'Lesbian' tennis coach: 'I DID share a room with pupil - but it was innocent'

A woman tennis coach accused of an affair with a 13-year-old pupil admitted yesterday that she became too close to the girl and shared a hotel room with her.

But Claire Lyte denied they had a sexual relationship.

The 29-year-old accepted that failing to report affectionate text messages from the "infatuated" teenager and spending large amounts of time with her breached rules on coaching young players.

Lyte claimed that on an occasion where the girl's mother alleges that she found them naked in bed together performing oral sex, she was actually loading the dishwasher after making their lunch.

Lyte, who competed at Wimbledon before her own professional playing career was curtailed by injury, is accused of having a year-long relationship with the teenager whom she coached at a prestigious tennis academy.

Dressed in a white blouse and black trousers and with her blonde hair tied back, Lyte yesterday gave her account of her involvement with the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Lyte said girls training at the Lawn Tennis Association academy, based in Loughborough, Leicestershire, tended to confide in her about their lives outside tennis, and the "troubled" teenager she is accused of abusing was no exception.

"I probably got on better with the girls than my colleagues," she said.

As a result, she was spoken to about her conduct and told to put more distance between herself and the youngsters.

During the summer of 2005, however, Lyte said the girl's mother asked her to look after her during two tournaments and then stay with her at the family home in Merseyside as she had to go abroad.

At the time, Lyte said the girl had been sending her regular text messages professing her love for her, but she did not report them to her bosses for fear of making matters worse.

"I did say 'You must stop texting me because things are being perceived that there's more than just a coach-player relationship'," she said.

"I thought that if I told anyone, I would be the one who would be persecuted for it."

She admitted sharing hotel rooms with the girl in Bournemouth last year but insisted this had only been because other rooms were unavailable and said nothing happened between them.

That October, the girl's mother claims she came home unexpectedly one afternoon to find Lyte and the girl naked together in the teenager's bed performing sex acts.

Asked by her barrister, David Mason, if they had been having sex, Lyte replied "Definitely not", saying she had actually been loading the dishwasher when the mother returned.

Lyte, whom the jury has been told accuses the mother of maliciously concocting the allegations after her daughter's tennis career faltered, denied discussing any alleged sex act with the woman afterwards.

Instead she said conversations focused on her belief that that the girl's mother was pressurising her into pursuing tennis while she herself was losing interest, as well as the problems caused by the amount of time Lyte spent with the girl.

Shortly afterwards, Lyte was given a final written warning by LTA bosses after incidents including allegedly sharing a toilet cubicle with the girl, something she refutes.

The girl's mother did not report the alleged abuse to the police until August last year.

Asked by detectives about her sexuality, Lyte replied: "I like men."

Lyte of Shirley, near Solihull, West Midlands, is said to have molested the girl on a series of occasions between May 2005 and June last year. She has denied all five charges of sexual activity with a child.

The The Liverpool Crown Court trial continues.