£15m indoor court plan for Scotland is Murray legacy
Tennis in Scotland is to benefit from a £15m funding drive to double the number of indoor courts to 225 within the decade and boost participation.
Lawn Tennis Association chief executive Michael Downey said it was time to “seize the moment” and capitalise on Andy and Jamie Murray’s success.
“We must create a lasting legacy with a purpose-built plan for Scotland,” Downey added.
Mel Young, chairman of sportscotland, hopes for increased participation.
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Andy Murray, 29, ends 2016 top of the men’s singles rankings after winning Wimbledon and the ATP Tour finals this year.
Older brother Jamie, 30, and Brazilian doubles partner Bruno Soares are the current world number one men’s doubles team.
And the Murrays’ fellow Scot Gordon Reid, 25, is top of the wheelchair tennis men’s rankings, having won the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2016.
Downey said: “This unprecedented investment will make tennis more accessible, bringing certainty of play to a climate that sees on average 200 days rain a year and in a country that is under-resourced versus the rest of Britain and other European nations when it comes to the number of covered tennis courts per capita.”
Young confirmed that half of the £15m will come from sportscotland and the rest from the LTA and will “have a transformational impact on Scottish tennis”.
Tennis Scotland chairman Blane Dodds said the funding would prove crucial to the future success of the sport in Scotland.
“This is what we all have been working towards to deliver an appropriate and ambitious legacy so the whole country benefits from the performances of our three world number ones: Gordon Reid, Jamie Murray and Andy Murray,” he said.