This is my son Rob's effort to explain issues affecting the overall structure of tennis in the UK and the performance of those gaining access to clubs where excellence was achieved. I can relate directly to Rob's discussion having chosen to live in Wimbledon in order to gain access to the venues of the game. Coming from Ontario, I was impressed how easy it was for me to join a good social club, Wimbledon Westside, and how much access players had to the Wimbledon Club, down the hill. At Westside, tennis was very much a social activity being one of a group and very different from the clubs I frequented in Montreal and Toronto where the emphasis was always on winning within a style of acceptable play. It was, decidedly expensive. In Longueuil, I was able to play for free on clay courts against players that enjoyed a style of game that was not a winning game. It was tough, fast and aggressive, low, hard, and extremely stylish. One fell in love with the game style and really enjoyed playing just those players who knew the style. There was no social divide. I played always against French speakers in a town 98 percent French speaking. Competitions were arranged across Canada and players from the Longueuil Club would play in Chicago as well. What mattered was achieving a level of the accepted style of play that could win matches. This was extremely difficult. Since that time, I have not seen the same level of stylish enjoyable play, just games that pit player against player in order to win at any cost. Style is not now part of that equation and more is the pity. Wimbledon is known for its lawn tennis, but there was access to table tennis and top British players. On my attempt, I was told I won if I scored one point. Ouch, my match was against Britain's top player, who taught me humility if nothing else.
