Paul Hutchins
Tennis player, Davis Cup captain and administrator who strove to encourage gifted youngsters
PAUL HUTCHINS, who has died of motor neurone disease aged 73, was a central figure in British tennis for more than 50 years; as player, team captain, sports marketing guru, commentator and administrator he helped to shape the modern game. Hutchins was Britain’s longest-serving Davis Cup captain, in post for almost 13 years. Renowned for his calm, kindly temperament, he was passionate about developing top British juniors and providing opportunities for gifted youngsters from ordinary backgrounds. A shrewd judge of talent, he immediately appreciated the potential of the young Andy Murray when his son Ross first played him in an Under-10 event in Scotland.
Hutchins, an only child, was born on April 5 1945 in Bristol near the Rolls-royce factory where his father Arnold worked. Money was tight but his family helped to instill a quiet confidence and Stakhanovite work ethic which he never lost.
When his father (a keen table-tennis player) took Hutchins to nearby Cleeve Hill Tennis Club, the rangy 10-year-old was instantly hooked on tennis, soon representing Gloucestershire junior sides. He won a tennis scholarship to Millfield, training alongside future stars like Mark Cox.
He joined the tournament circuit at 16 and, in a strong cohort dominated by Cox and the Wimbledon semi-finalist Roger Taylor, rose to No4 in Britain, thanks to his consistent all-court game and powerful backhand.
He reached the third round of the Australian and US Open singles, partnered the Welshman Gerald Battrick to the 1968 French Open doubles quarter-finals then represented Britain in two Davis Cup ties, in which he emerged as a loyal team man and natural diplomat.
Hutchins retired from international tennis in 1970 aged 25, joining the sports marketing firm West Nally. There he also met his future wife, Shali, an organiser and former personal assistant to the FA Secretary, Ted Croker. When their four children were small, the family moved from Kingston-on-thames to Wimbledon, a stone’s throw from the All England Club.
In 1975 Hutchins was appointed National Team Manager at the LTA, selecting sides, disciplining players and providing an unflappable presence courtside.
One highlight was Britain’s unexpected victory over the highly fancied Australians in the 1978 Davis Cup to reach their first final since 1937, in which Buster Mottram, Mark Cox and John and David Lloyd beat Tony Roche, John Alexander and the Wimbledon doubles champions, Ross Case and Geoff Masters, 3-2.
Although Britain then lost 4-1 in the final to the American team spearheaded by John Mcenroe, their heroics ensured that they shared the BBC’S Team of the Year trophy with the women’s Wightman Cup squad. “If things got heated, he’d let you rant and rave,” remembered Cox, “then give some basic advice, like ‘Get that first serve in.’ It stopped your mind freezing up and gave you something to focus on. Simple but effective.”
A superb administrator, Hutchins survived periodic rounds of LTA sackings and bloodletting. Despite leaving in 1987 to set up his own marketing and sponsorship company, Tennis Concepts, he continued to work closely with the LTA, running numerous initiatives including junior performance programmes and the National Club League, and also working as a BBC television commentator for 20 years.
With the All England Club, he helped to develop Britain’s largest junior tournament, the Road to Wimbledon, involving more than 10,000 junior players annually in Britain and Asia, and became a popular tournament director of the Nottingham Open. A devoted family man, Hutchins would happily hit balls to his tennis-mad children at the All England Club night after night then spend his weekends driving them to tournaments around the country.
Unlike many tennis parents, he put little pressure on them, insisting that winning was less important than building technique and learning to think their way through matches.
The family returned year after year for tennis holidays and coaching clinics to the Palace Hotel in Torquay, whose fast indoor courts held special memories: Hutchins had achieved the greatest win of his career there, beating the Romanian Ilie Nastase, who was then ranked third in the world.
All four children later became national standard juniors and Ross, a doubles specialist, played in the Davis Cup, Commonwealth Games and 2012 Olympics, reaching a world doubles ranking of 26. When Ross was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma in December 2012, Hutchins was devastated but supported him throughout his very public illness.
Ross was given the all-clear eight months later, and the family celebrated with a grass court friendly at Wimbledon. Ross was appointed tournament director of the Queen’s Club pre-wimbledon tournament and is now chief player officer of the ATP.
Hutchins loved the outdoors and usually walked for an hour and a half after dinner each night. When diagnosed with incurable motor neurone disease last year, he faced it uncomplainingly. Even when confined to an electric wheelchair he would often spend five hours a day bowling along the riverbank, wrapped up against the wind.
In 2017 he was appointed MBE, and last December he got a standing ovation when receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Lawn Tennis Writers’ Association.
Paul Hutchins is survived by his wife and children.