Tennis: Funding cut for Wimbledon

LONDON: The United Kingdom Lawn Tennis Association has had its funding cut after a series of mesmerising Wimbledon finals and the success of Andy Murray failed to inspire Britons to take up the sport. Sport England, the government-backed development agency, said in a statement yesterday that Britain’s tennis body had agreed to accept a reduction of £530,000 in the light of disappointing participation figures. A survey showed the average number of English adults playing tennis at least once a week has declined from 487,500 in 2007-08 to 375,800 in the latest update. “No decision to reduce funding is taken lightly but Sport England has been clear that failure to achieve the agreed growth in a sport would lead to a governing body’s overall funding levels being reviewed,” said Sport England Chief Executive Jennie Price.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2012.