Rift between the Murray family and Lawn Tennis Association widens further after rebrand snub
The rift between the Murray family and the Lawn Tennis Association has widened further after the governing body published a major rebranding strategy that failed to mention the first family of British tennis.
The omission of both Murray brothers from Tennis Opened Up – an initiative launched on Friday with a 36-page mission statement and accompanying video – has already caused a furore on social media, with comedian Miranda Hart and Scottish MP Gavin Newlands among the high-profile critics.
Speaking to reporters in Miami on Monday night, Jamie Murray said that it was “an interesting decision not to showcase the one shining light [triple grand-slam champion Andy Murray] in British tennis”.
A frustrated Murray also criticised the LTA for failing to take advantage of tennis’s increased visibility in Scotland, saying that he found the lack of investment “f---ing annoying”.
Relations between the LTA and the Murrays have been distant for some time, but there had been hopes that the arrival of Scott Lloyd in the chief executive’s chair at the start of last year might improve matters.
Instead, the latest tension comes after an embarrassing start to 2019 in which the LTA took several days to acknowledge Andy Murray’s emotional declaration that this was likely to be his final season. That same week, the younger Murray brother told reporters that “I am not sure Britain has really capitalised on the last seven or eight years of success”.
This was the context for Friday’s LTA rebrand, which was smuggled out with little media fanfare. The five-year plan to expand participation was accompanied by a new logo, which surprisingly chose to row back from the more modern-sounding “British Tennis” towards the organisation’s traditional name.
The LTA’s 36-page mission statement featured photographs of Katie Boulter and Katie Swan, a pair of rising young players. The accompanying video included clips of four more established names – Kyle Edmund, Johanna Konta, Cameron Norrie and Heather Watson. But there was no sign of the Murrays.
Miranda Hart, who is one of Britain’s more prominent celebrity tennis fans, told her 2.3m Twitter followers that “Seeing his [Andy Murray’s] lob and then collapse after winning the Davis Cup would be the natural, inspiring clip."
Meanwhile the Scottish National Party MP Gavin Newlands tweeted that “This is very disappointing, but sadly, not a big surprise [and highlights] just how out of touch the LTA actually are. Far from establishing a Murray legacy, they are airbrushing it out.”
Jamie Murray – now ranked as the world’s eighth-best doubles player – addressed the issue in Miami on Monday night. “I don't know what their [the LTA’s] goal is,” he told reporters, when asked about the rebrand. “But I do know that it's important to have role models for kids to look up to. I would assume that Andy certainly is a pretty big role model in this country, not just for tennis but across all sport.”
Jamie Murray was then asked about the legacy question, which his mother Judy raised again only ten days ago in a joint press release that was also signed by Tennis Scotland’s chief executive Blane Dodds. “Whoever is to blame for the situation in Scotland, particularly for not capitalising on the interest levels in tennis that we have been able to create for the last 10 years or whatever, it's ----ing annoying,” he said. “Who knows what's going to happen with Andy? If he stops playing tomorrow, then it feels like a completely wasted opportunity.”
In a statement, the LTA said “This document outlines the LTA’s vision to open up tennis to new people and communities. The only imagery featuring elite tennis is of two female athletes both on the LTA’s player pathway, to illustrate the section in the document about development. Andy Murray is the greatest champion we have seen and he rightly features across our website and in many of our publications.
“The LTA is in active talks with Andy and his team about how best to translate his phenomenal success into a lasting legacy for our sport, and opening up tennis to new communities at a grassroots level is exactly the type of legacy he has said he wants to see.”
The LTA has long battled an error-prone reputation. Only last week, the organisation was revealed to have undertaken renovation work on the clay courts at Roehampton’s National Tennis Centre just as Britain’s elite players are looking for a venue where they can start their preparations for the European clay-court swing.
Meanwhile the controversial ATP board member Justin Gimelstob - who was strongly linked to the recent ousting of ATP president Chris Kermode - is to be arraigned in front of the Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday on felony battery charges. Gimelstob has previously insisted that he will fight to clear his name.
