Yes...talent id is daft the way it is set up.  So many coaches on a nice little earner for the day, so much posturing by those with the power of selection but in reality it is just window dressing.  Those who come through (by and large) are those who have had the best coaching prior to selection.  How often do you see regional representatives of the LTA at local junior tournaments?  Only if one of the kids they've already selected is playing.  And even then they do not cast an eye on any other competitor.  There are so many kids who miss out because their parents did not think or were unable to afford individual coaching until the train to performance tennis had already left.  And they spend time and money trying to help their kids catch up and the youngsters bust a gut doing all they can to be noticed, not realising that the LTA won't ever give someone a second look once they have their quota from a particular year group.

As regards Jay, I really don't think his sister's issues with the LTA had any bearing (at least I most certainly hope not).  It is more that the kids who attract attention from the LTA are given specific targets, perhaps technical changes required to certain strokes, maybe rankings targets or fitness targets and if not achieved they are often deemed as unlikely to fulfil their potential after all.  I believe that this is what happened to Jay.  So glad he had a supportive and tennis savvy family to encourage him to persevere. 

Yep it stinks of corruption. Each of the four in the county either had links to the LTA or were stinking rich. Hence my theory on the circles you mix in. I remember my lad losing to one of the chosen few in a green ball event at ten years old. He lost 4-3 4-2. So clearly a competitive match. The response was the other lad had a bad day. My point here is that there was nothing to choose between these 24 regional kids and the matrix funded. The gaps grew of course with the extra coaching , LTA trips and camps etc. Instead of young jack and Anton in the main draws we could have had so many more.

Window dressing is exactly what it is . It was just a way to look as if there was a pathway when in fact as you say names already on the envelopes. I find it disgusting that the government who I believe do provide some funding allow this to happen and in indeed the AELTC.

I do hope Jay goes far and then exposes their mistakes even more. But if he does well we all know what will happen.

-- Edited by Kolohead on Friday 13th of July 2018 05:34:27 PM

I dont ever see it changing until somebody ever gets the job who has risen through the ranks to positions of power at the LTA and that is wishful thinking.

What this new fella needs to do is make it better for the rest not in the special club so we get more jay Clarke stories. Take going to American uni. Now all the tennis academies sell this as a means of success to send your kid there. Im sure it can be a great experience for those who can afford it I am talking boys of course as girls tend to get full scholarships. I spoke to one parent of a lad over there who told me to avoid it as its been costing him £20k per year! My own research and talks with USA coaches suggest if you are a parent of a lad not in main draws of junior slams you will not get a top uni for tennis and you will be paying between 10-15k per year.

So this new fella should focus on encouraging these kids to stay here at British uni and maybe we get a late bloomer here or at least they will get a degree for a lot less with maybe the same tennis experience

Talking to coaches at British unis its getting better here every year so mr lloyd needs to make it stronger in depth across the unis. Perhaps he is trying to by making Stirling and Loughborough the national centres and Bath of course is a regional I believe.

Kolohead, you are right that there are far fewer opportunities for boys than girls in American universities - due I think to their equality laws - whereby they have to give the same number / value of scholarships to boys and girls, and most of the boys scholarships go to baseball and American football players. Even a full scholarship for a girl will rarely include spending money and the cost of flights.  In the past few years the British Universities have certainly upped their game with many strong places for tennis now, not just Bath and Stirling..but Loughborough, Nottingham, Exeter, Durham and so on. They get funding depending on how well their teams are doing, and many offer scholarships, to boys and girls, some between one and five thousand pounds a year. For example, at Nottingham, the players train for an hour and a half, five mornings a week with excellent coaches , with additional strength and conditioning sessions, all for less than £500 a year, with free use of the Nottingham Tennis Centre courts at weekends. They have a large number of teams catering for a wide range of abilities, from occasional club players to Sloane Stephens' official hitting partner at the US Open last year, so something for everyone!

Very encouraging indeed. Thank you. My lad is due to go in 2019 or 2020 if he takes a gap. I plan to visit unis with him during sept and October so I will certainty report back on here so that it may help others. I just hope he lta shout about this more often as every player older than my boy he has trained with these past three years have gone to America and not one is a grand slam junior with only two I can think of who were inside top 50 under 18 gb. Im sure they will have a great time and perhaps at the time of their decision uk wasnt really an option so really encouraging to read the post above

Anybody any idea roughly how many competitive matches take place each year under the auspices of the LTA?

i.e. covering all people (including juniors) with an LTA licence, playing a match that gives ranking points.


Again, just for info, and for anyone who wants to make any sort of comparison, the official numbers for last year in France were:


Tennis in France in sporting year 2017:

- Top individual sport

- 1 964 645 official matches

- 19 198 official tournaments

- 7 722 clubs

- 31 577 courts

- 1 018 721 licensed players

- 524 568 licensed players 18 years and under

- 365 831 competitors

- 446 966 ranked players

The Realist wrote:

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Kolohead, you are right that there are far fewer opportunities for boys than girls in American universities - due I think to their equality laws - whereby they have to give the same number / value of scholarships to boys and girls, and most of the boys scholarships go to baseball and American football players. Even a full scholarship for a girl will rarely include spending money and the cost of flights.  In the past few years the British Universities have certainly upped their game with many strong places for tennis now, not just Bath and Stirling..but Loughborough, Nottingham, Exeter, Durham and so on. They get funding depending on how well their teams are doing, and many offer scholarships, to boys and girls, some between one and five thousand pounds a year. For example, at Nottingham, the players train for an hour and a half, five mornings a week with excellent coaches , with additional strength and conditioning sessions, all for less than £500 a year, with free use of the Nottingham Tennis Centre courts at weekends. They have a large number of teams catering for a wide range of abilities, from occasional club players to Sloane Stephens' official hitting partner at the US Open last year, so something for everyone!

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 The other consideration with British Unis is that nearly all of the strong tennis unis (Bath, Luffs, Notts, Exeter and Durham) require top grades to get in (I know AAA was not high enough for a place on some courses at Durham last year) and there is no flexibility for tennis players, even if the coach is very interested. I believe Luffs is the only one that offers a foundation year for elite athletes who would not normally be accepted. Many US unis seem more flexible with ACT and SAT being taken into consideration and the NCAA have stipulated two U's at A level this year.......