WALLACE NO BRAVEHEART AS SHE TURNS AUSSIE
SHE was born and raised on Scottish soil and once said she’d ‘rather be Scottish than anything else’. But now 19-yearold tennis player Isabelle Wallace has decided to spurn her homeland and represent Australia instead. Wallace has filed paperwork with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in order to switch allegiance and claims the support and mentoring available from Tennis Australia is better than anything Scotland can offer her. Currently ranked 779th in the world, Wallace — from Inverness — lived in Melbourne for six years from the age of 10 and played junior Fed Cup for the Australians in 2012. After returning to the UK that same year she pledged her allegiance to Great Britain However, following a difficult 12 months which have seen her drop 70 places in the rankings, she has decided to make the switch. ‘I feel comfortable being under the Australian flag,’ said Wallace. ‘I spent six years of my development there and played in the juniors for them, so it’s nothing strange. They’re good at catching up with you and staying in contact and it’s where I see the future of my tennis.’ While Wallace highlighted the benefits of playing in Australia, she also took aim at the Lawn Tennis Association, the sport’s governing body in the UK, and their policies. ‘Me and my family thought I would get more support than we do through the LTA,’ she said. ‘It’s hard as the method they have of developing players doesn’t really help a lot of them. The Australian set-up is very professional and I’m 100 per cent behind this decision.’ Wallace’s comments represent something of an about turn, however, as only a year ago she said she would ‘rather be Scottish than anything else’, and said how much she enjoyed training in Stirling. ITF regulations state players can change nationality as often as they like until they have represented one country in the Olympic Games or in team competitions. Jamie Murray has criticised Tennis Scotland in the past for failing to capitalise on brother Andy’s success by improving infrastructure and growing the sport.