Tooting’s Leah Gonzales-Edwards admitted lifting the winners’ trophy was the icing on the cake after finally getting the chance to play at SW19 as part of the HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 and Under Challenge Finals.
The 11-year-old Tennis Avenue New Malden starlet has often dreamt about starring on the famous Wimbledon lawn courts, imagining one day she would get the chance to strut her stuff there.
And while not making the final of the singles, she did hit back strongly in the doubles alongside partner Cheri Darley progressing all the way through before winning Saturday’s final 7-5, 6-4, 10-5 against Catrin Hughes and Varada Kamate.
“It feels amazing to have come here and won at Wimbledon. I love playing on grass and doubles is really fun too,” Gonzales-Edwards, who received her trophy from former British no. 1 and HSBC Tournament Ambassador Tim Henman.
“I do get to play on grass sometimes if we are good in training, and I think that does give me a bit of an edge on this surface as I have more experience of it than most of the other people I’m playing against.
“I think I play better on grass as I can hit the ball harder and I feel like I can move a lot better as well.
“I met Cheri at another tournament, and when we saw we were both here this week we wanted to be doubles partners as we get on very well.
“I feel like a champion now, and it’s very special to be able to say I’ve won here. And seeing Tim Henman here this week has been really cool, as it’s not often you get to meet big tennis stars like him so I feel very lucky.”
Gonzales-Edwards, who will start at Graveney School next year, even got the chance to meet former British No.1 and HSBC Tournament Ambassador Henman during her time at Wimbledon.
Henman spent time with the players, signed autographs, and posed for photos with the finalists and insisted he was impressed with the standard on show this year at SW19.
“There’s 20,000 kids every year with the Road to Wimbledon and it’s great to see how the standard has improved over the years,” said Henman, a four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist.
“There’s some really good young players. It’s a great week here but it’s then a lot longer than that with the process of playing in their local areas and regionally and coming through.
“It’s a great carrot for the youngsters to realise they’ve got this opportunity of coming to play at Wimbledon.”
The HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 & Under Challenge is the UK’s largest national junior grass court tournament and forms part of HSBC’s investment in the stars of the future.
Feature image shows Leah (on the left) with Tim Henman
