Title: Ray of light for GB Women's Tennis?
Description: I hope so.
Description: I hope so.
trisco - April 17, 2007 08:43 AM (GMT)
Maria Sharapova's handbag could hold the key to turning around the fortunes of British women's tennis.
As part of the changes sweeping through the Lawn Tennis Association, Kim Clijsters' former coach Carl Maes has been appointed as head of women's tennis.
And in assessing the profile of tennis among Britain's girls, Maes says: "My daughter might not want to meet Boris Becker but she does want to know what Maria Sharapova carries in her handbag."
One of his more high-profile ideas is to get young British girls to meet leading international players on a regular basis.
Along with the ongoing talent ID roadshows, Maes admits "this all might seem a little bit similar to what has been done before".
But having been starved of success for so long in Britain, the Belgian is determined to address the lack of role models in tennis for girls.
"The goal is to promote the girls' game and to make it a lot more sexy than it has been in the past," says Maes.
"Tim and Greg and now Andy have done a great job for tennis in this country, but if I speak to the parents who are actually committed to tennis and are happy to make sacrifices for their children to become a tennis player, they are mostly parents of boys.
We have to put our hands up and admit that our top-ranked female player is 169 this week, we're not hiding that fact
A glance at the world rankings tells of the dire state of the women's game in Britain.
Nigel Sears, former coach to Daniela Hantuchova, has been brought in by Maes to work with the key players and captain the Fed Cup side.
"We have to put our hands up and admit that our top-ranked female player is 169 this week, we're not hiding that fact," says Sears.
And while the likes of Anne Keothavong and Elena Baltacha can expect to benefit from the new coaches and facilities available to them, the focus is already on the next generation.
"The first age group we can probably hope to impact is the 15/16 year olds," says Sears.
"Obviously we'll try our very best to get the best out of our current crop of senior players but a lot our energy has gone into analysing the 15 to 17-year-old age group.
"We've selected 10 or 12 names for the junior Fed Cup squad who we really believe have some kind of a chance of playing the tour, and who really want to do that."
Maes and his compatriot Steven Martens, who will look at the under-12 age group, have been taken on by the LTA specifically because of their work with female players.
"If you look at a 14-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man, you're talking about a different sport almost," says Maes.
"A 14-year-old girl and a 20-year-old woman, they more or less play the same game. The game style is not going to change that much because the physical maturity doesn't have that much impact on it."
While Brad Gilbert, Paul Annacone and Peter Lundgren have joined the LTA revolution on the men's side, plenty of experienced coaches have been brought in to help the women.
Jens Gerlach is a former coach of Anastasia Myskina, while Simon Walsh helped Samantha Stosur and Katarina Srebotnik, among others, into the top 100.
"Jens is someone at the very highest level who knows the difference in standard between mediocrity and the absolute top in the world," says Maes.
"Simon has a lot of experience in bringing four players outside the top 100 to inside the top 100. He's been almost an expert in doing that."
Maes calls for patience in judging the LTA's revolution and it remains to be seen whether he can deliver a British Clijsters, but he is in it for the long haul.
"From the age of 10 is really when you start to practice more hours per week than your age and at this moment we haven't got girls who are doing that," he says.
"You can't catch up overnight but in 10 years time - that's when I'm ready to be axed if it's not good enough."
As part of the changes sweeping through the Lawn Tennis Association, Kim Clijsters' former coach Carl Maes has been appointed as head of women's tennis.
And in assessing the profile of tennis among Britain's girls, Maes says: "My daughter might not want to meet Boris Becker but she does want to know what Maria Sharapova carries in her handbag."
One of his more high-profile ideas is to get young British girls to meet leading international players on a regular basis.
Along with the ongoing talent ID roadshows, Maes admits "this all might seem a little bit similar to what has been done before".
But having been starved of success for so long in Britain, the Belgian is determined to address the lack of role models in tennis for girls.
"The goal is to promote the girls' game and to make it a lot more sexy than it has been in the past," says Maes.
"Tim and Greg and now Andy have done a great job for tennis in this country, but if I speak to the parents who are actually committed to tennis and are happy to make sacrifices for their children to become a tennis player, they are mostly parents of boys.
We have to put our hands up and admit that our top-ranked female player is 169 this week, we're not hiding that fact
A glance at the world rankings tells of the dire state of the women's game in Britain.
Nigel Sears, former coach to Daniela Hantuchova, has been brought in by Maes to work with the key players and captain the Fed Cup side.
"We have to put our hands up and admit that our top-ranked female player is 169 this week, we're not hiding that fact," says Sears.
And while the likes of Anne Keothavong and Elena Baltacha can expect to benefit from the new coaches and facilities available to them, the focus is already on the next generation.
"The first age group we can probably hope to impact is the 15/16 year olds," says Sears.
"Obviously we'll try our very best to get the best out of our current crop of senior players but a lot our energy has gone into analysing the 15 to 17-year-old age group.
"We've selected 10 or 12 names for the junior Fed Cup squad who we really believe have some kind of a chance of playing the tour, and who really want to do that."
Maes and his compatriot Steven Martens, who will look at the under-12 age group, have been taken on by the LTA specifically because of their work with female players.
"If you look at a 14-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man, you're talking about a different sport almost," says Maes.
"A 14-year-old girl and a 20-year-old woman, they more or less play the same game. The game style is not going to change that much because the physical maturity doesn't have that much impact on it."
While Brad Gilbert, Paul Annacone and Peter Lundgren have joined the LTA revolution on the men's side, plenty of experienced coaches have been brought in to help the women.
Jens Gerlach is a former coach of Anastasia Myskina, while Simon Walsh helped Samantha Stosur and Katarina Srebotnik, among others, into the top 100.
"Jens is someone at the very highest level who knows the difference in standard between mediocrity and the absolute top in the world," says Maes.
"Simon has a lot of experience in bringing four players outside the top 100 to inside the top 100. He's been almost an expert in doing that."
Maes calls for patience in judging the LTA's revolution and it remains to be seen whether he can deliver a British Clijsters, but he is in it for the long haul.
"From the age of 10 is really when you start to practice more hours per week than your age and at this moment we haven't got girls who are doing that," he says.
"You can't catch up overnight but in 10 years time - that's when I'm ready to be axed if it's not good enough."
barrystar - April 17, 2007 09:06 AM (GMT)
Three stage development of the LTA's plans:
1. We want to make sure that the current dip in form of UK tennis players is bottoming out.
2. Then we'll see a light at the end of the tunnel...
3. Er, then in all likelihood we'll see a bottom at the end of the tunnel
1. We want to make sure that the current dip in form of UK tennis players is bottoming out.
2. Then we'll see a light at the end of the tunnel...
3. Er, then in all likelihood we'll see a bottom at the end of the tunnel
trisco - April 17, 2007 09:59 AM (GMT)
There really needs to be a greater push to further tennis in schools to find these future champions. Just because you are born in a leafy London suburb and have sisters called Tabatha and Desdemona and 6 petrol guzzling people carriers doesn't automatically gaurentee you being a phenom.
The LTA need to get out to the gritty area's of the country, scour the public parks in the summer and find the kids who live on council estates who are playing the game out of a pure love for it.
I know we probably all think this but I do think that given the opportunity I could have been a decent player myself. Not saying I would have won Wimbledon or a tournament or anything but I know from playing on these public parks as a 12 year old, when the elite club members were also playing there, I wasn't afraid of them, I knew I had better court knowledge and instinct for the game but, after writing to the LTA numerous times for advice as I come from a single parent family, council estate, no cash etc, and constantly being rejected by them, I gave up.
The reply I got was join a club, get coaching.... in Sheffield with absurfly expensive fees. Er yeah, that's what I want but I can't afford it. A paper round wage doesn't go too far ya know. lol.
The LTA just need to get out there and I am sure they will find a wealth of talent.
The LTA need to get out to the gritty area's of the country, scour the public parks in the summer and find the kids who live on council estates who are playing the game out of a pure love for it.
I know we probably all think this but I do think that given the opportunity I could have been a decent player myself. Not saying I would have won Wimbledon or a tournament or anything but I know from playing on these public parks as a 12 year old, when the elite club members were also playing there, I wasn't afraid of them, I knew I had better court knowledge and instinct for the game but, after writing to the LTA numerous times for advice as I come from a single parent family, council estate, no cash etc, and constantly being rejected by them, I gave up.
The reply I got was join a club, get coaching.... in Sheffield with absurfly expensive fees. Er yeah, that's what I want but I can't afford it. A paper round wage doesn't go too far ya know. lol.
The LTA just need to get out there and I am sure they will find a wealth of talent.
Russiafan - April 17, 2007 02:43 PM (GMT)
If you look at out juniors things are more promising for the future of womens tennis than men tennis. Not counting Naomi Cavaday who won her first 25k challenger last month, we have Jocelyn Rae, Amanda Elliot, Tara Moore and the Ren sisters, all of whom are still very young and just starting to play more junior tennis and hopefully one of them will make the transition to senior tennis when they are old enough.
Right now with Bally back, Anne a solid top 200 player and Georgie Stoop and Cavaday moving up through the ranks, things are better than they were say in 2003 when no British woman made it through a round at Wimbledon.
Right now with Bally back, Anne a solid top 200 player and Georgie Stoop and Cavaday moving up through the ranks, things are better than they were say in 2003 when no British woman made it through a round at Wimbledon.