Two young Yorkshire tennis players will have the opportunity to compete on the hallowed grass courts of Wimbledon next month. Owen Lodge, of Huddersfield and Aimee Cheetham from Doncaster will compete at the All England Club next month after emerging victorious in the county Road to Wimbledon event.The HSBC Road to Wimbledon event is the biggest annual recreational junior tournament in British Tennis offering young players aged 11-14 the opportunity to rise through the ranks of their club and county before qualifying for the national finals. 11 year old Owen & 12 year old Aimee won their respective club events at Thongsbridge Tennis Club & Doncaster Lawn Tennis Club before competing in the county finals at Nuffield Tennis Academy in Hull.
Owen Lodge, a pupil at Lindley Junior School in Huddersfield first picked up a racquet at the tender age of 4 years old. Owen emerged from the club event in Thongsbridge unscathed winning all 5 of his matches before facing much tougher opposition in the county finals. In his semi-final match Owen was forced to win 6 games in a row in the second set to prevent the match going to a tiebreak after going 5-1 down.
‘Owen showed real character and mental strength in that match’ said mum, Kimberley. ‘Owen is so happy to have the opportunity. We went to the middle Saturday at Wimbledon this year and he definitely didn’t think he would be going back this year, let alone to play!’.
Aimee Cheetham, who attends Hungerhill School in Doncaster has played tennis since the ripe old age of 7. In the club round of the Road to Wimbledon event at Doncaster Lawn Tennis Club Aimee faced a tough match against her best friend at the club, Alice Jacobs before then also facing her sister Lara Jacobs in the final! The final of the county event was closely contested with Aimee winning the match tiebreak 10-4.‘
I was exhausted at the end and really shocked – I couldn’t believe that I had won!’ said Aimee. ‘When I think about playing at Wimbledon I feel really proud of what I have achieved. I have never been to Wimbledon before – this is an amazing experience and I can’t wait to play!’.
Both Aimee & Owen will now head to London for a school summer holiday to remember – the national finals take place at Wimbledon from 14-19th August. All finalists will receive a special Wimbledon souvenir, an invitation to the Players Party, a Wimbledon museum voucher, a tour of the grounds and an allowance for accommodation and meals. Wimbledon will play host to over 350 matches during finals week with a singles round robin leading to a knock out draw plus doubles. The latest news about the competition can be found here: www.lta.org.uk/competitions/junior/road-to-wimbledon
