FORMER British number one tennis player Mark Cox has brought the Lawn Tennis Association's search for future tennis stars to Hampshire.

As part of a nationwide tour, Cox and other LTA coaches ran the rule over 16 of the most promising Hampshire players during a roadshow at the David Lloyd/Southampton Indoor Tennis Centre in Frogmore Lane to decide if they had the potential to be earmarked for a high-profile future.

But it wasn't only tennis ability that the coaches were looking for.

"All-round athleticism is also important as well as the determination to improve," said Cox, who is now the Futures programme director for the LTA. "The roadshow gives clubs and counties the chance to develop their most promising youngsters as part of a growing programme that is already beginning to produce players of real quality.

"We had more than 180 players join our Futures programme last year and we hope that even more will challenge for a place from the beginning of January, 2002."

The Hampshire youngsters, recommended by their own coaches and Hampshire LTA county performance office Mike Booth, won't know until next month whether they have been accepted for a Futures programme which provides intensive coaching and training, squad sessions, including several at the Bisham Abbey national centre, an intensive match programme of 60-80 matches per year and possible training camps and tournaments abroad.

But they have a good precedent for success with five Hampshire youngsters having been involved in the first year of the programme, launched last year by LTA director of performance Patrice Hagelauer.