LTA upbeat despite fall in Wimbledon profits

The pre-tax profit from the Wimbledon Championships was £25.6m, a drop of £6.44m on last year's figure and the lowest surplus for nine years. There was a decrease in international television revenue, partly because the All England Club favoured terrestrial coverage, and a rise in the tournament's insurance premiums, a knock-on effect of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

Profits from the Championships are handed to the Lawn Tennis Association, the All England Club's partners in running the tournament, to invest back into the British game. Since 1981, when the surplus exceeded £1m for the first time, the LTA has received £420.55m. During that time, Britain has seen only two players advance to the world's top 10: Tim Henman, from Oxfordshire, and Greg Rusedski, who was born and raised in Canada.

John Crowther, the LTA's chief executive, managed to sound upbeat when the latest figures were announced yesterday. "To achieve our goal of delivering 'more players and better players' there remains a lot to be done," he said, "but we believe that we are on the right path and need the help of all those in British tennis to make this a reality.

"The LTA remains committed to reinvesting 100 per cent of its income back into the game by concentrating efforts and resources on three key priorities of attracting and retaining junior members, creating a vibrant and accessible club network and delivering our performance plan."

About £7.3m was spent delivering the performance programme, which includes financial support for more than 600 players aged between eight and 21, and £13m was dedicated to grass roots funding for facilities for clubs, schools and local authorities. Since June 2001 the LTA has opened 18 tennis clubs in major cities. There are 565 accredited mini-tennis clubs and centres and 48,000 children play mini-tennis. Tennis clubs have attracted 25,000 new members.

Only four of an intended seven new academies have gone ahead, the project having been "rationalised", the LTA said, partly because there were not enough talented young players to necessitate three further acadamies. Plans to build a £39m National Tennis Centre, incorporating new LTA headquarters, in Roehampton, remain on course.