Andy Murray brands East Kilbride tennis court a 'shambles'
- Published
Allan Kay's daughter at the tennis court in East Kilbride
Andy Murray has served up support for an East Kilbride man's campaign to get his local tennis courts up-to-scratch.
Allan Kay tweeted a picture, external of his daughter Matilda, 8, beside the weed-ridden courts with a plea for help.
The two-time Wimbledon champion tweeted "shambles" and his mother, Judy Murray, also offered to help.
South Lanarkshire Leisure, which runs facilities for the local council, said it was unable to bring the courts back into use due to budget restrictions.
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Mr Kay told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime programme that the condition of his local court was "abysmal".
It means that his daughter, a keen tennis player, has no free-to-play courts on which to practice.
"It's the original red ash that I used to play on when I was a child, there are no markings on the pitch and at present the weeds are about three-and-a-half, four feet high," he said.
"And there's about seven or eight wheelie bins stored in it now."
'Left to ruin'
He said that he had been told that some locals cleaned it up last year but a week later the council removed the nets "to stop people using it".
Mr Kay tweeted Andy Murray, his mother Judy and brother Jamie in hope of getting some advice.
He wrote: "Can you please help? This is our tennis courts in East Kilbride. Our council can't help.
"It's been left to ruin and left full of bins now and kids have nowhere to play tennis apart from paying a club membership at private club."
Since then "it grew arms and legs" with thousands of views and interactions.
And Mr Kay said it was "absolutely fantastic" that the former world number one got involved.
"I asked their advice because with out local council we seemed to be getting nowhere, as have other people," he added.
"With them being the tennis gurus, coaches, winners, I thought I'd ask their help about how we could persuade our council."
Andy's mum Judy, who is a tennis coach, also offered help, external and added: "Good luck. Derelict courts all over the country. Makes me so sad… and mad."
In a statement, David Booth, general manager of South Lanarkshire Leisure, said: "Access to East Kilbride's tennis courts were previously provided for free and were unstaffed.
"Over time this has led to a deterioration of the equipment and the taped lines.
"The council's land services teams did provide maintenance on the surface through weed control and rolling, though not in the last year and a half as grounds maintenance staff were utilised in other areas to assist with the council's response to the Covid-19 pandemic."
Mr Booth said the council recognised the advantages of bringing the courts back into use.
But he added the cost was prohibitive under under current budget restrictions "unless capital funding can be sourced and/or alternative options for service delivery emerge".