The Lawn Tennis Association will spend £125m on 96 new UK indoor centres, which are expected to be built within 10 years, to take its total to 396.

England will get 72 new centres with 12 each in Scotland and Wales.

Three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray has previously criticised the LTA for failing to build on his legacy.

LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd said: “The goal is for 95% of the population in England and Wales to have an indoor centre within a 30-minute drive.”

Lloyd added: “We can’t quite guarantee that for Scotland because of its geography but we have already started the planning process for seven projects there which will provide 28 new indoor courts over the next 12-18 months, so we are filling the gaps.

“We want to break the perception that tennis is just a summer sport, or it’s only for people in the south.

“With our climate, indoor facilities are crucial. We have lagged behind other European countries in terms of absolute numbers but we are blessed with the resources to do this and we want to inject pace into the process.”

The LTA will use its reserves of around £160m to provide £125m to the initiative.

The national governing body hopes partners in the public and private sector will match its funding, taking the potential investment up to £250m.

In January, Murray said he could not understand why participation in the sport was dropping.

Scott added: “We have a great relationship with Andy, Jamie and Judy Murray. Our views are completely aligned and we have an open dialogue about how to build on their successes.”

World number two Rafael Nadal has been seeded third for Wimbledon this year behind top-ranked Novak Djokovic and world number three Roger Federer.

It means the Spaniard, rather than eight-time winner Federer, is likely to be in the same half of the draw as Djokovic and thus in line to face the defending champion in the semi-finals.

The women’s seedings reflect the world rankings, so Serena Williams is 11th and Britain’s Johanna Konta 19th.

The 2019 championships begin on Monday.

• Nadal says Wimbledon seeding ‘doesn’t seem right’

Wimbledon seeding is different from the other Grand Slams in that it does not always follow world rankings and is affected by grass-court performances.

Nadal said it “doesn’t seem right” when asked about his likely seeding behind Federer.

Last year’s finalist and world number eight Kevin Anderson is seeded fourth, and John Isner moves up to ninth after his run to the 2018 semi-finals.

Anderson’s elevation to fourth seed means Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas all drop down one position in the seedings compared to their world ranking.

Britain’s Kyle Edmund, the world number 31, is the 30th seed while British duo Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski are 10th seeded 10th in the men’s doubles.

French Open champion Ashleigh Barty tops the ladies’ seedings for the first time at a grand slam, with Naomi Osaka second and defending champion Angelique Kerber fifth.

The women’s seedings follow the WTA ranking list but changes can be made for a ‘balanced draw’, which is the reason seven-time champion Serena Williams – ranked 183rd before last year’s championship – was seeded 25th in 2018.

Britain’s Naomi Broady lost in Wimbledon qualifying, but compatriots Samantha Murray and Gabriella Taylor advanced to the second round.

American Kristie Ahn beat wildcard Broady, 29, 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4), while Taylor won 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 against France’s Chloe Paquet.

Murray, 31, faltered in the second set but eventually claimed a 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 victory against China’s Peng Shuai.

Former Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki beat Timea Babos 6-3 3-6 6-3.

Broady, now ranked 352 in singles, was not the only Briton to fall on the first day of women’s qualifying, with Eden Silva, Emma Raducanu, Naiktha Bains, Maia Lumsden and Francesca Jones all defeated in the opening round.

World number 362 Murray will face Cristina Bucsa in the second round and Taylor will play 12th seed Ysaline Bonaventure.

Lisicki, who reached the final at the All England Club in 2013, will take on Ankita Raina in the next round.

The 16 players who make it through three rounds of qualifying will earn a place in the Wimbledon main draw.

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Andy Murray fell to a first defeat since starting his comeback in doubles in the first round of the Nature Valley International at Eastbourne.

Murray and Brazilian Marcelo Melo lost 6-2 6-4 to Colombian top seeds Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal.

The Briton struggled on serve at Eastbourne, being broken three times out of four.

Murray had won the doubles alongside Feliciano Lopez at Queen’s last week in his first tournament since hip surgery.

They defeated Farah and Cabal in the first round of that tournament but the Colombian pairing were always in control at Devonshire Park.

Murray ‘most likely’ to play mixed at Wimbledon

Murray will now head to Wimbledon, where he will partner Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the men’s doubles.

After Tuesday’s defeat, he told BBC Sport that he was “most likely” to also play mixed doubles at SW19 but is a little concerned about the wear and tear on his body.

The Scot, 32, had thought he might not play again before hip resurfacing in January left him “pain free”.

“I spoke to some of the doubles players the last few days about why they don’t always play mixed and they just said they had some situations where the weather has not always been so good,” he said.

“And because doubles is best of five [sets], and you play with the advantage scoring, you can get backed up and end up playing four matches in two days. I just need to be certain that my body’s ready for that. So I’ll chat to my team a bit about that and decide probably by the end of tomorrow, I would imagine.”

Murray is yet to finalise a potential partner for the mixed, having been turned down by singles world number one Ashleigh Barty and Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic.

He added: “I’ve spoken to a few of the players the last few days about it, so there’s a few kind of lined up and I said I would let them know in the next couple of days.”

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First setback since return

Three-time Grand Slam singles champion Murray surpassed his own expectations by winning the men’s doubles title at Queen’s alongside Lopez, but his partnership with Melo did not gel so well.

Murray was broken in the opening game and although he and Melo immediately brought up four break points on Farah’s serve, the British-Brazilian pairing could not convert any of them. They would be their only break points of the match.

A Murray volley into the net gave up another break and the Colombians comfortably wrapped up the set.

The Briton was broken to love in the third game of the second set and although he held serve at the fourth attempt, there was to be no comeback.

“They just played a lot better than us today. They got off to a quick start and deserved to win,” said Murray.

Farah and Cabal will play British pairing Dan Evans and Lloyd Glasspool in the quarter-finals.

World number two Rafael Nadal says “it doesn’t seem right” that he could be seeded behind world number three Roger Federer at Wimbledon.

Wimbledon seeding is different from the other Grand Slams in that it does not always follow world rankings and is affected by grass-court performances.

It means Federer may be seeded ahead of Nadal, who could be in the same half of the draw as Novak Djokovic.

“It’s just Wimbledon that does it,” said 12-time French Open winner Nadal.

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Speaking to Spanish TV station #Vamos, Nadal added: “If everyone did it, I think it would be appropriate or correct. Either way, being second or third seed, I have to play at the best level to aspire to the things I aspire to.

“It is better to be second than third, but if they consider that I have to be third, I will accept.”

Wimbledon seedings will be announced on Wednesday and Nadal, 33, is likely to be behind defending champion Djokovic and eight-time winner Federer, who won his 10th title at the grass-court tournament in Halle last week.

The Spaniard lost in the Wimbledon semi-finals to world number one Djokovic last year but had not made it past the fourth round in his five previous appearances.

Nadal’s viewpoint was supported by Djokovic, who played at the Boodles exhibition event at Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire on Tuesday.

“It’s their rules and you have to respect it, although it’s a little bit surprising to be honest,” said Djokovic.

“Roger is the greatest of all time and has won the most Wimbledon titles of any player in history and if any player deserves it it’s him, but at the same time it’s Nadal that he is taking over (from as) the second seed.”

If he is seeded third, Nadal might have to beat Djokovic to reach the final.

The world’s top 32 players will be seeded, but the order may not follow that of the world rankings.

Wimbledon’s system favours grass-court specialists – taking a player’s ATP ranking points, doubling the points earned at grass-court tournaments in the past year and adding on 75% of the points earned on grass the previous year.

The women’s seedings follow the WTA ranking list but changes can be made for a “balanced draw”, which is why Serena Williams, ranked 183rd before last year’s tournament, was 25th seed in 2018.

The 2019 tournament begins on Monday.