Anne Keothavong nominated for position on Wimbledon board
Keothavong is the captain of Great Britain's Billie Jean King Cup team
Friday 23 October 2020 16:34, UK
Anne Keothavong is poised to become the only BAME representative at the highest administrative levels in British tennis.
Keothavong, a former British No 1, has been nominated for a position on the main board at Wimbledon.
The news comes at a time when there has been criticism of a lack of diversity at board level across British sport, with tennis particularly poorly represented.
There are currently no BAME representatives on either the main board of the All England Lawn Tennis Club or the Lawn Tennis Association.
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On Instagram, Andy Murray wrote a sarcastic message of "Tennis in 2020" followed by a cringing face emoji in response to a newspaper article drawing attention to this.
A statement from Wimbledon read: "The AELTC is delighted that Anne has been nominated by the committee to join the AELTC main board. However, the process for nominations and election remains a private matter for the club and its members until confirmed at the AGM."
Keothavong already has a high-profile role within the performance team at the LTA as captain of Great Britain's Billie Jean King Cup - formerly Fed Cup - team.
LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd has been outspoken in recent months about improving BAME representation at the governing body, which is currently looking for seven new council members who can "positively contribute to the diversity of our thoughts, ideas and approaches".
A spokesman said: "We are already recruiting for new members of the LTA council and are about to commence succession planning for new LTA board positions with a particular focus on improving diversity and as such will be welcoming applications from those with a BAME background.
"As our CEO Scott Lloyd said recently in an open letter, we know there is much more to be done but we are committed to opening tennis up to people from any background."
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