Feature: From Sandy Lane to SW19

FROM SANDY LANE TO SW19

This year’s Wimbledon Championships were awash with OR influencers, both on and off the court. Pulling this all together creates a wonderful montage of the legacy of a thriving Reed’s School Tennis Academy.

Tom Thelwall-Jones (Bristowe 2018)

‘He has the energy to play well and he is a great guy. So I really thank him for these two weeks.’

It is not every day that a Wimbledon champion pays tribute to their hitting partner, but that is exactly what 2019 Ladies’ finalist, Simona Halep, did in all the press, insisting that she was not the surprise hit of Wimbledon – but instead it was our very own Tom Thelwall-Jones. Tom not only helped her in the warm-up sessions but also Rafael Nadal, Ashleigh Barty, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kevin Anderson and Marin Cilic during a busy fortnight at Wimbledon. Still at uni in the States, we will be watching Tom with great interest.

Andrew Bettles (Bristowe 2010)

And so the @reedsalumni and 2019 Wimbledon links go on, with OR Andy Bettles coaching Ukrainian eighth seed, Elina Svitolina, who reached her first Grand Slam semi-final (ironically facing Simona Halep!).

After moving to the United States to study and graduating in English Literature, Andrew became former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic’s hitting partner before joining Svitolina’s team in December 2016 when she was sharing coaches with France’s two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Here’s to another great year, Andrew!

Evan Hoyt (Blathwayt 2013)

Reaching the quarter-finals of the mixed doubles at Wimbledon is no mean feat, but that is exactly what Evan managed to do with his partner, Eden Silva, this year.

The unseeded Britons lost only marginally 7-5 7-6 (7-5) to eighth seeds, Croatia’s Ivan Dodig and Latisha Chan of Taiwan. Fingers crossed that 2020 is their year.

Jamie Delgado (Capel 1993)

Despite a full schedule continuing to coach and support Sir Andy Murray in preparation for his unbelievably exciting foray into mixed doubles at Wimbledon, it was great seeing Jamie back at his alma mater over the summer, helping to inspire our current Reed’s tennis scholars.

Jack Draper (Bristowe 2016)

How exciting that tennis gurus are predicting great things for Jack – we always knew this would be the case! In the summer, Jack became the youngest British Futures winner since Andy Murray 15 years ago and, of course, qualified for Wimbledon this year, having made it through to the finals of Junior Wimbledon last summer. What is really special is that in a Daily Telegraph interview, Jack pays tribute to his older brother, Ben, another of our talented Old Reedonians who played in the Reed’s Tennis Academy. A rising star in the making!

Tim Henman OBE (Blathwayt 1991)

Not only has Tim been a knowledgeable and steadfast member of the BBC Wimbledon commentary team since 2008, he has also set up his own charitable foundation. The aim of the Tim Henman Foundation is to help improve the education, health and welfare of young people disadvantaged by poverty, disability or ill health. We are delighted that Reed’s Foundation has been able to benefit from the support of his Foundation and, in turn, we have been able to provide players and ball boys for his charity’s annual Pro-Am competition.

James Davidson (Blathwayt 1991)

Yet another of our coaching professionals, former pro player, James, has worked with Aliaz Bedene, James Ward and Jamie Murray, but is now coaching French player, Jeremy Chardy, currently ranked 69th in the world.

The Public Schools Old Boys’ Lawn Tennis Association (PSOBLTA) D’Abernon Cup Champions 2018

Played at the All England Lawn Tennis Club no less, it was a pleasure watching such talent on display as our awesome OR team won the D’Abernon Cup in the final against Repton Old Boys. This is THE most prestigious national old boys’ tennis competition run by the PSOBLTA.

Adrian Blackman (Mullens 1992) and Ben Haran (Mullens 1994)

As our Director of Tennis for the Reed’s Academy and Head Coach respectively, Adrian and Ben are responsible for setting our pupils off on the road to SW19 and, with three World Schools’ Championships (2009, 2011, 2015) under their belt and all the successes listed here, they are doing a great job!