Sport England have reacted to disappointing tennis participation results by cutting funding for the sport by over £500,000.
A Sport England Active People survey revealed that the average number of adults playing tennis at least once a week has declined from 487,500 in 2007-08 to 375,800.
The Lawn Tennis Association's chief executive, Roger Draper, admitted that the results were disappointing and said the organisation had accepted the drop in funding.
"We continue to work closely with Sport England in order to grow tennis," said Draper. "Like other sports we face a huge challenge to increase the numbers playing tennis regularly in challenging economic times but participation is our top priority."
The total cut in funding is £530,000 and this is despite more encouraging talent development figures on the junior side.
Sport England's chief executive Jennie Price said: "No decision to reduce funding is taken lightly, but Sport England has been clear that failure to achieve the agreed growth in a sport would lead to a governing body's overall funding levels being reviewed."
The British Judo Association (BJA) also had their funding cut, by £353,000, and both sports have since been given new participation targets.
Pascal Lemesre
