Yesterday, individuals who had emailed members of Merton Council to voice concerns about the new coaching monopoly in Wimbledon Park received a response. While we are unable to share the details of this response publicly, we believe it is important to address some of the key points raised.

First, we would like to clarify who we are: Save Merton Tennis Coaches is a group of local residents united by the belief that Merton Council's recent decision to award a monopoly contract of all public tennis courts in the borough and displace tennis coaches from Wimbledon Park is unjust. We recently launched a petition on Change.org to provide residents with an opportunity to show their support and voice their concerns publicly, which has now received over 1,500 signatures.

In their response, the Council references bullying and harassment directed at Tennis in Merton employees taking place on tennis courts. This is extremely disturbing to hear, but to date, we have not seen or heard of any such reports. We want to make it clear that if there have been any instances of bullying or harassment, we unequivocally do not condone such behaviour and will not associate with anyone engaged in such actions.

The Council referred to police involvement, which we believe pertains to an incident that occurred last weekend (Saturday 31st Nov). During this incident, a Tennis in Merton (Powered by Emma Wells) director called the police on one of the coaches who was participating in a photoshoot with a local reporter. The director alleged that the coach was shouting at them; however, several witnesses were present, and these claims were not corroborated. As a result, the matter was promptly closed.

Another point raised by the Council concerns the accusation that coaches have been using the courts without paying. While some courts in the borough are free to use, the 20 courts in Wimbledon Park require payment to book, and coaches have consistently paid a commercial rate to use them, contributing thousands of pounds over the years to the courts' management. Although this accusation has been referenced multiple times in the Council's statements, no evidence has been provided to support it. Furthermore, the Council fails to acknowledge instances where Tennis in Merton (powered by Emma Wells) has faced similar accusations. Considering this, we believe the accusation lacks merit and does not help justify their decision.

The Council also claims that they, along with Tennis in Merton (Powered by Emma Wells), are making efforts to reach mutually beneficial agreements with the existing businesses operating in Wimbledon Park, including tennis coaches, self-employed instructors, and non-competing services such as netball and children's activity classes.

However, the council's narrative does not align with the experiences shared by many of those directly involved. These discussions have been challenging, with a clear lack of meaningful negotiation. Competing tennis businesses have been told they must either relinquish their businesses and client base to work for Tennis in Merton (Powered by Emma Wells) or leave, while non-competing businesses are being forced to accept their terms or cease their long-established operations within the borough. As Save Merton Tennis Coaches, we are concerned that these negotiations are fundamentally one-sided and raise serious questions about how Tennis in Merton (Powered by Emma Wells) plans to operate in Wimbledon Park now that they hold a monopolistic position.

Finally, the Council repeat their stance on the tender process and contract. However, we still have several questions about the validity and fairness on the procurement process they followed, in particular on the decision to change the scope of the contract to include courts 1-10 in Wimbledon Park (the most valuable asset in the contract as the only flood-lit courts in the borough and therefore most popular) – originally not included in the tender. We remain dissatisfied with the level of transparency provided on certain aspects of this process and will be seeking further clarification from the Council.