The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Indoor courts key to future success
As we move closer to December’s Battle of the Brits – Scotland versus England event at P&J Live in Aberdeen, tennis hero Jamie Murray will serve up a series of exclusive columns for The Press and Journal.
In this second instalment, Jamie talks about the tennis legacy he, as well as his brother Sir Andy Murray, a three-time grand slam champion, want to leave in Scotland once their time playing the game professionally comes to an end.
Jamie, 35, a multiple grand slam champion in both men’s doubles and mixed doubles, says Scotland has not yet capitalised on the Murrays’ high-profile success in the sport, and there remains a need for more indoor tennis facilities to not only bolster the grassroots games, but also bring through more elite-level Scottish tennis players.
When Andy and I look back on the impact of our tennis careers back home in Scotland, the most obvious sign of our legacy will be more people playing on year-round courts and a conveyor belt of talent coming through.
Tennis in Scotland isn’t quite where we’d want it to be yet, despite the buzz around the sport over the last 15 years thanks to Andy’s three singles grand slams and two Olympic golds, as well as my multiple slam successes in doubles.
What a lot of people still lack is access to courts – whether that’s park courts, community courts, private tennis clubs or indoor facilities.
The latter, especially, are so important during the Scottish winter, and at the moment there are various parts of the country where there are no indoor courts at all – in both rural areas and cities like Inverness.
It takes time and there are obstacles to be cleared in order to build an indoor tennis centre.
We all want to see things happen faster, but I hope those in charge of tennis and their local partners have plans in place to improve the situation and we’re moving in the right direction.
The lack of accessible facilities year-round is not only holding back the game’s growth at the grassroots level, but also reduces the chances of Scotland producing more world-level players.
Interest in tennis will naturally wane without easy access to courts all through the year or visible Scottish stars of the game.
Part of the reason for putting on Battle of the Brits – Scotland versus England in December is to at least give people in the north of Scotland, as well as those watching on BBC iPlayer in the rest of the country, high-quality tennis to watch on their doorstep.
We’ve had so few chances to play at home during our careers and it’s nice to get the chance to compete for Scotland against England in a team event, but there’s also the element of bringing more people up close and personal with top-level tennis.
Hopefully a lot of kids and families come, get excited about it and it inspires them to try tennis. It’s a huge motivation on our side.
I’m out in New York in the moment for the US Open.
It’s definitely quieter in the city but the ruling to have maximum fan capacity at the tournament is great and it’ll feel like playing a proper US Open again after the pandemic affected event last year.
It’s a good sign and gives me even more confidence that Battle of the Brits – Scotland versus England at P&J Live can go off without hitch at maximum capacity later in the year.