Sutton tennis star Emile Hudd has his sights set on Grand Slam glory, but insists his first goal is to bring home gold for Team GB at this month’s European Youth Olympic Festival.
The 15-year-old Sutton Tennis Academy player has been selected among a host of the country’s brightest stars that will head to Tbilisi, Georgia, to take on the best youngsters from across the continent.
While it might not have been the best Wimbledon for Britain’s stars this year, Hudd is hoping that he can put things right with some big performances on his European expedition.
And he insists he will be looking to soak it all in as he looks to hone his skills against the stars of tomorrow.
“It is a great feeling and a good achievement to be selected for the squad and it gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the year,” he said.
“It’s been a good year for me so far and I feel like I have improved a lot and hopefully that will continue.
“It’s always been a goal of mine to represent Great Britain and it’s always going to be an honour to do that no matter what sport you are doing.
“The main goal for me is to put in some good performances against players my age but it would be amazing if I could win gold.
“A competition like this is really important for me but for the other athletes in other sports as well because we get experience what a multi-sport event is like and it can make us a lot better.”
For Hudd the long term goal is to compete at Grand Slams and, while he knows it’s not going to be an easy road, he is prepared for the fight ahead.
“It’s such a competitive sport and it’s going to be really hard to get to the top,” he added.
“It’s tough knowing that so few players actually make it to that elite level but you have to embrace it.
“The challenge is something you have to enjoy and embrace and it’s something that excited me.
“I hope that EYOF is going to be a good experience and hopefully it will make me a much better athlete and can help me a lot going forward to improve me game.”
To follow the team out at Tbilisi 2015 visit www.TeamGB.com or via Twitter using @TeamGB
