Dorset’s Natalie Carter made it a summer to remember after she won the girls’ consolation event of the HSBC Road to Wimbledon at SW19.
The Bournemouth School for Girls pupil beat Lincolnshire’s Dana Kenneally-Forrester 6-0, 3-6, 1-0 (7) in the final to claim the tournament crown. Carter narrowly missed out on qualifying for the main draw, but she showed her class by winning the consolation event having dropped just one set on her way to the title.
“It felt amazing to win the consolation final of the HSBC Road to Wimbledon final as I came here not expecting to do well so I’m really pleased with how it turned out,” said Carter.
“It’s amazing to play on these courts as I have never played on grass before and it has quickly become my favourite surface to play on and it’s been such a great experience.
“I think it’s been a really good competition and I would definitely encourage other young tennis players to get involved next year.
“My family have been supporting me here all week and my Nan came down and saw the final which was a definite highlight of the week.”
After her win, Carter had the chance to meet former British number one and HSBC Tournament Ambassador Tim Henman who spent time with the player as well as signing autographs and posing for photos with the finalists.
“The excitement of coming through the gates is still the same for me. It has the best tennis tournament in the world and it is a huge motivating factor for all the kids,” Henman said.
“You see them out here on the grass where the greats of the game played and it is inspiring and that is where Wimbledon plays a huge part in generating the sport’s interest.”
From over 20,000 children nationwide, the top 128 boys and girls qualified for the national finals at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Carter was joined in the finals by two more Dorset players; Finley Bygrave and her fellow Southbourne TC member Shuei Belcher.
Both boys reached the second round of the main draw, despite some excellent tennis Belcher was unable to stop eventual champion James Davis, he went down 7-5, 6-3 whilst Bygrave was beaten 6-2, 6-1 by sixth seed William Matthews, Sussex.
Click Here for more information on the HSBC Road to Wimbledon National Finals
By Harry Lund
