National Tennis Centre (United Kingdom)

Construction

The National Tennis Centre was built in response to a 1999 review by the LTA of the reasons for its sustained failure to produce world class tennis players (the only British players of either sex to make the world top fifty in the 1990s were Tim Henman, who did not come up through the LTA system, and Greg Rusedski, who learned to play in Canada). It was inspired by the national tennis centres in the more successful tennis nations of France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and the United States and serves as a focus for high performance players and coaches.

Previously the LTA's elite training facilities were at Queen's Club, but they were deemed inadequate for the purpose and Queen's is better known as a social club for wealthy Londoners rather than as a centre of sporting excellence. The LTA sold Queen's Club back to the club members. The south-west London location was chosen because it is close to the All England Club, home of the Wimbledon Championships, and many leading British players live in the area.

The National Tennis Centre was designed by Hopkins Architects, the designers of Portcullis House.

The Centre was criticised in 2009 for financial waste and for not producing world class tennis players.

The Sport Canopy won a British Construction Industry Awards in 2011.

The centre closed in September 2014. Under the new model overseen by the LTA's chief executive, Michael Downey, the NTC was to remain the administrative headquarters of the organisation, but the elite players were only to use the 22 courts for occasional training camps.

References

References

1. (29 March 2007). "The Queen opens new tennis centre". BBC Sport.
2. (3 April 2012). "LTA chief Roger Draper's job under scrutiny as funding is cut by Sport England over drop in players". The Daily Telegraph.
3. Will Hunter. (8 July 2009). "Hopkins Architects' Bill Taylor revisits the firm's National Tennis Centre at Roehampton". [[Building Design]].
4. (2 October 2009). "Lawn Tennis Association spent £500,000 a year on canteen, reports claim". The Guardian.
5. (2011). "Winners 2011". bciawards.org.uk.
6. Briggs, Simon. "LTA scraps £40m National Tennis Centre at Roehampton seven years after it opened". The Daily Telegraph.