THE suitcases are packed and ready to go but the next destination on the comeback tour of Ross Matheson is a matter of much speculation and will be totally dependent on his financial situation. Which is why the 27-year-old Glaswegian - and three other Scots full-timers - have temporarily quit the Satellite and Futures circuits to spend five weekends in Germany competing in the potentially lucrative Bundesligue.

Matheson who has reached four of the last five Girobank Tour finals and has improved his world ranking by over 300 places to 689 since January, is in his second season with TC Pullheim and could pocket as much as #3000 for five matches.

''I'd rather be playing world ranking tournaments but it's a financial necessity for me to play in Germany. What I make in five weekends can support me for another four or five months on the circuit,'' he said.

Having spent the past eight months attempting to juggle a part-time coaching job at the David Lloyd Club in Renfrew with his return to the professional ranks, participation in the German leagues provides the Scottish No.2 with a network of practice partners and top level clay court competition.

There are three world-ranked players in the Pullheim squad and victory over Spaniard Vincenzo Solves, a former top-100 player, suggests that Matheson is starting to reproduce the form that took him to a career-best 236 in the world four years ago.

But Matheson can look back at the mistakes he made following the halcyon grass court season of 1994 when his successes at the Stella Artois, Wimbledon and Bristol tournaments opened the door to a number of major ATP Tour and Challenger events.

''I headed off for the big time and got myself into serious debt flying all over the world trying to qualify for prestigious tournaments like the Monte Carlo Open which, in hindsight, I just wasn't ready for. I went for months without winning a match and that proved to be a financial disaster for me,'' he explained.

''This time around I'm being stubborn. I'm not willing to put myself into a critical financial situation again, but luckily the domestic schedule in Britain has improved so much in the past couple of years that it is possible to break into the top 500 without leaving the country.''

Matheson intends to supplement his income further by fitting in a couple of matches for David Lloyd Bushey in the premier division of the National Club League later this month before opening his campaign in the grass court season.

''I'm on target to reach the top 500 by the end of August and top 400 by the end of the year. After that there should be scope to travel further afield.''

The 6ft 4ins right-hander, reckoned to have one of the biggest serves in the game, celebrates his 28th birthday in two weeks' time and is aware that time is not on his side, but is drawing inspiration from Petr Korda's dramatic rise to No.2 in the world at the age of 30. ''Age is not an issue for me. In fact it's an advantage. I'm playing the best tennis of my life just now. I'm fitter, faster and more flexible than I've ever been and I'm much more mature mentally.

''If I can secure the necessary monetary backing to support my training programme and overseas schedule then I reckon I can get into the top 200 within two years.''

Individual Lottery awards of #2000-#3000 have gone some way to help Scotland's seven full-time players, but it falls far short of what is required to launch a determined assault on the professional circuit, hence the German connection.

Tayport's Nicola Payne, 20, now ranked 496 in the world, is in her third term in Germany, representing Oberweier in the women's second division. Her deal does not compare to Matheson's but will earn her ''#100 per match plus win bonuses''.

Jordan Gray, the 17-year-old left-hander who is on a tennis scholarship at Cheam High School in Surrey, makes his debut in the junior and senior teams for sixth division TC Karlstadte in Stuttgart and can expect a similar pay packet to Payne.

The 6ft 3ins Scot, who has been injured for much of the past six months, said: ''I am desperately short of match practice and as I need to improve my consistency it makes sense to be training and competing on clay.''

A six-month competitive break saw Jason Barnett drop off the world rankings and he quotes the same reasons as Gray for accepting an offer to represent Dusseldorf in the fifth division. ''Clay's my best surface and I can get all the practice and matchplay I need, as well as some cash, to prepare me for getting back on the Tour.''

q THE ATP's decision to experiment with on-court coaching during matches or selected tournaments this year has promoted the Scottish Lawn Tennis Association to send four top young prospects to Nottingham for next weekend's Player Plus Tournament. Run by the British Tennis Coaches Association for 13-and-unders, the event allows on-court coaching and has attracted entries from Spain, Austria, Poland, Belgium and the Czech Republic.

As national coach, I will accompany David Brewer, David Culshaw, Frances Hendry and Mhari Neish to the three-day event which is a vital part of our junior development programme. There is every possibility that some form of court coaching will be introduced into ITF junior tournaments in the near future and we have to start preparing players for that. Player Plus is the only tournament in Brotain that allows coaches to sit on court during matches so we must take advantage.

Players are allowed two minutes with their coach after the first and second sets. Reaction from the world elite has been mixed.