The state of British tennis

“British men's tennis is in its most perilous state for more than 20 years” – that’s the view of BBC 5 Live's Jonathan Overend.

These remarks have came in response to England’s 4-1 thrashing by a powerful Argentinean team in the Davis Cup. Without Andy Murray, who pulled out of the tournament in order to protect himself from injury, the young team went to Buenes Aires to face an unbelievable task.

Argentina finished day one with a 2-0 lead and didn’t drop a set as they took instant control against the inexperienced side. Alex Bogdanovic summed up Britain’s apparent lack of talent when he said: “I wasn't expected to win and I must move on from this and learn.” This was regarding his defeat to world number 41 Agustin Calleri.

David Nalbandian, world number nine, demolished Jamie Baker in less than two hours. Britain’s highest ranked player in the match was Bogdanovic who is ranked 203rd in the world and in comparison Argentina boasts two other top 20 players, in addition to Nalbandian, who didn’t even feature against the British hopefuls.

If Britain are to lose the next round of matches they will be relegated from the world’s elite 16 league and there was some debate as to why Britain were missing their star man Andy Murray. He told the press that he was unable to play as he didn’t wish to risk aggravating an injury by switching to clay courts to play in the matches. This was met by disbelief from his brother and fellow Great British team member, Jamie Murray who told the BBC: “It was a shock to me and for the team, very disappointing - I was not aware he had a problem. It's disappointing he chose not to come and it kind of affects the way we feel about him. If he wanted to really push himself he could have come here.”

Tim Henman, regardless of whether you classed him as a success or a failure, was the figure head of British tennis and with him around we always stood a chance in cups and tournaments. And his honesty and determination couldn’t be questioned even by his biggest critics.

However, when he quit the game he made way for billed wonderkid Andy Murray who quickly began to shoot up the rankings and become the spearhead for British tennis. Now, Andy is a respected pro who is thought of as a potential world number 1 as he matures with age and experience.

What is happening to British tennis?

When Wimbledon is in full flow the country goes mad with ‘cup fever’ but for what reason? No English playerThe tournament is classed as maybe the top prize in world tennis to many pros but maybe this is an insult to tennis when Britain continues to offer less and less (in terms of players) to the game. Strawberries and cream, the possibility of rain, the banter of John McEnroe it’s all there and sets up great tennis but what does Britain offer the world of tennis other than just strawberries and cream? Nothing.

There are ways in which we can offer reasons why there are few (if only one) top British players in the world. Is it declining interest in the sport or lack of ambition and endeavour in tennis clubs? It’s probably a combination of factors, the lack of top players (ie, celebrity status) and a winning mentality coupled with tennis clubs maybe not striving to make the kids push on. The perception of tennis is that it isn’t macho or rewarding. The back pages of newspapers tend to be saved for anything but: football, rugby, cricket and even motor-racing but very rarely do you see a headline sport story focused on tennis. You're lucky to see a tennis story.

Recently however the Lawn Tennis Association and their Clubvision plan in particular have made new, exciting plans for the sport: telling clubs to appoint trained coaches and releasing more money for equipment.

Only time will tell and we can only hope that British tennis improves from the position it’s in to producing world-class players.