IT is one of those rare sun-kissed Scottish days where indoor tennis courts seem unnecessary and irrelevant. But as Judy Murray - enthusiastically conducting a parent and child coaching session at the well-heeled surroundings of the David Lloyd club in Glasgow’s West End, knows - it is the other 364 days of the year which are the problem.

Equally at home preaching the benefits of the sport to under-privileged kids on ramshackle courts in the rain, this is the other side of her outreach work – a nationwide programme which she and her sidekick Kris Soutar undertake to encourage families who may already have a connection to a private sports facility like this to take the plunge with tennis. “David Lloyd has more indoor courts than the rest of the country has put together,” Judy told Herald Sport. “If we can make the most of them then great. Something like 18% of their membership plays tennis and it is about getting more of them into the game.”

While the rest of the country works itself into a frenzy over whether her number two son, still painstakingly working his way back from hip surgery in January, will be able to take up his place at Wimbledon, Judy is simply doing what she does – inspiring kids at grassroots level, and attempting to build the workforce which will take this sport forward when the time comes when her children’s time at the top of the sport eventually IS over.

The latest plans for the Lawn Tennis Association – now under the charge of chief executive Scott Lloyd, David’s son - to drive the sport forward are two National Academies, which will accommodate 16 or so of the top British players between the ages of 14 and 18. The tender process to host these is well under way, with Tennis Scotland – with the help of the sportscotland Institute of Sport and Beaconhurst School - having submitted an application which would utilise the existing indoor courts at the University of Stirling. While she has had no involvement whatsoever, given the dearth of chances for the best Scottish youngsters to play on publicly available indoor courts, Judy would rather prioritise that instead.

“Scotland is still very short of indoor facilities, particularly ones that are open to the public” said Judy. “We haven’t had any new ones built, apart from two at David Lloyd at Rouken Glen and four at Gleneagles, in the 11 years since Andy has been at the top of the game. So this sounds quite a good thing on paper, but it might actually take courts away from Scottish kids. It certainly wouldn’t be my priority.”

Instead, she feels that getting to the age of 16, then training in an international environment, remains the best – and perhaps only - way to go, as it was for Andy when he went to Barcelona at 15. “If you get to the stage where pro tennis is a career, training in an international environment is the closest thing you get to what they are preparing for. For me it is common sense, we will never have the climate, the various surfaces, the conditions, playing in extreme heat like you do at the US Open or Australia. If you think about it, there are things we can do really well, and things we will never be able to do.”

She may have made it her life’s work to broaden the franchise for tennis in this country but there is little sign of Judy wearying to the task In fact, the next stage in her work is set to come on stream with the Judy Murray Foundation, which will spring into action to tutor coaches and staff at one of the first new indoor tennis complexes which is thankfully in the pipeline, at the Rankin Park site in Greenock. Starting next month, she will work there with Greenock Morton Community Trust, Inverclyde Leisure and Ardgowan and Fort Matilda tennis clubs on a new three-court facility, an intriguing pilot for practice which could also work elsewhere. She got a beginners’ guide to the area on a VIP trip to Cappielow to watch Morton take on Brechin. “Our first project is going to be in Greenock, that is why I went to spend some time with Morton Community Trust because they do tremendous things in the area, plus Inverclyde Leisure,” she said. “There are two small clubs at Fort Matilda and Ardgowan, and three schools within walking distance. After three years we will leave them in good hands.”

Work continues on Park of Keir, although they are still at the design stage and the diggers won’t move in until the start of next year. The emergence of Aidan McHugh – who is benefitting from mentorship from Andy Murray – is another green shoot but tennis development in Scotland remains a puzzle. “We have more people than ever being coached but less people than ever playing the game.”