Q&A with Tennis Scotland CEO Blane Dodds

Tennis Scotland CEO Blane Dodds (Image used with permission of Tennis Scotland)

It is a very interesting time in Scottish Tennis with the new National Tennis Academy in Stirling opening in September and renewed calls for other investment in the sport in Scotland.

The man in charge of the game’s governing body, Tennis Scotland is Blane Dodds. Formerly in charge of Scottish Golf, Dodds took his role with Tennis Scotland in late 2017.

He spoke to Fifteen-Love about his goals for the coming year, investment in the sport and much more.

Q. What is the priority for Tennis Scotland: participation or producing professional players?

In short, both! One feeds into the other – growing participation creates a healthier base and stronger competition. Helping develop professional players leads to role models who young people can look up to an aspire to, right from their very first hit.

We are currently in a good place with both of these things – tennis membership in Scotland has doubled over the last decade and more and more young people are enjoying access to the sport, while the success of Andy, Jamie and Gordon, not to mention Colin Fleming, have led to the likes of Aidan McHugh, Jonny O’Mara and Maia Lumsden to name just a few emerging as the next generation of Scottish tennis talent playing on the global stage.

Q. How important will the new GB National Tennis Academy in Stirling be for tennis in Scotland?

The GB National Tennis Academy at the University of Stirling is a huge step forward for tennis, not only in Scotland but across the UK. It will play a crucial role in helping Scotland and Britain become one of the most respected parts of the world for player development by providing bespoke programmes for young players during one of the most critical stages of their pathway.

This will be the first time Scotland will be able to deliver the complete junior pathway with some of the most talented juniors relocating from all over Britain and benefitting from a truly world-class coaching team comprising Leo Azevedo, Colin Fleming, Esteban Carril and Leon Smith.

All these things combined will create an environment designed to develop future champions aspiring to follow the incredible success of Andy Murray, Jamie Murray and Gordon Reid.

Q. Has Tennis Scotland made the most of the success of Andy Murray?

We are determined to do so – but the time is now. At Tennis Scotland, our strategic plan for the next four years is about Delivering the Legacy but we can achieve so much more with a collective push at this important stage.

We have a £15 million commitment from Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and sportscotland to provide more indoor facilities in Scotland and later this year we will be opening our GB National Tennis Academy in Stirling, but we need to look at all aspects of legacy. Facilities are one thing but we need many more people to deliver activity for all ages and stages so we must work more effectively and efficiently to build a nationwide workforce to deliver on that commitment.

We are supportive of the work of Judy, Andy and Jamie Murray - and particularly Judy Murray’s exciting plans to build a workforce from a base in Dunblane - but we will now step up the pace to get things done.

At Tennis Scotland, we are grateful for the support from sportscotland and LTA but we are open to exploring new ways of unlocking more funding for the collective benefit not just of tennis in Scotland but for the health and wellbeing of the country and its people.

Andy is arguably the greatest sportsperson Scotland has produced, and Jamie is a brilliant role model too, but they cannot play for ever so it is important we work together to ensure their legacy means something to future generations and that the path to tennis excellence can be achieved within this country, through thriving development and a world-class training environment.

We recently stated our commitment to working closely together to achieving that and we look forward to conversations with other stakeholders to help us deliver on that promise.

Q. What is your main goal for Tennis Scotland this year?

Our strategy covers many areas of the sport – growing participation to get more people playing tennis across Scotland, working to help our clubs across the country, supporting the performance of players, creating more indoor and outdoor facilities, developing a world-class workforce, helping the country’s health and wellbeing, providing a range of events and competitions to be experienced and showcasing tennis in Scotland and, finally, growing commercially to support all of these things.

Across all of that and more, we want tennis in Scotland to speak with one, united voice and to work together to create a lasting Murray legacy which will establish Scotland as a truly world-class tennis nation.

Q. How important is it to have a tournament like the Glasgow Challenger for tennis in Scotland?

Very important! We are all delighted that this event will be coming back to Glasgow this year. All the partners worked extremely hard to ensure it was a success last year and we had really positive feedback from both the players and spectators. We know that Scotland has a significant appetite for tennis events and I am sure that with Jamie Murray and other home players competing, the Scottish tennis public will again be enthralled by a spectacular event.

Everyone involved in tennis in Scotland will be thrilled that the Murray family’s immeasurable contribution to our sport is being celebrated in this latest way. As a significant partner supporting Murray Trophy – Glasgow, Tennis Scotland is committed to maximising the opportunity that is world class tennis on our doorstep to get more people than ever excited about and involved in the sport.

Q. Are you positive about the future of tennis in Scotland?

Absolutely, 100 per cent. So much progress has been made in the last few years and we are starting to see the fruits of that labour. All the building blocks are in place for us, Scotland as a nation working together, to create a brilliant future for tennis in this country and I’m truly excited to be leading an excellent, committed team of people who, like me, are determined to make that happen.