The search for the next Tim Henman or Virginia Wade began in Southampton yesterday - backed by cash from the Lawn Tennis Association and a helping hand from France.

The French are already World soccer champions and Rugby Cup runners-up.

But they can also teach us a thing or two about fostering tennis talent.

The number of aspiring British players taking up tennis has increased with the building boom in indoor courts over the last ten years. But there are still five times as many youngsters playing in France.

So the LTA turned to a Frenchman, Patrice Hagelauer, former coach to top French stars Yannick Noah and Henri Leconte, to be their performance director and co-ordinate a 'Futures' programme.

Hagelauer was in Southampton yesterday, at the Hampshire Tennis & Health Club, to help run the rule over 15 specially-selected under-13s from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, to try to decide whether they have what it takes to be a tennis pro.

If they impressed they could qualify for significant cash help from the LTA with their training, then be sent to special tennis-orientated schools where they would play at least three hours of tennis a day and, finally, win a place on an 'intermediate' squad, playing tournaments and being coached at the same time.

"It is exciting," agreed Hampshire LTA chairman Charles Trippe, after meeting Hagelauer. "We will give the scheme every co-operation in Hampshire."

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.