I started playing tennis at my local primary school when I was eight years old and instantly loved it. My coach quickly noticed how naturally I picked up the game and suggested my parents get me more involved at a tennis club, that’s when my journey at Broxbourne Sports Club began.
For the first year, I played in one group session a week, before adding private lessons and extra group sessions. Funnily enough, one of my group coaches back then was Dom!
At the age of 11, I began competing in local tournaments an exciting step in my development. Some of my favourite memories as a junior were joining the adult sessions at Broxbourne on Tuesday evenings and Saturday afternoons. Those sessions not only improved my tennis but also taught me valuable life lessons. They boosted my confidence, especially when it came to communicating with adults.
When I turned 13, I began training at Gosling, where I started training more regularly. Between ages 13 and 15, I was training five times a week and competing most weekends. After finishing my GCSEs at 16, I began training full time at Gosling and David Lloyd Cambridge, 2–4 hours of tennis and fitness every day. I’d wake up at 5:30 am for a 7 am lesson in Cambridge and finish the day at Gosling around 5 pm.
During that time, I travelled around England, France, and Germany playing adult tournaments.
I really enjoyed the training there was always a great atmosphere and I loved playing with my friends but the pressure to perform and win became intense and stressful.
That’s when my love for the game began to fade. Tennis had shifted from being a hobby I loved into something that felt like a job, where success was measured by results and earnings.
After a year of travelling, I decided to step away from the game altogether. Six months later, I returned to tennis through coaching, and from then on, I was absolutely hooked again.
I rediscovered my love for the sport.
Tennis has completely shaped my life. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without it. It gave me the chance to play a sport I adored as a child, to travel the world, to represent my county as both a junior and an adult, and now to build a career doing what I love most.
Tennis truly is a sport for life.