A rising star who plays at Riverside Tennis Club has enjoyed another successful year on the nation’s tennis courts after reaching the National Finals of the ‘Play Your Way to Wimbledon’ event.
Merely a month after Barbora Krejcikova took home the Venus Rosewater Dish for winning the Ladies’ singles title, Lauren Rose Essome-Ngodi, 13, featured at the same venue in the event, formerly known as the ‘Road to Wimbledon’.
‘Play Your Way to Wimbledon’ is the UK’s largest individual mass participation tennis competition, providing recreational players of all ages and abilities the opportunity to compete at the famed tennis courts at SW19.
Essome-Ngodi, who described Coco Gauff as her tennis idol, failed to progress to the latter stages of the tournament but was still thrilled to attend Wimbledon and revealed it was an experience she will never forget.
“It means a lot for me to be here, to show my ability against all these really good people. I’ve been doing better this year than last year.
“This event has inspired me to keep going with tennis. It shows how close I could be in the future, because I’m here at Wimbledon. My friends and family are really proud of me to be here.
“I like Coco Gauff because of her confidence. I hope I can use this event to get to the next level and qualify for Tennis Europe.”
Inclusion top of the agenda
As well as boys and girls competitions, ‘Play Your Way to Wimbledon’ introduced more competitions this season including para standing, deaf and junior wheelchair pathways.
Although not a junior, Riverside Tennis Club also boasts one of the nation’s top wheelchair tennis players in Gary Cox, and the ‘Play Your Way to Wimbledon’ annual mass participation tournament will surely help anyone who wants to play tennis reach their potential.
Former British number one, Tim Henman was in attendance and highlighted the importance of the event in helping to forge careers.
“Play Your Way to Wimbledon is an incredible opportunity for people from every walk of life to pick up a racket and get involved and it’s been great to see so many players taking part in this year’s competition.
“This is an opportunity that not many get, so there are lots of people walking around with big smiles on their faces!”
Another former British number one in Laura Robson was also in attendance, outlining how the event helped her.
“I played this competition when it was ‘Road to Wimbledon’; just about everyone who is currently in British tennis has played at this event, so hopefully we can create some good memories for the players out there”, she said.
You can find out more about what Riverside Tennis Club have to offer here.
