New LTA chief challenged to lead revolution in British game by sparking greater grass-roots participation "I am sure that David will be an excellent chair at the LTA," Robertson told The Telegraph on Thursday. It's an exciting time for British tennis with Andy Murray's success and Heather Watson and Laura Robson making headway. The challenge now for David and the LTA is to ensure the success at the top filters down into increased participation at the grass roots. Price is confident Gregson will fulfil his brief. "David brings a great breadth of skills and experience," said Price, who was critical last year of the "Whole Sport Plan" submitted by the LTA, and even withheld £10.3 million of funding until it put more effort into broadening participation. We've been impressed by the LTA's response to our feedback on their plans to get more people playing tennis. And when I met David his determination to see success in the grass-roots game was really clear. Gregson - whose position will be unpaid - co-founded the private equity firm Phoenix, which was sold to an American investment bank at the height of the market in January 2007. He has since taken up roles with the World Wildlife Fund, the Sutton Trust (which works to improve social mobility) and the London Legacy Development Corporation, which is processing West Ham's bid to take over the Olympic Stadium. Until now, Draper was seen as a largely unaccountable leader who could rely on the support of a reticent board, even when reporting disappointing results. But Gregson's appointment promises to be a watershed moment. His predecessor, Peter Bretherton, deserves some credit, for he has been working behind the scenes to modernise the LTA. It is now an incorporated body, which explains why it was obliged to publish the salary of its highest-paid director - Draper himself - in its annual report for the first time last year. By introducing an independent chairman, it has signalled a willingness to reform itself. "This is a really smart appointment," said Sir Robin Wales, the mayor of Newham, who works with Gregson on the Olympic legacy project. David is someone with a social conscience who will be determined to see tennis make a difference to people's lives in places like Newham and Tower Hamlets. I think the LTA are very lucky to have got him.