Michael Downey to step down from LTA's top job

The Canadian, who will serve out six months' notice, is to return to his previous role as chief executive of Tennis Canada.

Downey, whose two sons live in Canada, cited his desire to return home as the driving force behind his departure, which came as a shock to staff at the LTA's Roehampton base.

He said: "I've been honoured to have led the LTA over the last three years, as we've sought to drive grass-roots tennis.

"While the opportunity for me to return to Tennis Canada coincided with my personal desire to return to my home country, I am hugely proud of the foundations the team at the LTA have laid in order to turn participation in Britain's beloved sport around.

"It's an exciting time for tennis in this country and I look forward to the next six months, maintaining the momentum we've built in our continued mission to get more people playing tennis, more often."

Downey joined the LTA in January 2014 and has overseen the most successful period for the sport in Britain in living memory.

Although the governing body can claim only limited credit for the success of the country's top players, the exploits of the likes of Sir Andy Murray and Johanna Konta have boosted tennis' profile.

Downey took over from the widely-criticised Roger Draper and has focused on growing the sport at grass-roots level.

When Downey began the job, the LTA was threatened with a significant cut in Sport England funding over slumping participation figures.

But he has succeeded in reversing the trend, with the LTA increasingly focusing on courts in parks and other public areas rather than traditional clubs.

The Tennis for Kids initiative, announced in the wake of Britain's Davis Cup victory in 2015, has given thousands of children free lessons and rackets.

Downey has been a popular figure among LTA staff and won over many of the doubters who wondered whether an outsider could succeed in the role.

But it has not been all smooth sailing by any means.

Downey has taken a tough approach to high performance, cutting funding to players and high performance centres and scaling back the role of the National Tennis Centre (NTC) as an elite base.

The morning after Britain's Davis Cup victory, Murray led fierce criticism of the governing body, citing the empty courts at the NTC.

Downey has not managed to forge a relationship with Britain's greatest player and complaints that the LTA has not fully capitalised on Murray's success rumble on.

Despite the unprecedented feats at elite level, meanwhile, high performance has been a difficult area for Downey.

His appointment of renowned coach Bob Brett to head the department backfired and the Australian left in the summer of 2015.

Brett's replacement, Peter Keen, impressed in the job on an interim basis but decided not to take up the role permanently, and it was only in November that Simon Timson took over as performance director.

Timson has a world-class CV in elite sport having overseen Britain's remarkable medal haul at the Rio Olympics but must win the trust of coaches and players who feel they have been left in limbo.

The LTA would have not expected to be beginning the search for another chief executive so soon but chairman David Gregson insisted solid foundations have been laid.

He said: "The progress we have made under Michael's stewardship will continue. The centre of gravity of the LTA shifted when I joined and we will remain focused on grass-roots tennis.

"Michael has worked hard to ensure that the British Tennis strategy to get more people playing tennis more often is embedded in the organisation and more broadly amongst the tennis community.

"He has put in place the right executive team with the strengths, passion and commitment to continue delivering the strategy.

"While Michael's move will be a great loss to the LTA, we respect his decision to lead the sport of tennis in his home nation, close to his family. We thank him for his hard work and dedication to tennis in Britain."

Downey will leave his post at the end of June, just before the start of Wimbledon.

The LTA said in a statement: "The board has taken immediate steps to start the search for a world-class successor, including the appointment of a sub-committee led by David Gregson.

"The post will be an attractive proposition to a strong leader at an exciting time for British tennis."