Andy Murray blasts Wimbledon and LTA bosses for their lack of diversity at boardroom level
ANDY MURRAY has blasted Wimbledon and LTA bosses for their lack of diversity at boardroom level.
Taking to his Instagram story, the two-time Wimbledon champion expressed his surprise about the backgrounds of those running tennis in the UK and the sport’s biggest Slam.
On his Instagram page, Muzza posted a screenshot to an interview with Mal Washington, who lost to Dutchman Richard Krajicek in the 1996 Wimbledon final.
The American, 51, was the last black male pro to play in a major singles final at SW19.
In the Times article, Washington called for greater diversity at the All England Club and Lawn Tennis Association.
None of the 24 people on the respective boards are from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background. Though last night it was being reported Britain’s BJK Cup captain Anne Keothavong, who is of Laotian heritage, will be elected to the AELTC board by the end of the year.
Washington believes at the top levels of the sport that “representation needs to look a lot more like the citizenry”.
The Scot, 33, endorsed that view simply by writing “Tennis in 2020” accompanied with an eyebrow-raising, ‘cringe’ emoji face to relate to his younger online followers.
Even though he didn’t spell it out precisely, backing this call for change would have dropped like a bombshell in the south-west London corridors of power.
This is not out of character as those close to Murray will testify he is passionate about equality, race and sex issues on and off the court.
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Murray’s actions were praised by Coco Gauff, the 16-year-old American tennis star.
She saiid: “Nothing is wrong with asking for more diversity. For him to say that is definitely inspiring, especially with him being a man and white. For someone like him to call for diversity, it shows how great an ally he is.
“It’s important we do have diversity, because there are people from all over the world from different backgrounds and areas, and I think representation is important. At least for me, as a girl, seeing yourself in the media, seeing yourself being represented means a lot. I think that is important to other girls and boys. When they see [people like] themselves they might say, ‘Oh, maybe because they did it I can do it.'”
A LTA spokesperson said: “We are already recruiting for new members of the LTA Council and are about to commence succession planning for new LTA Board positions with a particular focus on improving diversity
“As such we will be welcoming applications from those with a BAME background.
“As our CEO Scott Lloyd said recently in an open letter, we know there is much more to be done but we are committed to opening tennis up to people from any background.”