Wimbledon tennis starlet Edward Harper-Jones admits watching this year’s tournament at SW19 is made all the more difficult after he fell just short of strutting his stuff at the world famous venue.
As the likes of British No.1 Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams show what they can do at this year’s Wimbledon, Harper-Jones had the chance to follow suit as he competed in the HSBC Road to Wimbledon South East Regional Qualifier at The National Tennis Centre in Roehampton.
The 12-year-old was playing for a spot at August’s HSBC Road to Wimbledon 14 & Under Challenge at the All England Club but lost in the first round to Kyle Stocker after being forced to withdraw with an arm injury.
But despite falling short of a memorable outing at the famous SW19 courts this time around Dukes Meadows pupil Edward is adamant we haven’t seen the last of him.
“I think I aggravated an arm injury when I was playing, I felt OK coming in and tried it yesterday and it felt a bit off,” he said.
“But once I was out there it started hurting again which was frustrating and I couldn’t finish the match.
“It would have been really special to play at Wimbledon, especially because it’s my home town.
“I play tennis almost every day and want to be a player so I’ll be back and trying to win this next year and then hopefully I can go to the finals.”
The HSBC Road to Wimbledon 14 & under Challenge began in 2002 and is the largest junior tournament in the UK, involving some 850 clubs, parks and schools with youngsters bidding to reach the national final at the All England Club.
And, although Harper-Jones failed to advance to Wimbledon, former British No.1 Tim Henman believes he is still very much one to watch out for in the future.
“Players are always disappointed when they miss out on qualifying for the HSBC Road to Wimbledon National Final and a chance to play on the grass courts at Wimbledon,” said Henman.
“Hopefully Edward will be spurred on to greater achievements in his junior career and who knows maybe even to play at The Championships as a professional player in the future.”
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.
