Evans rants about 'elitist' British tennis, believes it should be more accessible to middle class: "I’m not interested in how a doctor’s son does"

Dan Evans called for more diversity and greater accessibility in British tennis.

The 33-year-old tennis player has had a long journey to establish himself among the world's best. Although he reached the top 50 in mid-2017, injuries kept him away from the sport and he even found himself without a ranking. In 2019, he surpassed his previous best ranking and has since maintained consistency to be around the top 30.

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Evans, who is the son of an electrician father and a nurse mother, has had a successful career. He won the 2015 Davis Cup with his country, teaming up with Andy Murray, Jamie Murray, James Ward, and Kyle Edmund. The former world No. 22 spoke about the opportunities in tennis, which has traditionally been seen as an elite sport.

"I speak out because I care about the sport.

People always think it’s against the governing body (the LTA) but it’s not that. I’m not interested in how a doctor’s son does in the sport, I’m really not. I couldn’t care less. I’m interested in somebody who’s struggled a bit,” Evans said.

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“Paul Jubb’s story is an amazing story but it’d be amazing for some for him to get inside the top 100. I’m not saying people who have it harder feel a better level of relief or satisfaction when they get inside 100 or they do something good, but it just strikes a chord with me how good that is,”

“And I know what it feels like. I never, ever wanted as a child. But it feels good to be comfortable. It’s an amazing feeling. And it’s an amazing thing to get success in such a big sport in the world where you probably shouldn’t be doing that if you grew up at a little tennis club,” he added.

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“It’s a pretty cool thing. And that’s why I look out for the other people from that sort of background. It’s only right. People get selfish when they get good. And they don’t care at all about anybody else,” Evans concluded.

The British player is the 27th seed for Wimbledon and will play his first-round match against Frenchman Quentin Halys on Monday.

Matt

@MattLittleSandC

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Replying to @MattLittleSandC

……..oh ok 🙄 and there were a few decent tennis players on court with us!

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