I was complaining the other day to my mate about the lack of British media interest in tennis outside Wimbledon, especially in the tabloids, which the majority of the public read. Image my surprise when he pointed out there was an article in the Sun that day. It read:

A top tennis coach was ordered to 'keep her distance' from young players, a court heard. Complaints were made about Clare Lyte, 29, who is accused of having a torrid year-long lesbian affair with a 13 year old. LTA officials feared she was taking the side of youngsters over staff and spending too much time with them off-court. Simon Jones, the LTAs national academy manager, told Liverpool Crown Court 'I read Claire the riot act'. But it is alleged days later Lyte was seen naked in bed with the girl at her Merseyside home. Former Wimbledon competitor Lyte, of Shirley, West Mids, denies sexual activity with a child. The trial continues.

I dont know how true these allegations are, but it wouldnt surprise me if UK parents dont encourage their kids to take up the sport if the only column inches it demands are stories like this, and the BBC story the other week of boozy teens being reprimanded by the LTA :doh:

this was in todays Sun:

LESBIAN COACH: "I LIKE MEN"

A tennis coach accused of a year-long lesbian fling with a 13 year old girl told cops: "i like men" a jury heard yesterday. The girls mum allegedly found them naked in bed having sex. In a police interview, coach Claire Lyte, 29, said "i'd never engage in anything like that, certainly not a female and not somebody that age". She said the girls mum made up the story out of "malice" after being told she would not make a professional. Lyte, of Shirley, West Mids, denies sexual activity with a child. The Liverpool Crown Court trial continues.

Interesting that they label her a lesbian. If it was a man alledged of commiting this offense he would be labelled a "paedophile" wouldn't he?

The BBC report of the case

Coach admits student shared room

A tennis coach has told a court she did share a room with a 13-year-old pupil after asking her mother's permission.

Claire Lyte, 29, denies having a sexual relationship with the teenager, her pupil at a tennis academy.

Miss Lyte, of Shirley, Solihull, West Midlands, told Liverpool Crown Court that she was aware of concerns about her relationship with the teenager.

But said she felt pressured into looking after her because the girl was having problems at home.

She said she was given five teenage girls to coach, one of whom was the alleged victim, then aged 13.

She told the jury the girl's mother had asked her to look after the child during a family crisis and only agreed on condition that the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) was informed.

She said: "My heart ruled my head and I said I would look after her during a tennis tournament."

She added: "I mentioned to the mother about sharing a room and she said 'That's fine by me'."

About this time, in the summer of 2005, the court has heard the youngster started sending Miss Lyte loving text messages which read: "I want to be with you forever", and "I want to marry you".

Miss Lyte said: "It concerned me that the girl was thinking of me in a way which I wasn't comfortable with.

"I never spoke to her about it directly, but I did say she must stop texting me and she must stop calling me.

"I thought she was going through a bad time, her sister was away and her mum was ill.

"She was quite a troubled child and I didn't want her to think I was picking on her."

Asked why she never told her bosses about the text messages, she said: "If I said a player was texting me the way she was, then I would be persecuted."

In October 2005, the child's mother claims she discovered the youngster naked in bed with Lyte and engaging in a sexual act.

Miss Lyte's defence argues the incident never took place and the allegations had been fabricated by the mother, who was upset the child's tennis career was coming to an end.

The trial continues.

:blush: Apparently she not only shared the room but wore her knickers tooo..... some pink underwear.... although it was by mistake she says....

Tennis Coach Wore Teen Star's Knickers

roflmao roflmao

There was barely a column inch in the Sun about the USO final, yet they are following this story likehawks :rolleyes:

Stick to the broadsheets guys. :lol:


I normally read the Daily Telegraph and it usually has some kind of Tennis coverage and Sue Mott does great interviews with sports stars and Tennis players feature often. (I was recently re-reading an article she did with Justine although most of it has been rendered void seeing as is was from the dark "hardenne" days :lol:)


But even broadsheets dont give Tennis enough coverage. I guess its just a fact of life that covering football predominantly sells the most papers.

:tennis:

The Daily Telegraph has excellent tennis coverage.

I read the website rather than buy the paper, and usually just the sports section (which is generally excellent, in fact) :unsure:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtm...=F2&targetRule=


They have recently written quite a lot about the potential corruption in tennis, and nothing about lesbians or knickers, as far as I have seen!!

As for football? Don't get me started again.. :rolleyes:

Sex accused coach quitting tennis


A tennis coach on trial for sexually abusing a 13-year-old pupil has decided to quit the game, a court has heard.

Claire Lyte, 29, from Shirley, Solihull in the West Midlands, denies five counts of sexual activity with a child.

Miss Lyte coached the girl at a Lawn Tennis Association Academy in Loughborough in Leicestershire about two years ago.

Her father, Colin Lyte, told Liverpool Crown Court her career is over. "She has decided enough is enough."

Asked by prosecution barrister Peter Davies what he thought of the time the defendant spent with the girl, Mr Lyte said that his daughter had spent a lot of time with other girls of a similar age throughout her coaching career without a problem.

The prosecution alleges that Miss Lyte and the girl were discovered naked in bed together in October 2005 by the child's mother, who did not report her to police until August 2006.

Miss Lyte denies the encounter and said nothing sexual ever occurred between them but the mother fabricated the allegation as she was upset her daughter's tennis career was coming to an end.

On 3 October 2006 Miss Lyte told her parents she was in trouble with her bosses at the LTA for spending too much time with the girl and faced possible disciplinary action.

She had already received one verbal warning.

That evening, Mr Lyte, who lives with his wife and the coach at their home in Shirley, Solihull, West Midlands, phoned the 13-year-old and her mother to call a meeting between them the following day.

Describing the meeting, at Knutsford service station on the M6, the despatch manager said: "Claire talked about the problem at the academy and what it could mean and the girl's mother seemed quite concerned about the perceived allegation.

"She was spending too much time with Claire and it must stop."

He added: "I was concerned for my daughter's livelihood and how hard she had worked for it.

"To have thrown it away like this would have been disastrous.

"Claire is a lovely kid, not just because she is my daughter."

Mr Lyte said the meeting was amicable and denied threatening the girl's mother.

Miss Lyte, who was once ranked in tennis's top 500 until injury ended her career, was summoned to the LTA's headquarters on 31 October 2006 where she was given a final written warning.

The trial continues.

She has now been found guilty. Shocking shocking stuff. :(

Especially as she was once one of the top prospects in british tennis (current rating 2.2 but was at the very top echelon). The pro coach at my club has hit with this woman! :o

In a position of trust, we tennis coaches are often shown all sorts of rigmoroll, often thought to us as unnecessary, regarding child protection. But cases like this give all of that a meaning unfortunetly :(

The problem is that as a result, paranoia crops up as a result. We aren't even allowed to touch the children, i.e. to pull their arm around to show them how they need to swing. And all because of scum like this :angry:

It is hard. We don't know for sure f this woman is guilty or not, but for those who deal with kids with honest intentions, things are impossible these days and that makes me very angry :angry: I personaly am afraid to be nice to kids myself, as I knwo how things can turn especially for people who don't have kids - that somehow make s us prime suspects. :rolleyes: A Few people round here have had visits from the police, myself included, purely for engaging with problem kids or photgraphing kids committing crimes. I'm a Street Champion for the council and am fully aithorised to do this as is anyone who faces crime. It's amazing what parents with family problems will make up rather than face facts.

Well she has been given 3 years :o