Gavin Newlands MP welcomes increased funding to support Scottish tennis
The SNP’s Spokesperson for Sport at Westminster, Gavin Newlands MP, has welcomed the announcement from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) that they are to increase their level of funding to support tennis in Scotland.
Gavin Newlands MP has previously called on the LTA to increase their funding to support the growth of tennis in Scotland and to build on the success of the Murray brothers.
Earlier this month, Mr Newlands invited Judy Murray and the Chair of Tennis Scotland, Blane Dodds, to a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Scottish Sport to discuss how Scottish tennis is supported and what work is being done to establish a Murray Legacy.
A "historic" funding initiative for tennis in Scotland will be made public this morning after the boards of the LTA, Tennis Scotland and Sportscotland agreed a "multi-million" pound package to help develop the sport north of the border.
Commenting, Gavin Newlands MP said:
“I am delighted to see that the LTA has acknowledged our calls to increase their level of financial support for tennis in Scotland.
“Scottish tennis has been punching well above its weight in recent years. In addition to Andy Murray who is world number one – and who has just been named Sports Personality of the Year for the third time - Jamie Murray and Gordon Reid are also world number ones in their respective fields.
“The success that our tennis superstars have achieved is fantastic but we have to build upon this to ensure that children everywhere have the opportunity to play tennis.
“I welcome the decision of the LTA to increase their level of funding for Scottish tennis to enable the sport in Scotland to build a Murray Legacy that will benefit generations to come.” Mr Newlands has also spoken about the possibility of tennis being part on the proposed sports village at Ferguslie Park. “I have spoken with both Tennis Scotland Renfrewshire Leisure about the possibility of tennis being available at the proposed sports village at Ferguslie Park. Obviously this project is at a very early stage, however, I was keen to bring these two organisations together to find out what can be done to ensure tennis has a strong presence in this proposed facility.
