Isle of Wight tennis player Toby Trotman has enjoyed the unforgettable experience of playing at Wimbledon: the home of British tennis.
Trotman, 14, who goes to Cowes Enterprise College, featured in the national finals at the Play Your Way to Wimbledon event – the largest individual mass participation tennis competition in the UK.
Formerly known as the Road to Wimbledon, the competition launched in March and is delivered in partnership between the LTA, The All England Lawn Tennis Club, and Vodafone.
This year’s tournament has delivered over 10,000 playing opportunities across singles and doubles competitions in 800 venues.
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 kids to pick up a tennis racket.
Thousands of 14 and under and 18 and under players took part in the qualifying stages this year, leading to county and regional finals in June and July, with the winners progressing to the national finals on Wimbledon’s Aorangi Courts last week.
Trotman, who described Rafael Nadal as his tennis idol, failed to progress to the latter stages of the tournament – but was still thrilled to be in attendance at Wimbledon and revealed it was an experience he will never forget.
Toby has said:
“It’s quite surreal to be here because you only ever see it on TV and then now I get the opportunity to be here. It’s almost like a dream. You’d never think you’d be playing at Wimbledon unless you really get to the highest level of tennis and it would be great to play on Centre Court one day.
I’ve had so much fun playing, it’s all about getting the experience and taking this opportunity. I didn’t really have a favourite moment from Wimbledon this year but I liked watching Nick Kyrgios’ matches.”
