Bob Brett plans to overhaul British tennis as Aussie hired by LTA

13 June 2014 12:46

Australian coach Bob Brett has been hired as the Lawn Tennis Association's player development director with the remit of overhauling the development of British players.

LTA chief executive Michael Downey asked Brett to carry out a 60-day review of British tennis in February and the first result is the Australian's full-time appointment on a rolling contract.

Although Scotland's Andy Murray is the reigning Wimbledon champion, it took 77 years for Britain to produce the first homegrown male singles winner at the All England Club since Fred Perry.

World number five Murray is currently the only British male in the world top 100, while Heather Watson and Laura Robson are currently 69 and 80 in the women's rankings

And LTA chiefs want the highly-regarded Brett, who has coached former Wimbledon champions Boris Becker and Goran Ivanisevic, to ensure the coaching of the country's future Wimbledon hopefuls is of a higher standard than at present.

Brett will swap his home in Monaco for London when he starts his new role in September, with Leon Smith and Iain Bates, heads of men's and women's tennis respectively, reporting directly to him.

"We are darn lucky to get a talent like Bob on a full-time basis," Downey said on Friday.

"He has a been-there-done-that level that's difficult to find. He has truly lived in the trenches with the best and against the best.

"Bob isn't coming in here thinking there's a magic wand for things to change in six to 12 months - he wants to make a commitment.

"Having Bob sit behind a desk is a waste of time, he is a world-class coach, but he will influence our direction and culture. He redefines work ethic and back-to-basic attention to detail.

"We are getting great value for Bob Brett, I really do believe he fits within the new, leaner, mindset within the LTA.

"It's about coming back to basics. He said to me he thinks we have too many bells and whistles. It's about attention to detail."

Canadian Downey has been tasked with streamlining the LTA and said the board are fully behind Brett's plans for change.

"We've learned a lesson about making grandiose statements about where we're going to go in this country," Downey added.

"The board has accepted we're not getting the results we should be getting as a nation."

Source: AFP