European Tennis Tour

Road to Wimbledon with Tim Henman


Playing @ Wimbledon

I have been playing tennis since I was 5 years old starting at a local club near Basingstoke, UK and over the years have improved my tennis game to a level that has allowed me to compete in my first ever Tennis Europe tournament overseas which was held in Moldova (Sept’17) reaching the quarter finals

I am currently 25th in Great Britain for 14u and have a rating of 3.2

To compete with my peers in Europe I am after any financial support you can offer to help me continue my journey – my overall aim is to play on the professional tour when I finish Juniors (+18years) or after gaining a degree @ US University with tennis scholarship.

I am hoping once you have read my story and seen what I have achieved you would be willing to support me in my goal as a tennis player.

As I mentioned I have been playing tennis since I was 5 years old starting at a local club – ‘Manydown Tennis Club’

From 7 years old I started playing at Totally Tennis in Basingstoke and continue playing todate as part of my school tennis scholarship with Sherfield School. From 8 years old I also attended tennis training in Portsmouth Tennis Academy.

I won my first County Championship in Hampshire & IOW when I was 8years old – 8u single title

And to date I have won 12 county titles including 8u, 9u, 10u, 12u, 14u & 16u Single titles.

I am now 14yrs old, 6ft 1in and has size 13 feet..! (and they are still growing)

Last year I was No2 in the Hampshire & IOW County Cup Team for 14u and have recently been invited/attended selection training for the 18u County Cup Team – the tournament will be @ Nottingham in Feb (if I am selected…)

I have always competed well in tournaments but my winning streak since Feb’17 has been my best form to date.

The techniques I have been taught over the years at Portsmouth Tennis Academy have now started to make a difference in my game, as it’s all about power and accuracy and not just getting the ball back. I am now 25th in GB and playing at National Level but I wanted more – to compete in Europe.

Most of my GB leaderboard points are from wins in the 16u/18u age group – this includes points from the School National Championships (formerly known as the Glanville Cup) where I represented my school in the 18u team – winning all but 1 match for the school.

My parents promised me that if my performance improved and I moved up the GB leaderboard they would allow me to compete in a Tennis Europe tournament which will compare my ability with my European peers.

Over a 14month period in the 14u age group I had moved from 180th in GB to 25th, and moved into No1 position for Hampshire & IOW.

As promised by my parents I was granted my wish and we started to look for a suitable tournament to enter in Europe. It soon became clear that anything near to the UK was heavily oversubscribed so we widened our search, and kept widening our search, until eventually I was accepted into a 14u event in Moldova. (Sept’17)

We all had no idea if my level of play would compete against fulltime players touring Europe all year – but would soon find out in Moldova.

As soon as we arrived at the tennis tournament and saw the other players you could see the difference in play compared to UK tournaments. The speed of the ball was a lot faster as they were hitting the ball incredibly hard – was a real eye opener compared to playing in the UK.

But on the day of my first European match I was evenly matched with my Russian opponent. After a long battle I won the first set in a set tiebreaker – defending a few set points along the way. The second set was equally tough and again went to a set tie breaker – which I won. So I began my journey into Europe winning my first match – felt great and meant I could stay for another day in the 32C heat.

My second round match was against the No2 seed from Romania who was 150th in Europe – compared to the Russian I beat who was 800th in Europe….

I had nothing to prove so went into the match with no pressure and just to enjoy the experience of playing someone ranked so high in Europe.

In the first few games of the set I felt we were evenly matched in a rally but I could not cope with the speed of his serve.

I eventually lost the 1st set 6-4 and was losing the second set 2-0 with the Romanian serving, but somehow I dug deep in the 32C heat and started to break his serve. Won the second set 6-4 and went into the deciding set with the seed rattled. I broke his serve again in the first game and I knew then I would win – I kept my cool and won the set 6-3 and the match. Earning a place in the quarter finals – couldn’t believe it.

The problem I now had was a slight pull on a muscle in my leg. I had tried so hard to win the match - some of the rally shots were a real stretch into the corners and on clay you slide a lot, which in the end pulled my leg muscle.

I knew I had to be careful in the quarters but my movement around the court was not as good as it should and in the end lost the match in 2 sets (I was winning 4-1 in the first set before the muscle flared up again), and my opponent eventually reached the final…But reaching the quarters I had gained 20 Tennis Europe points which were worth their weight in gold and will help me gain acceptance into future TE tournaments.

In 2018 I moved up to the 16u age group so my second TE tournament was 16u, where we entered a tournament in Norway (Jan’18). I won easily in the first round 6-0, 6-2 but had a tough draw with my next match against the No3 seed – a Greek player who is 148th in Europe. The first set was tight, I was winning 3-1 and had a chance, serving to go 4-1 ahead. But in the end he had too much power in his shots and I lost the set 7-5. In the second set I tried different risky shots to see if that would work but lost the set 6-2 and the match.

I put the Norway result down to a lack of TE experience (especially at 16u) which is my main weakness at the moment.

For 2018, to balance school work and TE events I could possibly compete in 6/8 tournaments – which I think is achievable – but this is still nowhere near the level of my European peers.

The TE results I have gained totalling 45 points in 2 tournaments is very rewarding compared to my peers in UK/Europe who play fulltime. My peers in the UK are training 30+hrs a week and the European players are on tour throughout the year – competing in 20+ tournaments a year.

My current training programme is 16hrs a week – this includes 1 strength and conditioning session, private lessons & squads. 

I obtained a tennis scholarship to attend an independent school ‘Sherfield School’ which I started in Year 7.

This scholarship gives me extra private lessons during school time and squads so increased my hours (to the current level of 16hr/wk) from what I had in year6. I have seen a gradual improvement with these extra hours so increasing these hours further would make a massive difference to my game.

School work is important to me – I’m in the top set for Maths and Science and for the future I want to achieve a US Scholarship into a top University. This will allow me to study for a degree and continue training/competing my tennis at a high level.

In order to increase the TE tournaments I need additional funding which my parent don’t have.

Some of my peers don’t have that problem – for example one parent owns a Premiership football club and another is a director of a famous budget airline – it’s very difficult to compete against players who have everything they need to develop their game.

Each event can cost between £1,000 to £2,000 depending on length of stay and how much the last minute flights home cost (Norway flight home was £500).

If my parents had the financial constraints removed I know I could excel in the coming years – my aim would be to make the top 100 in Europe for 16u by Dec’19.(I was 2,000th at the begin of this year)

My parents had no previous experience in tennis, and so are not prepared for the potential path I have in front of me.

To date I have relied heavily on my coach in Portsmouth ‘Kevin Baker’ to guide us with my training programme. Kevin has looked after me since I was 8yrs old and developed me technically for the big game ahead.

He has also introduced us to his son’s coach Rene Gomez whose academy ‘GTA’ is based in Naples, Florida. Kevin’s son Blu trains fulltime in Naples under Rene and has been competing in ITF tournaments for the last 2 years.

Both Kevin and Rene have said I have the potential to make it on the professional tour.

Rene really likes me, said I’m a clever player, and knows where to put the ball during play.

I have a good forehand, simple but effective serve and a world class backhand.

Not bad comments for someone on a 16hr/wk programme from a coach who has trained some of the best players in the world….

 

When competing my behaviour on court is impeccable – I would compare myself to Roger Federer. Very cool headed, no shouting, no racket banging – my parents always receive comments from organisers/refs on how well I have behaved on court and around the club during the day at the tournament.

I have always loved tennis but since 14 my drive, passion, ability, work ethic has gone sky high - at the moment I live and breathe for tennis, the only thing I don’t have is parents with deep pockets to fund it…..

For example getting back from Norway at 1am instead of going to bed I stayed up and discussed with my parents how I can get more hours into my training programme.

But more hours means more money, which we don’t have.

I hit with a 6th former at the school (Top 40 18u player) which is an extra cost – not included in the scholarship hours from the school.

This cost increases in the winter months to cover indoor court hire costs.

I train 16hrs/wk but I want to increase to 28hrs/wk. That means at least an extra £120/wk to find.

If it was my choice I would go now to Rene’s in Naples and train/compete fulltime. (costs $40,000/yr…)

My parents are trying their best to fulfil my potential by exploring ways to remove the financial contrasts we have, hence this request for financial support

Please can you consider supporting me  - I will update the site with any tournament results in the UK/Europe as they happen

I have attached a few pictures showing me winning the 9u County Championships, 14u/16u County Championships and recently in Norway waiting for our train in the snow.

Thanks again for your time reading my journey

 

Other regular costs;

Restringing rackets – every 1-2 weeks - £20 each (have 3 rackets)

New tennis shoes - £110 - £130 ‘Nike Zoom Flyknit’ – lasts 2–3 months before grip is worn out.

Kind regards

Dean Cooper-Kirby