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LTA not expected to produce champions - Draper

Roger Draper is taking a long-term approach to success at the LTA © Getty Images

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Roger Draper has defended his tenure at the head of British tennis and insists it is not his job to produce the next Andy Murray.

Draper was appointed chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association five years ago, but has been heavily criticised after failing to produce tangible results. When Draper took office, there were three Britons ranked in the top 100 (Andy Murray, Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski) - now Murray is the sole Brit in the top 200. However, Draper insists it will take another five years before British tennis reaps the results.

"I've always said it takes 10 years to transform a sport," Draper said in the Independent.

"We don't come in and think every day, 'How can we bugger up British tennis today?' We actually come in and work very hard to try to improve all of these things. The reason British tennis has lurched from one thing to another is because every five years it gets ripped up and started again. You need continuity."

While the LTA's job is to support and nuture talent players through avenues such as coaching, nutrition, and strength and conditioning, Draper insists it is not the role of the LTA to produce champions.

"Freddie Flintoff wasn't produced by the ECB and Wayne Rooney wasn't produced by the FA," he said.

Draper defended the high-profile appointments of the likes of Paul Annacone, Brad Gilbert and Peter Lundgren - all of whom have since left the LTA, with Annacone linking up with Roger Federer.

"On the one hand you could argue it has been a mistake in terms of instant results," Draper said. "Where I think we will actually see the benefits of people like Paul Annacone and Steve Martens and Carl Maes is the impact they've had on a lot of the young British coaches."

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