Brit Players looking for Clay Courts to practice
Leading Brit players have been caught off-guard with LTA deciding to dig up the clay courts at the National Tennis Centre in London, just ahead of the clay court season.
British No 2 Cameron Norrie – who lost in three sets in the Opening Round of the Miami Masters admitted that he had been intending to practise at the NTC ahead of his next commitment, the US Clay Court Championship which starts next month. “I saw they [the clay courts] were dug up but I just assumed they would be ready,” said Norrie.
“I am going to have to find somewhere else.”
With as many as 6 clay courts in NTC, only two of them were the kind used at the French Open. A LTA spokesman said that these “were in urgent need of addressing. The earliest opportunity to do this was in the spring of 2019. Performance coaches and players were notified of the changes. In the meantime, additional clay courts are provided nearby at Queen’s Club.”
Dominic Inglot too had some things to say about his pre-season training on clay. “I did my clay-court preparations on the green shale courts at the All England Club last year,” said Inglot. “I found that they were better to train on than the clay at the NTC.”
The LTA is also considering the installation of Padel courts in NTC, with the sport catching popularity across the globe.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2HNy0x1
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