Two young Yorkshire tennis players will have the opportunity to compete on the hallowed grass courts of Wimbledon next month. Owen Lodge, from Huddersfield and Aimee Cheetham from Doncaster will compete at the All England Club next month after emerging victorious in the county Road to Wimbledon event.

The HSBC Road to Wimbledon event is the biggest annual recreational junior tournament in British Tennis, offering young players aged 11-14 the opportunity to rise through the ranks of their club and county before qualifying for the national finals. 11 year old Owen & 12 year old Aimee won their club events at Thongsbridge Tennis Club & Doncaster Lawn Tennis Club respectively, before competing in the county finals at Nuffield Tennis Academy in Hull.

Owen Lodge, a pupil at Lindley Junior School in Huddersfield, first picked up a racquet at just 4 years of age. Owen emerged from the club event in Thongsbridge victorious, winning all 5 of his matches before going on to face yet tougher opposition in the county finals. In his semi-final match, Owen was forced to win 6 games in a row during the second set to prevent the match going to a tiebreak, after going 5-1 down. ‘Owen showed real character and mental strength in that match’ said his mum, Kimberley. ‘Owen is so happy to have the opportunity to play at the All England Club. We went to the middle Saturday at Wimbledon this year and he definitely didn’t think he would be going back this year, let alone to play!’.

Aimee Cheetham, who attends Hungerhill School in Doncaster has played tennis since the age of 7. In the club round of the Road to Wimbledon event at the Doncaster Lawn Tennis Club, Aimee faced a tough match against her best friend at the club, Alice Jacobs, before facing her sister Lara Jacobs in the final! The final of the county event was closely contested with Aimee winning the match tiebreak 10-4.

‘I was exhausted at the end and really shocked – I couldn’t believe that I had won!’ said Aimee. ‘When I think about playing at Wimbledon I feel really proud of what I have achieved. I have never been to Wimbledon before – this is an amazing experience and I can’t wait to play!’.

Both Aimee & Owen will now head to London for a school summer holiday to remember. The national finals will take place at Wimbledon from 14-19th August. All finalists will receive a special Wimbledon souvenir, an invitation to the Players Party, a Wimbledon museum voucher, a tour of the grounds and an allowance for accommodation and meals. Wimbledon will play host to over 350 matches during finals week with a singles round robin leading to a knock out draw plus doubles. The latest news about the competition can be found here: www.lta.org.uk/competitions/junior/road-to-wimbledon

ENDS

For more information please contact:
Suzzi Garnett – Regional Tennis Services Assistant – [email protected] – 0208 487 7040

• The HSBC Road to Wimbledon tournament is the biggest junior tournament in British Tennis and gives all 14 and under players the opportunity to progress through to compete on the world famous grass courts at Wimbledon.
• Local clubs, parks and schools are all encouraged to stage a tournament for their members/pupils rated 10.2 to 7.1 or unrated. For players rated 6.2 or higher there is the HSBC Road to Wimbledon International event.
• The HSBC Road to Wimbledon has been staged since 2002 crowning 14 girls and boys Road to Wimbledon champions.
• The Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) mission is to get more people playing tennis more often, and its role is to develop, promote and govern tennis in Britain.
• For more information on the LTA and the work of British Tennis visit www.lta.org.uk.