Tennis coach Mike Martin encourages young players to look abroad for opportunities
Mike Martin believes sport is taken more seriously in other countries, such as the United States and Australia, and highlighted the scale of the provision available to players who choose to further their abilities abroad.
It comes on the heels of Cradlehall youngster Isabelle Wallace changing her representation to Australia rather than Great Britain, citing better support and mentorship available from Tennis Australia than the Lawn Tennis Association. She lived in Australia for six years with her family and possesses an Australian passport, making her eligible to represent them.
Martin, who runs his own tennis academy in Inverness and owns the lease on Bellfield Park, revealed he has encouraged one of his best talents, Ewan McKinnie, to pursue a tennis scholarship in America rather than continue his development in the United Kingdom.
“I see that as a great opportunity to continue his education, see the world and give a more realistic route to becoming a full-time player,” he said. “I think, in this country, we don’t take sport as seriously as other countries.
“Football has a structure in place, which is fantastic, but other sports don’t get the same kudos. As a result, other sports end up becoming minority sports.
“One of my coaches is off to America with a facility that has 96 courts of all different surfaces. I’ve got friends in Adelaide which has over 90 public courts. Compare that to the tennis club here and Bellfield Park, where we have eight between the two.”
Funding and participation numbers play a big part in the success of the sport, with Martin pointing to the funding cuts suffered by basketball and tennis in the UK. The policy of awarding funding based on Olympic success, particularly for tennis, Martin branded “ludicrous for the average person”.
The problem of increased participation has been metered by the advent of free initiatives, such as Tennis For Free and parkrun in athletics, allowing the respective sports to register participant numbers when pushing for funding.
Meanwhile, the Lawn Tennis Association has responded to Wallace’s claim that the organisation’s methods of developing players does not help them.
A statement said that the LTA had provided Wallace with support such as tournament wildcards, coaching and funded trips abroad throughout 2015 and over the last few years.
“Player support, in its many forms, is always in relation to the player’s overall performance level,” the statement read. “We respect Isabelle’s decision in this instance and wish her well in her future aspirations.”