LTA eyes name change

The LTA: Under pressure to produce another Henman

BBC Sport's Iain Carter reports on moves to change the image of British tennis' governing body.

Lawn Tennis Association chief executive John Crowther is considering ditching the organisation's name.

The idea would form part of radical reforms aimed at making Britain competitive on the world stage.

Crowther told BBC Sport: "I think there is a case for changing the name and I think it should be considered very seriously.

"We have to think about it very carefully because once you change your name there is no going back.

"Rightly or wrongly, we get pilloried in the press about our elitist image.

We need to present the sport to the younger generation in a way that they perceive to be attractive

  LTA president Malcolm Gracie

"Changing the name of the LTA wouldn't actually make any difference to British tennis.

"But what it would do is evidence our strength and commitment to change British tennis to those unbelievers out there."

It would amount to one of the most radical and sensible steps in the LTA's 112-year history.

The word 'Lawn' is outdated and perpetuates the myth that tennis is a two-week-a-year sport in Britain that coincides with the Wimbledon fortnight.

Tennis GB appears the favourite new label for the governing body, which is likely to undergo further reforms to its current structure next year.

At the moment, the LTA's board reports to a 130-strong council.

It's fair to speculate the council may be asked to vote itself out of existence as the LTA seeks to incorporate the ethos of a privatised industry.

There has been no official confirmation of this, but LTA President Malcolm Gracie said: "I sense that our organisation, which is well over a hundred years old, recognises the need to get up to speed.

Crowther wants to change the LTA's "elitist" image

"We need to present the sport to the younger generation in a way that they perceive to be attractive, not in the way my generation in the past perceived it to be attractive.

"So in that sense I feel we have a much more modern approach than we have had in recent years.

"I don't preclude the possibility of further changes in our structure.

"A wise organisation is constantly looking at itself and trying to see where it can streamline structure and we're doing that."

The LTA receives more than £30 million a year from Wimbledon and is under pressure to deliver world class players.

Brave proposals to create an environment in which this is possible are in the pipeline.

"And banishing the organisation of the conservative image which has dogged it for years can only be beneficial to that aim."