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 seals Italian Open hat-trick after soaring past Sabalenka
Iga Swiatek stormed to her third Italian Open title following a dominant 6-2 6-3 victory over Aryna Sabalenka.
The world number one took just under an hour-and-a-half to deny the world number two, and complete a hat-trick of triumphs in Rome.
The pair were contesting a second final in as many events, with Swiatek saving three championship points before eventually prevailing in the Madrid Open showpiece a fortnight ago.
However, it was one-way traffic this time around. The Pole converted two out of three break points as she controlled the opening set.
Sabalenka was the last player to deny Swiatek in a WTA final, that coming at last year's Madrid Open.
Although, the second seed was helpless as her opponent broke again in game seven of the second set, before wrapping up a fourth title of the season ahead of the French Open later this month.
Data debrief
Landing her third Italian Open title before turning 23, Swiatek is only the second player to achieve that feat after Gabriela Sabatini.
In fact, at 22 years and 352 days old, she is the youngest player to win 10 WTA 1000 titles since the introduction of the format in 2009.
The Pole also became the third player to triumph in Madrid and Rome during the same season, after Dinara Safina (2009) and Serena Williams (2013).
Jarry defeats Paul to set up Zverev showdown in Italian Open final
Nicolas Jarry defeated Tommy Paul in three sets on Friday to set up a showdown with Alexander Zverev in the Italian Open final.
The men's world number 24 prevailed 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 in a little under three hours in Rome to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final.
Jarry earned the only break of serve in the eighth game of the opening set, but Paul - who dropped just one set in four matches en route to this stage - hit back in the second.
Birthday boy Paul lost serve to trail 4-2 at one stage, but he produced one of the shots of the tournament at the ideal moment and soon dragged it back to 4-4.
A gruelling set concluded with Paul taking the tie-break 7-3, but Jarry was unperturbed and won the deciding set with his fifth match point to see off Paul in a gruelling contest.
Data Debrief:
Jarry is the third male Chilean in the Open Era to reach the singles final of the Italian Open after Marcelo Rios (1997-98) and Fernando Gonzalez (2007).
The 28-year-old registered 13 aces against Paul to his opponent's seven and hit 35 winners to 19 in a deserved victory.
Zverev ends Tabilo's dream run to reach Italian Open final
Alexander Zverev fought back from the brink to reach the Italian Open final on Friday, overcoming Alejandro Tabilo by a 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 scoreline in the last four.
Zverev was punished for a slow start as Tabilo took the opener within 32 minutes, but the German fought back in a one-hour, 15-minute slog of a second set.
The 2017 Italian Open champion put his foot down from 3-3 in the second-set tie-break, with Tabilo potentially feeling the effects of a fine run that included a last-32 upset of Novak Djokovic.
Zverev upped the intensity in the final set and won a huge 94 per cent of points behind his first serve as his opponent wilted, the third seed reaching the Rome final for a third time.
Data Debrief: Zverev draws level with Becker
Zverev will now face either Nicolas Jarry or Tommy Paul in Sunday's final, which will be his 11th at ATP 1000 Masters level.
That tally pulls him level with Boris Becker for most such finals by a German player since the format's 1990 introduction.
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