The Road to Wimbledon is scheme to encourage players in clubs and schools aged 14 and under to compete firstly at their own venue with the winners going on to the county finals and then on to play on the grass courts of Wimbledon.
This year, owing to the Olympics tennis event being played at Wimbledon, the Road to Wimbledon Finals was moved to the grass courts of The Bank of England Recreation ground, which is where the qualifying rounds for The Wimbledon Championships.
A total of 20 clubs and for the first time one school entered players for the Road to Wimbledon County Finals in in June. The matches were played indoors at Cardiff Metropolitan (UWIC). With over 50 players entered, this meant that we had to run preliminary rounds over one weekend with the winners qualifying to play in the Main Draw the following weekend. Players were divided by rating which meant the less experienced players would play against each other first.
The seeded players in the Main Draw were very experienced County Cup standard players. This meant the matches were of a very high standard and played in great spirit. A large crowd of parents and players were there for the latter stages.
The Finalists were:
Winner Runner-up
Boys Matthew Lloyd (Swansea LT & SRC) Tom Beasley (Haverfordwest LTC)
Girls Poppy Davies (Cardiff LTC) Charlotte Irvine (Virgin Active Glamorgan)
Both the boys and girls runners'up had a two hour coaching session with Tim Henman during the finals at Roehampton, highlights of which can be viewed here: http://www.sparkymediaproductions.com/wimbledon/