TIM Henman believes that Oxfordshire has made great strides in junior tennis - but says that they still have a long way to go.

The former British No 1, who retired last year, was brought up in the county as a youngster before leaving Oxford's Dragon School to attend Reed School, Cobham on a tennis scholarship.

Reed School was attached to the David Lloyd Academy, and it was there that Henman developed.

Although Oxfordshire had no indoor facilities when he was young, he is not convinced that he would have stayed in the county even if it did.

But Henman, who lives at Aston Tirrold, near Didcot, says in an exclusive interview with the Oxford Mail that it is imperative that any county hangs on to its best players if possible, and Oxfordshire is no exception.

"There were no indoor facilities at all in Oxfordshire when I was growing up, and that simply had to change," he said.

"It's fine in the summer months when the weather means that you could be outdoors, but you have to play tennis all year round and it is no good if you are unable to play for six months of the year.

"I got very lucky because the David Lloyd Scholarship was a unique opportunity and if you get offered that, you don't turn it down if you want to progress.

"But without any indoor facilities, Oxfordshire was always going to struggle to hold onto its best players.

"That has changed now, but there is still massive room for improvement."

Henman admitted that developing youngsters was a subject close to his heart, and hinted that he may take on a more active role in years to come.

"I am enjoying my retirement very much at the moment," he said.

"Spending time with my wife and children means a great deal after I was forced to spend so long away from them so I am not going to make any firm plans for what I might and will do later.

"But it is no secret that I feel very strongly about tennis in Britain and we don't produce world class players like we should be able to.

"The bigger picture is simple - we need to improve in everything we do regarding developing youngsters.

"The top of our game here is till not great, and it needs better facilities and better coaches to get players there.

"Give me a couple of years and I may be back trying to help resolve that!"

9:59pm Thursday 15th May 2008

Print

Email this