While Markéta Vondroušová was coasting her way to a maiden Wimbledon Ladies singles title, SW19 was also hosting the ‘Play Your Way’ event which featured thousands of tennis players, all vying for a spot on the fabled tennis courts of the capital.
12-year old, Lauren Essome-Ngodi who attends St Thomas More School won her county event and made it to Wimbledon, which saw thousands of Under 14 and Under 18 players compete.
Gary Cox also featured at SW19 after winning the county competition in the Men’s wheelchair event and is now looking for funding to help progress what is a promising career.
Lauren made it through the county finals of the tournament formerly known as ‘The Road to Wimbledon’; a superb achievement playing at an age group above.
“It’s very special to play at Wimbledon”, said Lauren.
“I look up to Coco Gauff because she’s really young and done a lot within tennis at such an early age.
“My dad is really proud of me, he’s told a lot of his friends about it and they have all wished me luck.
“My friends are really surprised and can’t believe it!”
Former British number one, Laura Robson was also in attendance to cheer on the youngsters at SW19 and offer her experience and advice.
Funding needed
From 2023, the LTA and The All England Lawn Tennis Club are planning for the competition to expand further, through the introduction of additional age groups and disability categories, whilst helping to encourage more players to pick up a tennis racket.
Gary Cox, also of Riverside Tennis Club, competed against five other tennis players in the Wheelchair Tennis Event with his first two matches taking almost six hours to complete.
Reflecting on the experience, Gary commented: “I really enjoyed the opportunity to be able to play on the grass at Wimbledon and loved every minute of it.”
“Being the only quad wheelchair tennis player to make it to the finals, I was looking forward to testing myself against the more able open wheelchair tennis players.”
“I was very happy with my level of play in the round robin matches and being involved in some very tight matches, losing one in a match tie break. It was good match practice for my ITF international tournaments coming up in the next few months.”
“I’m really grateful to Wimbledon for adding disability categories to ‘Play Your Way To Wimbledon’ and giving wheelchair tennis the chance to play on the best grass courts in the world.”
Cox is now looking for additional sponsorship to grant him the opportunity to train more frequently and compete internationally at events such as Para Tennis Toulouse in France, the Prague Indoor Cup and the TBESF Open in Turkey.
“Additional sponsorship would give me an opportunity to train more and compete internationally and fulfil my potential. I am currently the only quad player, who trains in Bedford, to represent Great Britain.”
“With additional sponsorship, I would have the chance to improve my world ranking. I currently only have three hours of coaching a week and I am proud of the level I have sustained independently.
“With additional sponsorship I believe I can reach a top 20 world ranking.”
If any individual or local business would like to sponsor Gary for his efforts to reach the European stage, you can contact Martha Habershon, Coaching Director at Riverside at coaching@riversidetennisbedford.co.uk.
