The LTA was looking for a suitable replacement to Roger Draper and they have found a good one in the President of the Canadian Tennis!
Why it’s a good idea
Michael Downey has done a fantastic job in Canada. He got the post in 2004 and he has developed an incredible array of prospect players. At the apex of it there is Milos Raonic, but he is not the only one. You may have a look at Pospisil, probably Filip Peliwo (that has won Wimbledon and the US Open Juniores in 2012) and you can’t miss Genie Bouchard!
That was from a Canadian side. On the other part of the ocean things are rather bad. If you exclude Andy Murray (probably you should give the credit to his mother for his development), you can’t see any other tennis player in the top 100! The next in line is Daniel Evans (world no.157), then James Ward (no. 179), Daniel Cox (no.268)… and so on. This is definitely not acceptable for a nation with sucha big population and a huge passion for tennis, something is definitely wrong somewhere.
From Tennis Canada
John LeBoutillier, Chair of the Tennis Canada Board of Directors, said “Since joining the organization in 2004, Michael has done an outstanding job. He has helped strengthen Tennis Canada and grow tennis in Canada with a clear focus on performance. His leadership will be sorely missed as well as his passion for the sport.”
Michael Downey will start his new job the 6th of January taking the role from the interim the chief operating officer Nick Humby.
Good luck!
