger tournaments much more realistic options for mid-table players than at the moment. For example if men have a ranking inside 500 (their side of the bargain) offering full travel/hotel support for 3 or 4 Challenger or above tournaments (never Futures) per year for everybody, not just the Team Aegon players. Which means the likes of Corrie, Hewitt, Willis come into play.

As Alex Ward is proving, if you give it a try and stick at it, gradual progress can be made.....but it is scary that within a few weeks he will become GB #5 behind Andy, James, Evo and Ed. We NEED more men to make the jump, and with more shared itineraries a la Evo & James in North America, perhaps there's a chance.......

korriban wrote:

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Given Evo's strange GB- and Futures-centric schedule over the last year or two, and Wardy's more obvious Challenger level campaigns primarily in North America and Asia, I wonder just how many times these 2 have actually played in the same tournament in recent history outside DC and the short GB grass court season?

Can only be good for both if they can practice at a high level and intensity together, support each other for a few weeks at a time during tournaments and build their friendship. Part of the challenge James has always had is that he's pretty much on his own when overseas, and this aspect of the life of a pro is probably the biggest barrier for Evo.

In Futures, there's often a small group of Brits who travel together to tournaments overseas. In Challengers, the same goes for the French, the Germans, the Japanese, the Spanish, the Belgians. the Australians, etc. But we have so few players who are playing at Challenger level (or who even try to make the jump with any seriousness) that it's a fairly lonely prospect for those that go for it.

It appears that the LTA's policy of putting on an almost constant stream of $10k Futures at home has been one of the factors (among many) in boosting the volume of our men with rankings in the 400-600 range.....and when these players play overseas in Futures they certainly now hold their own with far greater regularity as well. Phase II must be for the LTA to encourage our players to make the next jump up into Challengers (and even ATP qualifiers).....partly through bringing back 2 or 3 GB Challenger tournaments outside the summer......and partly by tinkering with the bonus and travel assistance schemes to make Challenger tournaments much more realistic options for mid-table players than at the moment. For example if men have a ranking inside 500 (their side of the bargain) offering full travel/hotel support for 3 or 4 Challenger or above tournaments (never Futures) per year for everybody, not just the Team Aegon players. Which means the likes of Corrie, Hewitt, Willis come into play.

As Alex Ward is proving, if you give it a try and stick at it, gradual progress can be made.....but it is scary that within a few weeks he will become GB #5 behind Andy, James, Evo and Ed. We NEED more men to make the jump, and with more shared itineraries a la Evo & James in North America, perhaps there's a chance.......

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 I totally agree. Comparing this year to last years table, there is a shift up of about 100 places when comparing last years GB position with this years which is great to see and is no doubt helped by all the GB futures events, but it has left a very obvious problem for players in terms of when to step up and how to transition.

I really like the idea of giving players a target ranking  (500, as you suggest, or perhaps slightly higher) at which point they will be able to receive additional funding because it gives them a clear target to aim for and I think would help players feel confident when moving to Challengers that they are on the right path and they arent just stepping up to a level they dont belong.

Surely the LTA could use their funding to put together a team of support staff to travel with a group of players out to a run of challenger events where they can make use of a coach, trainer, physio etc and get some practise together and also learn from watching eachothers matches etc. I really think some extra support and structure would make all the difference.