LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd insists British tennis is “moving in the right direction” despite having just three direct entries in Friday’s Wimbledon singles draws.
Cameron Norrie, a semi-finalist at the All England Club in 2022, Dan Evans and two-time winner Andy Murray are the only UK players to have qualified for the Championships based on ranking.
British participation at SW19 will be swelled by a host of wildcards, including Katie Boulter, who replaced the injured Emma Raducanu as her country’s number one female player earlier this month.
National governing body CEO Lloyd believes there are plenty of reasons for positivity.
“Over the last 12 months, we’ve had four men in the top 50 of the world, which we’ve never had in the history of our sport in this country before,” he told the PA news agency.
“We actually had more players – men’s and women’s singles players – in the top 200 of the world than we’ve had for the last 40 years, so we’re moving in the right direction.
“Obviously we always want more players at the very top of the game inspiring the fans to follow tennis and to watch on their televisions and that’s very much what we’re striving for.
“We’re looking forward to a good Championships.”
The enforced withdrawals of 2021 US Open champion Raducanu (wrists and ankle) and Jack Draper (shoulder) have deprived Britain of two of its most talented young players for the Grand Slam tournament.
Norrie, who is ranked 13th in the world, is the only seeded British player, with Evans, Murray and the wildcard entrants at risk of drawing a star name in the first round.
While there was a complete absence of British players in the women’s singles draw at this year’s French Open, that doom and gloom has been eased by a raft of encouraging results on grass, including world number 88 Boulter beating compatriot Jodie Burrage to win her first WTA title in Nottingham.
“I think we’re the only nation in the world that has had a men’s and a women’s Grand Slam singles champion and doubles and mixed doubles champion in the last decade,” continued Lloyd, speaking in Eastbourne as part of a £30million investment by the Government and LTA which has led to 1,000 public tennis courts across the UK being refurbished.
“And I think ourselves and Spain are the only nations in the world that have had men’s and women’s singles champions (during that time).
“We’re right up there at the top of the game but obviously we want to keep doing better and better.”
Swiatek soars into Madrid Open last 16 after dropping just two games against Cirstea
Iga Swiatek stormed through to the Madrid Open last 16 following a dominant straight-sets victory over Sorana Cirstea.
The world number one dropped just two games as she inflicted a comprehensive 6-1 6-1 rout on her Romanian opponent in the Spanish capital.
Swiatek, who was runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in last year's event, will play Sara Sorribes Tormo in the round of 16 after the Spaniard defeated two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka.
The Pole is now 26-4 for the season, in which she has already triumphed at the Qatar Open and Indian Wells Open, as she eyes the ninth WTA 1000 singles title of her career.
Data debrief
Swiatek is through to her sixth round of 16 from seven main-draw appearances in WTA 1000 events on clay (85.7 per cent) - the highest percentage rate among players with at least five such appearances since the format's introduction in 2009.
The three-time French Open champion also boasts the best WTA match win rate of any player since 2000 on clay (87 per cent). Overall, only Chris Evert (94.5 per cent), Margaret Court (89.5 per cent) and Steffi Graf (89.2 per cent) boast a higher percentage in the Open Era.
Alcaraz begins Madrid Open campaign with emphatic win
Carlos Alcaraz continued his fine record at the Madrid Open with an emphatic 6-2 6-1 victory over Alexander Shevchenko on Friday.
The two-time defending champion made it 12 straight wins at his home tournament to ensure he will face Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in the last 32.
Alcaraz was playing his first match on the ATP Tour since March 28 after being unable to compete in the Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open due to an arm injury.
But he was still able to make a fine start to his clay-court season, breaking serve in the first game and racing to victory in only one hour and eight minutes.
Data Debrief
Sometimes the scoreline can be harsh on a beaten player, but on this occasion Alcaraz was clearly dominant, breaking the Kazakh seven times in the match and forcing 11 break-point opportunities while conceding only three for his opponent.
That allowed the Spaniard to claim a dominant victory despite being broken once in each set. He will now turn his attention to a clash with Seyboth Wild, who battled past Lorenzo Musetti with a 6-4 6-4 win.
Reigning champion Sabalenka pushed by Linette at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka got her Madrid Open campaign started with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over Magda Linette on Friday.
Sabalenka could not quite hit her peak form against Linette, but the world number two nevertheless got the job done after going the distance.
The Belarusian is hunting a record-equalling third title in Madrid, where she is the reigning champion, though she has not won back-to-back matches at a tournament since winning the Australian Open.
"It's not about being confident," Sabalenka said. "It's about how much you're ready to do to get it. It's about the hard work and to be ready, be ready for the big fights. I feel like confidence is not going to help you in those big matches. It's about staying there and fighting for it."
Data Debrief
Sabalenka (70 per cent, 56-24) is now one of five active players since 2020 to hold a winning percentage of 70 per cent or higher at WTA-1000 events.
Iga Swiatek, Simona Halep, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula are the other players to feature on that list.
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