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Hi Bobito
sorry i did not come across properly i meant­ normal terestial tv putting on more general tennis to­ keep profile up instead of just our uk tennis­ tournaments.
Get kids from all backgrounds in­ structured club enviroments to get them keen and­ flying,not just tell them to go down the park and play­ on council hardcourts with no structure.
If this was a­ proper business the Lta would have been sacked a long­ time ago for gross mismanagement for producing 0 tennis­ players for the period i mentioned.
NO GRAND SLAMS mmmm­ what a joke.

etwellegarage - I agree with much of what you say, but­ in your previous post you said "there is not­ enough money going into grass roots­ because of all­ this pay per view." Since there is no pay per view­ in British tennis how can that be the case? In truth,­ if Wimbledon were to be sold off to Sky TV, the LTA­ would get a lot more money to put into grass roots.­ However they would also massively reduce the profile of­ the game so there would be no grass roots left to­ invest in. Hence the reason they have stuck with the­ BBC.

Bobito read my comments anyone with half a brain sees­ the sense, we have been useless at tennis almost from­ day one.
We were ok when tennis invented then as soon­ as everyone else learnt how to hold a racket we were­ rubbish.
The Lta have not made any improvements over­ the last 30 years we have a few mavericks with parents­ who have devoted their lives to them,nobody can deny­ what i am saying.
We need a full restructure get rid of­ Lta bring in fresh blood and get the kids interested­ not just for the 2 week wimbledon period.

etwellegarage - you are making no sense whatsoever.­ THERE ARE NO BRITISH TENNIS TOURNAMENTS ON PAY TV.­ Wimbledon, Eastbourne and Queens are all on the BBC and­ that isn't set to change. I have no idea why this­ idiot Davies is trying create an issue where none­ exists.

The Lta is run by people all feathering their own­ nest,there is not enough money going into grass roots­ because of all this pay per view.
we pay our licence we­ should see premium sports events all the time.
Tennis­ in our country is run by the jolly boys club that have­ strangled tennis in our country since time began,if you­ have no personal family cash to plough in you have no­ chance,just look at Spain ,France and some Estern­ European countries all hungry wanting to do­ well,getting properly funded and coached by people who­ care.

I take Draper's point about negotiating competitive­ market-rates, but can the BBC really be trusted to buy­ the rights forever, or even beyond 2014?

If the first­ 11 days of Wimbledon were only available on pay-TV, it­ would be a total disaster: it would cruelly deny those­ tennis-fans for whom pay-TV isn't an option, and it­ would risk losing up to 85% of the children who would­ take up tennis after watching Wimbledon.

As always, the LTA prove yet again that they put the­ fan's needs at the very bottom of their priorities­ list.

Roger Draper's job requires him to argue­ this rubbish.

He knows that TV rights are a major­ revenue stream for the LTA. Licencing the coverage­ worldwide makes millions.

The BBC are the only­ broadcaster capable of televising more courts.­ Hopefully thats what they'll do with the money­ saved - instead of covering a very meagre five. Great!

Bobito, its only my opinion but I think the LTA has­ squandered the vast amount of millions made available­ to it. But dont take my word for it. The Spanish­ Tenniss Association thinks so too, and they have 14­ players in the top 100. I used the word meagre earlier­ on, I think I was too polite. And yes you're­ correct. Andy Murray HAS received SOME funding from the­ LTA, namely paying part of Brad Gilberts wages. Hardly­ a massive investment when the LTA receives millions­ each year. I say again...........Alex Bogdanovic?

I thought Andy Murray had all his coaching and lived­ abroad (Spain i belive) and wasnt a product of the LTA?

The LTA is already the world's richest tennis­ body.They do need need even more money,just better­ coaches and administrators.Greed,greed greed is­ everywhere in British society

How is that a meagre return on an investment? Under­ Sears the current crop of girls have performed far­ better and the next generation have been winning junior­ slams. I'd say that's an excellent return.

And­ to put right on one of your previous points, Andy­ Murray has had his fair share of LTA funding over the­ years so you are wrong to say that he is not an LTA­ investment.

Even so Bobito, but it still represents a meagre return­ on the investment. And I dont seek to diminish the­ achievement in the ladies game. They have done very­ well.

Peter - a couple of years ago the LTA put Nigel Sears,­ one of the top coaches in the women's game, in­ charge of British women's tennis. When Sears took­ over the top ranked British girl was around 180 in the­ world. We now have three girls in the top 100, Anne­ Keothavong was inside the top 50 before injury ended­ her season and two tennagers who have won junior slams.­ I assume Nigel Sears commands a healthy salary but it­ is surely money well spent.

I take your point Bobito but only if you can argue that­ the tennis standards in this country will drop with a­ lower income. As far as I can make out it wouldnt­ matter what amount the LTA received. So how can Draper­ say a loss of income will see a drop in British talent­ or achievement. Despite the hundreds of millions,­ tennis here hasnt reached a standard from which it can­ drop from.

For goodness sake people, use your heads. Wimbledon is­ free to air and that isn't likely to change. But as­ things stand, the BBC have to pay the market value for­ the coverage. What Davies is proposing is for the BBC­ to get it on the cheap. That means less income for the­ LTA and less investment in the future of British­ tennis.

Peter, I agree that the money may not have­ been used wisely at times but that is an argument for­ directing funds better, not allowing the BBC to get the­ deal for a fraction of the price. After all, what would­ the BBC do with the money they save, pay the­ contestants on Strictly Come Dancing more?

Grass roots tennis benifits the way it is now, for two­ weeks of the year total wimbledon covarage get all the­ kids playing and then hopefully some will be guided­ towards carrying on, by only protecting the final you­ loose that momentum.

"Why change the status quo if the only effect of­ that is to damage the sport by reducing the investment­ we have available to grow tennis,including to new­ audiences, and develop British talent". Roger­ Draper

Because investment by YOU in British tennis­ isnt working. Andy Murray is Not an investment by the­ LTA and is thriving. On the other side of the coin is­ Alex Bogdanovic...........

And what precisely has Roger Draper ever done for­ British tennis may I ask?

About time! We don't see enough tennis on­ terrestrial channels as it is. Even the exclusive red­ button coverage is poor at best. We should be able to­ see as much of it as we want! x