The Sooner Wimbledon Ends The Better

I’ll tell you why, because, when it comes to the crunch, there are countless other sports children want to play before they pick up a tennis racquet. It isn’t widely played in schools and the whole tennis club thing gives it that air of snobbery which means it's not an all inclusive sport.

And then there is the media who spark the said debate every year, even though they only give the sport any coverage when Wimbledon is on. That’s two weeks a year. For the rest of the time, they don’t give a damn what is happening because people are more interested in their football, rugby and cricket teams.

There is more interest in golf, motor sport, athletics, even basketball than there is tennis. But, for a fortnight in June, we angrily ask why don’t we have any world class tennis players, slag off the people who run the game and then feel terrible when “Tiger Tim� Henman fails to reach the final for the umpteenth time.

I’ve never been a fan of the Henman mania bandwagon for reasons the above rant probably makes clear, but it also annoys me - I worked with his wife Lucy for one summer when I was at University and she was very nice - that people describe Tim as a loser.

This is a sportsman who was once ranked fourth best in the world. Imagine how we’d fall over ourselves if one of the England football team were the “fourth best player� in the world? He would be, in football terms, a legend, a true great and a winner, as well as a multi-millionaire many times over.

Henman - who isn’t short of a few bob mind - is a very talented tennis player who was never destined to be the best. He has had a wonderful career and I actually feel slightly sorry for him that, for two weeks of the year at least, he had the weight of a nation’s expectations on his shoulders.

That burden, which always looked in danger of crushing him, will be passed on to Andy Murray, a Scot who, for all of the millions invested in the Lawn Tennis Association, opted out of their coaching system because he didn’t feel it was helping his development. That’s quite damning isn’t it?

I suppose it is also quite damning that, as a sports reporter, I have such a dislike for a sport which is truly global in participation and interest.

As with most things, my hatred comes from personal experience. I don’t particularly like Tennis because I have very bad childhood memories of being 5-0 up against my dad in a game on holiday and losing 7-5 after I decided “ to take it easy� on the old fella.

I through one of the biggest strops ever, threw my racquet at him and never played a competitive game again, even though I was being coached, played for a club and was actually quite good. So there you go, phew, that was good to get off my chest.

I wonder if Sunderland have managed to sign anyone yet?!