The Scottish tennis coach who captained Great Britain to win the 2015 Davis Cup. Since 2010 Leon Smith OBE has been captain of the Great Britain Davis Cup and holds a wealth of coaching experience having started professionally coaching at club level since he was eighteen.
By 1998 Smith had become National Performance Officer for Tennis Scotland where he focused on coaching elite players.Only two years later he contributed to the setup of a tennis academy at the Next Generation Club in Edinburgh.
Smith has coached a variety of Scottish junior players including Andy Murray when he was aged eleven to fifteen. Smiths expert coaching saw Murray win the Junior Orange Bowl under-12 title and five ITF Future events. Smith worked with Murray again in 2006 during The French Open while Murray didn't have a full time coach.
Smith gradually worked his way up in responsibility while with LTA, starting in 2005 as LTA's national under-16 men's coach to then becoming under-18s coach in 2008. Subsequently he was then appointed Head of Player Development in men's tennis, his next promotion saw him as Head of Men's Tennis and Davis Cup Captain. While also continuing with his other roles in 2011 he gained the title Head of Women's Tennis.
Smith was appointed as Davis Cup captain at the age of thirty four, making him the youngest Great Britain captain since Paul Hutchins, who was appointed in 1975 at the age of thirty. Smith was also one of very few to be appointed without having been a top-level player. His first time as captain was extremely successful with the Europe/Africa Zone Group II match against Turkey. This was held at Eastbourne from the 9th July 2010 and resulted in a 5-0 win to Great Britain. Smith's contributions to tennis throughout the years led to him being awarded in the 2016 Birthday Honours, Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
Tennis speaker, Leon Smith OBE is the ideal host for sporting functions and award ceremonies. With vast experience in coaching and working with big named tennis players Smith shares stories of his personal experiences within the industry and the people he's worked with. As a coach he covers topics such as discipline, maximising success, peak performance, teamwork and dealing with stress.
Leon Smith's official speaking topics are listed below:
- Tennis Coach
- Men's Tennis Player
- Leadership
- Peak Performance
- Maximising Success
- Teamwork
- Dealing with Stress
- 2024 - Presented the LTA Tennis Awards as GB Davis Cup Captain and LTA Head of Men's Tennis
- 2023 - Praised Billy Harris's Davis Cup debut performance as GB Davis Cup Captain
- 2016 - Awarded OBE for services to tennis
- 2015 - Led GB to Davis Cup title, first win since 1936
- 2014 - Stepped down as Head of Men’s Tennis at LTA
- 2013 - Completed term as Head of Women’s Tennis at LTA
- 2011 - Appointed Head of Women’s Tennis at LTA
- 2010 - Became GB Davis Cup Captain, youngest since 1975
- 2008 - Promoted to U18s National Coach at LTA
- 2005 - Appointed U16s National Coach at LTA
- 1998 - Began elite player development coaching
- 1990s - Coached Andy Murray from age 11 to 15
How to hire Leon Smith OBE
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Leon Smith OBE for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at agent@championsukplc.com for more information.
** We do NOT accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
