WIMBLEDON is upon us which can only mean one thing – the annual British agony over our lack of top players.

Of course, the nation expects of Andy Murray, and hopes of Laura Robson and Heather Watson, but after that the well is pretty much dry.

Despite the sport being comparatively rich, participation remains modest and the considerable millions that have been invested in recent years have not yielded the champions that were hoped for.

Even Murray is not exactly a product of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), who oversee the game in this country, having moved to Spain at 15 to train at one of their much-vaunted academies.

‘A long way to go’ It’s a big summer for British tennis, with Sport England deciding in December to put on hold £10.3m of its £17.4m funding as they ordered improvements to the LTA’s participation plan.

It is that worry over a lack of participation that is at the heart of the problem.

Sport England chairman Nick Bitel said last week that this the summer would be “critical” for tennis.

He said: “The LTA is an organisation that understands participation has to be at heart of what it is doing.”

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight LTA have been able to proudly trumpet their role.

There has been £941,866 spent on facilities since 2009, 17,446 British tennis members are in the region and 81.3 per cent of schools in the area are supported by their AEGON schools scheme – that equates to £233,500 invested.

Even Prime Minister David Cameron has waded into the debate ahead of Wimbledon.

“I think we should commend the LTA for the work they are doing to try and make tennis much more of a mass participation sport,” he said.

“I see it in the primary school my children go to where more tennis is being taught and played.

“It’s still got a long way to go and the Lawn Tennis Association have to satisfy Sport England and all of the funding bodies that they are doing everything they can to make this a mass participation sport.”

The participation figures show that 0.424m people are playing tennis – but with LTA chief executive Roger Draper, who was earning £640,000 a year – yet to be replaced, the future remains slightly uncertain.

It has prompted former English tennis star, Tim Henman, to exclaim: “It’s frustrating because there is no magic secret. If you look at Spain and France, who have way more players in the top 100, the base of their pyramid is vast compared to the British system.

“They have so many kids playing.

“But it’s not purely a n u m b e r s game.

“We need to get the best athletes – those who are in the first teams for football, rugby, hockey and cricket – with a racket in their hands.

“You need massive investment at the bottom and strong leadership from the top.”