A tennis coach accused of subjecting his daughters to years of physical and emotional abuse had a “passive” style that was ideally suited to training children, a jury was told. John De’Viana is accused of mistreating his daughters, Monaei and Nephe, as part of an obsessive bid to make them stars in the sport. It is alleged that the 55-year-old coach swore and shouted at the girls and beat Nephe, now 19, behind a curtain at a tennis centre. However, Geoff Thompson, who worked with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), said that Mr De’Viana could not have done so because there would have been too many people around, Snaresbrook crown court was told. The five-times karate world champion met Mr De’Viana 37 years ago when…

Source: The Times March 11, 2017 00:04 UTC