Australian tennis officials have accused their British counterparts of trying to lure their top coaching staff using financial enticements. Tennis Australia's director of player development, Craig Tiley, was reported as saying four members of their federation had been handed offers.
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) have been conducting a world-wide search to fill six new senior positions to help the development of the sport in this country.
And though the LTA deny they are recruiting Australians, Tiley claimed his staff had been targetted though it is unclear whether these were for any of the senior posts or for other roles within the LTA.
Tiley was quoted in the Melbourne Age saying: "The LTA have been very aggressive in recruiting some of our staff and our coaches. "They've got an international recruiting agency to find the people who are delivering in the other federations from around the world and they've been heavy on the recruitment of our talented people - and just enticing them by money."
The LTA, who made a 25.5 million-pound profit from Wimbledon this year, have already hired American coaches Brad Gilbert and Paul Annacone - the former on a reported salary of 700,000 pounds - and are looking to fill more new posts. The LTA expressed bemusement at Tiley's claims but confirmed there had been huge international interest in the positions.