The tennis racket!
Sport’s UK chiefs ‘wasted £50,000’ on bid to get Slovenian to play for Britain
TENNIS chiefs have been accused of wasting tens of thousands of pounds on a futile legal battle to allow a Slovenian-born player to represent Britain in the Davis Cup.
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) spent more than £50,000 on an ill-fated attempt to prove Aljaz Bedene’s eligibility to play for Britain in the prestigious competition.
And when the bid proved unsuccessful, the 28-year-old world No51 announced his decision to abandon his adopted country and represent Slovenia once more.
Now critics have accused LTA chiefs of squandering cash that would have been better spent on nurturing home-grown talent and grassroots tennis.
And they say that the situation is in stark contrast to the scant financial support the body has offered Britain’s junior tennis stars in the past.
Last year, Andy Murray’s mother Judy spoke of the ‘horrendous financial struggle’ she suffered when her son was a junior.
She revealed that she was forced to stump up £35,000 because the LTA offered hardly any help.
Ms Murray urged the governing body to do more to support young players financially and called for more investment to boost the number of coaches.
Bedene became a British citizen in 2015 and lawyers sought to persuade the International Tennis Federation (ITF) that he should be allowed to compete in the Davis Cup for Great Britain, having previously played three matches for Slovenia.
But those plans were thwarted after the ITF ruled that players should not be allowed to represent more than one country.
One insider involved in the arbitration said the LTA had spent as much as £50,000 on the legal battle but the true cost would be far higher when other expenses were included.
Former British Davis Cup captain David Lloyd said: ‘I can’t blame Aljaz – he wants to play in the Davis Cup and the Olympics.
‘But the LTA backed him and gave him the chance to become a British citizen – and now he can switch back? I think it’s wrong. I think the LTA made a bad decision.’
Meanwhile, Jay Clarke, who was Britain’s junior No 1 until he turned professional in 2016, was not given a penny of backing by the LTA. He was forced to walk three miles to practise on courts within the grounds of a church because his parents did not have a car – and had to rely on coaching by his sister Yasmin.
The LTA said: ‘It is a shame that this case did not warrant an exception, but we respect Aljaz’s wish to fulfil his international ambitions at the Davis Cup and the Olympics.’