ROGER DRAPER insists the departure of head of women’s tennis Nigel Sears yesterday does not signal a crisis point for the Lawn Tennis Association.

Sears, who is hugely well respected, will leave the governing body after four and a half years at the end of July to coach former world number one Ana Ivanovic.

Women’s tennis has been a notable – and critics would say rare – success story during the five-year tenure of Draper as chief executive at the LTA, with five players reaching the top 100 and two, Heather Watson and Laura Robson, winning junior grand slams.

Sears becomes the latest high-profile figure to leave the organisation and his departure comes only six months after player director Steven Martens announced his resignation, leaving a void at the top of the high-performance programme.

Draper, though, played down the impact, saying: “We’re really sad to lose Nigel because he’s a great guy, a great coach and he’s brought a lot. But people come and go and you move on. What we try to do is adjust and strengthen the team where possible.

“Nigel’s left an unbelievable legacy behind to build on, but that doesn’t mean it’s all going to collapse like a heap of cards. I know we get a lot of knocks, but we’ve got some hugely talented people working across the LTA.”

Although Draper was disappointed by the loss of Sears, who informed the LTA of his decision yesterday, it did not come as too much of a shock.

“When we first had the conversation, Nigel said he was going to give me three good years and we’ve had four and a half really great years with Nigel,” said Draper. “He’s left women’s tennis in a much better place.

“Nigel’s heart has always been in day-to-day coaching. It’s a great opportunity for him. He wanted one last crack at the tour.”