Liam Broady and Joshua Ward-Hibbert take Australian Open junior title

Tennis first grantee, Liam, and partner Joshua, seeded six, had to come through match tie breaks twice to reach the finals – in the first round against the Israeli pair of Bar-Tzuf Botzer and Or Ram-Harel, and again in the semi-finals against the Australian number four seeds, Andrew Harris and Nick Kyrgios. In the final they overcame the Czech/Croatian pair, Adam Pavlasek and Filip Veger, 6-3, 6-2 in just 45 minutes, dropping only five points on their services throughout the match!

Joshua and former Tennis First grantee Kyle Edmond also reached the last eight of the singles – Kyle going out 7-5, 7-5 to the eventual winner, Australian top-seeded Luke Saville. A good grand slam event for our boys!

Maia Lumsden and Gabriella Taylor both reach the semi-finals in Tarbes

Regarded as one of the world’s toughest, if not the toughest, 14 and under events in the Tennis Europe calendar, Les Petits As in Tarbes (France) this week saw Tennis First grantees in the semi-finals on either side of the draw.

Maia Lumsden, seeded 16, had claimed the scalp of number one seed Olga Fridman of Ukraine, 7-6(3) 6-2 in the third round, before eventually going out to the fourth seeded American, Alicia Black, 6-1, 6-1. In the other half Gabriella Taylor beat America’s Emma Christine Higuchi (seeded 14) in the quarters, 7-6(2) 6-2, before falling to Romania’s 11th seeded Jacqueline Cristian 6-4, 6-2.

Maia Lumsden with Jazzi Plews, another Tennis First grantee, also reached the semi-finals of the doubles, losing 6-4, 6-1 to the American second seeds, Alicia Black and Nicole Frenkel.

Tennis First grantees open their account in the Australian Open

Luke Bambridge and Liam Broady, along with Kyle Edmund, a former grantee, and Joshua Ward-Hibbert all won their opening rounds in the Boy’s Singles. Luke scampered through the first set 6-0 in less than 20 minutes against Germany’s Daniel Masur, but needed to pull out all the stops to secure the second in a 10-8 tiebreak. Liam Broady, seeded three, overcame the Italian qualifier, Matteo Donatti, 7-5, 6-3. With partner Joshua-Ward Hibbert (and seeded six) he also came through the first round of the doubles after dropping the first set to the Israeli pair, Bozter and Ram-Harel.

Christopher Pearce and Billy Harris win the Czech Junior Indoor Championships

The unseeded pair of Christopher Pearce, a Tennis First grantee, and Billy Harris beat Blaz Bizjak of Slovenia and Luka Ilic of Serbia 6-3, 7-6(3) in the final of this ITF Grade 1 event in Prerov last week. In the girl’s singles, former grantee Eleanor Dean reached the semi-finals before going down 6-1, 6-3 to Belinda Bencic of Switzerland. Eleanor also reached the doubles semi-finals with her German partner Antonia Lottner.

Former Tennis First grantee Fitzpatrick triumphs in season opener at Billesley

Top seed Anna reached the final without dropping a set, but the battle against fifth seed Stephanie Cornish lasted over two and a half hours, with Anna coming through 7-6(5), 7-6(5). Her opponent came back from 5–2 down in the second set, forcing Anna to save a set point in the tie-break before sealing the win with her fourth match point.

Anna, now 463 in the world, is climbing back up the rankings (from a career-high of 318 in 2008) after serious injury problems in the past few years, so this will be a real confidence booster for her.

Jay wins Under 14 Aegon International

Jay Clarke has won the Aegon Junior International , a Grade 3 Tennis Europe U14 event held at Wrexham, sending him  into 2012 full of confidence.

Clarke, the sixth seed, came through three set matches against British qualifier Joe Tyler and Guanarteme Nuez Delgado (Spain) in the first two rounds, but then really got into his stride. In the quarter finals he disposed of second seed Luke Hammond 6-4 6-3 and then Frenchman Louis Tessa 6-3 6-3 in the semis. His final victim was Andreas Aravis, the top seed from Cyprus, who fell 6-4 6-4 to the Derbyshire player.  Another grantee, Marcus Walters, also had a good week, reaching the semi finals before falling to Aravis in a close 3 setter.

Georgina wins Grade 3 in Wrexham

Georgina Axon, a new Tennis First grantee, has won the Aegon Junior International , a Grade 3 Tennis Europe U14 event held at Wrexham. The 12 year old from Hertfordshire survived an early scare from qualifier Holly Thompson in round 1, winning 7-5 in the deciding set. Then she overcame another new grantee, Ellie-Rose Griffiths in round 2, 6-3 6-2.

Her quarter final opponent was the 2^nd seeded Mariam Bolkvadze from Georgia, and after sharing the first 2 sets, Georgie found her best form to progress to the semis without losing a game in the decider. This form remained with her as she overcame the Swiss Anais Gabriel  6-3 6-3 to set up an all Tennis First final with the No.1 seed, Scotland’s Anastasia Mikheeva, whose path to the final had been achieved without the loss of a set. But it was Georgina who emerged triumphant with a 6-4 6-4 victory.

British under-12 international, Dominic West, reaches Orange Bowl last 16

Nottinghamshire’s Dominic West did well to come through three rounds of the 12-and-under Junior Orange Bowl this week. His main draw successes included a last-32 straight sets win over the ninth seed, Hyunjoo Kim of South Korea.

He was narrowly defeated in the last 16 by the American No. 2 seed, Alexander del Corral, 6-4, 7-6(5), but will have benefited from the experience of having competed in one of the world’s top events.

Liam and Joshua Ward Hibbert win U18 Orange Bowl

The British pair of Liam Broady and Joshua Ward-Hibbert have won the Orange Bowl Under 18 doubles title in Miami, Florida without the loss of a set. For Liam this is the second important doubles title he has won, having been the Wimbledon junior doubles winner in 2010. The duo, seeded 4, conquered sixth, fifth  and top seeded opposition en route to the title, winning the final against Dominic Thiem, the singles winner from Austria and Robin Kern of Germany 6-4 6-3.

Broady was the second seed in the singles, in which he lost in the last 16 to Janis Podzus of Latvia 7-6 6-4. This will have been a disappointment to the Lancashire player, but he showed his resilience by recovering to put in an outstanding doubles performance.

Maia Lumsden justifies No. 2 seeding in Tennis Europe 16U event

Scotland’s 13-year-old Maia Lumsden finished runner-up in the girl’s singles (16 and under) in Marsa, Malta, last week. Justifying her seeding, she came through a tough third round match against Italy’s Veronica Napolitano 7-6(2), 1-6, 6-3. After a straight sets win against the young French player Emmanuelle Salas, Maia then beat the No 3 seeded Russian Daria Kruzhkova in the semi-finals in another three-set match, winning 2-6, 6-1, 6-0. She finally went out to the top-seeded Russian Maria Marfutina 6-3 6-1. Maia, with her Spanish partner Laura Ortega Jover, also reached the semi-finals of the girls’ doubles before losing to the top-seeded Russians, Marfutina and Kruzhkova.

Alex  reaches the U16 doubles final

Alex Sendegeya and his Dutch partner Franz Sydow, the No.3 seeds, reached the final of the Under 16 doubles at the famous Orange Bowl Championships in Miami, Florida. The pair’s route to the final included two match tie-break wins so they were used to tough encounters. But the Brazilian duo of Marcelo Tebet Filho and Lucas Guitarrari proved just too strong in the final, winning 7-5 7-5.

Alex was Britain’s only representative in the Under 16 singles and seeded No.13. He won his first round match comfortably, but suffered a second round defeat at the hands of Andrei Apostol of Roumania, 6-4 6-1.

Katie falls at final hurdle

A fantastic week in the early career of Katie Boulter saw her confirm her status as the No.2 seed in the Under 16 Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. Confronted by Americans in all of her first 5 matches, Katie dismissed them all to take her place in the final, losing only one set along the way. Her final opponent, Erin Routliffe, also hails from North America, and the Canadian was in great form during the week, winning both singles and doubles.

Katie, who still has one more year to compete at Under 16 level, lost 6-4 6-3 in the final against an opponent who had already taken out the home favourite Johnnise Renaud in Round 3. Her performances during the week confirm her potential as a top class prospect, and at 232 already in the ITF Under 18 rankings with 3 more years to compete, a significant junior career seems assured.

Supporters are brilliantly entertained at Wimbledon

Katriona Taylor and Edei put on a great show in their very different vocal styles at the 'Soulmates' musical evening at Wimbledon's Courtside Restaurant last Saturday. Katriona started and finished the evening in her jazz based style and Edei performed songs she had crafted herself - a very talented lady!

The 'Man of Steal' James Freedman compered and dazzled with magic and his special skill as a pickpocket - and surprised a few unsuspecting guests along the way!

Our next musical evening - also at Wimbledon - sees the return of Robin Bibi's rock band on March 10th, when he will be joined by some guest vocalists to make music which fills the dance floor! Full details to follow shortly

Pippa Horn shows character to turn the tables on rival for a win in Sarawak

In a rerun of the Malaysian ITF junior championships final the previous week, which she lost, Pippa Horn again came up against Karin Kennel of Switzerland in the final of the 18th Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup. But this time she went the full distance, beating Kennel 6-4, 6-2.

From an unseeded position Pippa beat Spain’s Carol Augustine-Benito, the sixth seed, in the second round, and the No. 1 seed, Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia in the semi-finals for a rematch with the No. 2 seed in the finals.

Another former Tennis First grantee shows the way, taking his fifth Pro-Series title.

Josh Goodall beat Jan Minar of the Czech Republic 7-6(3), 7-5 in the final of the AEGON GB Pro-Series in Glasgow on Sunday. After dominating the first set tie-break, Goodall again stepped up a gear when it mattered, breaking Minar's service at 6-5 to win the title. The semis were contested by three British players – Josh beat Dan Evans in three sets and Dan Cox, another former Tennis First grantee, lost to Minar in three.

Grantees benefit from Vets Fun Competition

Winchester Tennis and Squash Club kindly played host to a friendly competition for players 'of a certain age' for the benefit of Tennis First on Sunday 23 October. Encouraged by Club Chairman (and Chair of the 45 Club) Peter Friedmann, pairs from the surrounding area arrived to play against some old friends (and to make some new ones!) in a round robin format. Everyone enjoyed their day, and we are grateful to them and for Winchester's hospitality in making the day a success. Pictured are the two men's pairs who contested the final. L to R Nigel Espley, Bob Battersby, Peter Friedmann, John Wilson and Chris Mitchell.

Former Tennis First grantee Anne Keothavong reaches Luxembourg semis

Anne set a great example to the current Tennis First generation. First she had to come through three rounds of qualifying (including beating the top seed) just to reach the starting line of last week's WTA international event – the BGN BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open. She then overcame world No. 26 Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-2 on her way to the semi-finals. There she went down to Monica Niculescu of Romania, but not without an epic struggle lasting over three hours and a final scoreline of 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.

Pippa Horn overcomes three seeds before finally going down to the top seed.

Pippa upset the odds at the ITF International Junior Tennis Championships in Perak, Malaysia this month. Three of her four wins were against seeded players. She beat seventh seed Rosalie van der Hoek of the Netherlands in the second round, and then South Africa’s second-seeded Madrie Le Roux. That took her to a semi-finals against fellow Tennis First player and fourth seed Katie Boulter which she won 6-0, 6-2, before finally succumbing to No. 1 seed Karin Kennel of Switzerland 6-2, 6-1.

George Morgan leaps 1200 places in the singles rankings, following his Futures win in Danderyd, Sweden at the end of last month.

Morgan first had to get through the qualifiers before a tough opener in the main draw against No. 4 seed Juho Paukku of Finland who retired in the third set. He then beat fellow Tennis First player James Marsalek in three, came past Swedes in the quarters and semis, and finally overcame Alex Ward 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to take the title. The win has taken him up 1200 places to 760 in the ATP rankings as George begins his transition from junior to senior, and is a great confidence booster.

Morgan and partner Lewis Burton also lived up to their billing as top seeds in the doubles, beating the Swedish pair of Blomgren and Brunstrom 6-3, 6-2 in the final.

Tennis First trio, Evan Hoyt, Kyle Edmund and Luke Bambridge bring home the title for Great Britain for the first time ever.

Britain’s 16U boys finished a great week yesterday at San Luis Potosi, Mexico, by beating No. 2 seeds Italy 2-0 in the final. Hoyt and Edmund won the first two singles rubbers (6-4, 6-3 and 6-3, 6-4) to secure the match, leaving the third (doubles) match irrelevant.

The team had come through the group phase with wins against Thailand, Germany and Canada, and then beat No. 6 seeds France 3-0 in the semi-final on Saturday. Team captain Greg Rusedski said he was very proud of the team, which apart from a technical loss due a retirement in the ‘dead’ doubles against Canada, completed the event with no matches lost. This win follows the U16 team’s success in the European Summer Cup in August (also against Italy in the final and also a first – see news item 04 08 2011).

4 wins produces 80 place ranking rise

Unseeded Francesca Stephenson, who turned 18 last month, beat the odds to reach the final of last week’s ITF $10,000 event in Antalya. Her path to the final was achieved without the loss of a set and included wins over the No 3 seed, Chieh-Yu Hsu of the USA, and Turkey’s No 1 seed Melis Sezer in the quarters and semis, before going down 6-4, 6-3 in the final to Nikola Frankova of the Czech Republic. As a result her WTA ranking will rise some 80 places to around 720, reflecting positive progress in her medium term ambition to reach the Tennis First target of 300.

Success for Lucy Brown in ITF Event

There was good news for Womens' British Tennis last week when Lucy Brown, the 7th seed, reached the finals of the ITF $10,000 event in Madrid, Spain. Brown, had a great tournament with an impressive 6-1, 6-1 win against third seed Rocio de la Torre-Sanchez of Spain but eventually lost out to top seed, Johanna Konta 6-2, 6-1 in the final. A great week Lucy, well done!

Ollie Golding triumphs in New York

Morgan and Edmund are semi finalists

Ollie Golding has become the US Open Junior champion, following in Andy Murray’s 2004 footsteps. The 18 year old from Twickenham has been helped by Tennis First from a very young age and received his first direct grant in 2005 as a 12 year old.

George Morgan & Kyle Edmund also showed brilliant form to reach the semi finals in a landmark event for British tennis, providing 3 of the 4 semi-finalists.

Golding cruised through the first two rounds in straight sets against Brett Clark (USA) and Ben Wagland (AUS) before facing the No.3 seed Bjorn Fratangelo (USA) in the third round. This proved to be a tough encounter with Golding finding his best form in the decider, winning 7-5 3-6 6-3. Next up the 6^th seed Filip Horansky of Slovakia in which Golding came from behind after a 5-7 first set loss. The remainder of the match was all Golding, taking the last two sets 6-4 6-1.

It’s never easy playing friends, and George Morgan seemed much more affected at the beginning of their semi final, losing the first set 6-0. But the second reflected the closeness of their rivalry, with Ollie edging it 7-6 to progress to his first Grand Slam final.

Facing the world No.1 Jiri Vesely (CZE) in the final, Ollie was on good form and held set points on the Czech’s serve in a tight first set which Vesely eventually won 7-5. But using his serve and forehand to great effect, the Brit manufactured a break in each of the last two sets to take the title 5-7 6-3 6-4. A fantastic achievement!

Golding is one of several young British juniors who are showing real promise. Morgan, having won the Orange Bowl last December and now a  US Open semi finalist, is obviously another. George, the 10^th seed, beat Julien Cagnina (BEL), Connor Farren (USA), Robin Kern (GER) and Adam Pavlasek (CZE) on his way to the last 4. Kyle Edmund, still only 16, beat Joris De Lorre (BEL), Mitchell Kruger (USA), Felip Peliwo (CAN) and Karim Hossan (EGY) before losing to Vesely. Liam Broady, 17, also won two rounds in New York and was the runner-up in the junior event at Wimbledon.  Together, despite (or perhaps because of) being rivals, these four Brits are pushing each other at the top of the junior game and are beginning the long and tough road towards the Tennis First target of a 250 ranking on the senior Tour.

Roehampton stages & wins Centenary Clubs Challenge

No wonder Mark Staniszewski (pictured) has a smile on his face! He conceived, helped organise and played in the first meeting of the British & Irish Centenary Clubs at the Roehampton Club in south west London on September 3rd – an event he titled ‘The Centenary Clubs Challenge’. Mark is a supporter of Tennis First and all the competitors were encouraged to donate a small amount to the charity, for which we are hugely grateful.

Centenary Tennis Clubs (www.centenary tennisclubs.org) is an association of clubs around the world that have existed for over 100 years. Teams from Cumberland, Edgbaston Priory, Queens, Roehampton, Winchester, Carrickmines and Fitzwilliam were attracted to the event, supported by EFG International (www.efginternational.com), which included matches in open and several veteran age groups – a format which generated wide appeal.

To cap it all, Roehampton emerged as the first winners of the event, which brought widespread praise from the participants and which seems set to become a regular event.

Lianne Tapson has fantastic time in Newport, R.I.

Loyal Tennis First supporter Lianne Tapson has recently returned from Newport, Rhode Island where she and daughter Ella saw the great Andre Agassi inducted into The International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Set up as ‘a shrine to the ideals of the game’, the Hall of Fame and Museum is on the site of the Newport Casino, where the first US National Tennis Championships was played (now the US Open) in 1881. Newport claims their grass courts as the oldest in the world (Wimbledon moved to the current site in 1922) and is the last remaining ATP grass court event in the US.

Lianne and Ella were special guests and were able to see the tennis from prime seats (John Isner was the winner) and to mingle with the many tennis celebrities and Hall of Famers who flock to Newport to celebrate the ‘class of 2011’  (the new inductees) at lunches, dinners and entertainments organised specially to mark the celebrations. Ella even got to play ‘monkey in the middle’ with the two Agassi children in the hotel pool!

A memorable trip, made possible by the generosity of Sir James Harvie-Watt, a director of the Hall of Fame, in providing an auction lot for Tennis First which Lianne bid for in 2010!

Bettles, Edmund and Hoyt win in Le Touquet

With wins over Ukraine and Israel, the team faced Italy in the final. Evan Hoyt lost a titanic battle against Gianluigi Quinzi in the second singles 6-7 6-3 4-6, leaving Kyle Edmund to save the tie against the Italian No.1 Stefano Napolitano. The Yorkshire player was up to the task, despatching his opponent 7-6 6-3 to take the tie into a deciding doubles.

Luke Bambridge stepped up to partner Edmund, and although they were quickly a break down, the British duo squared the set and breezed through the first set tie break 7-0. The momentum was now with them and they eased through the second set 6-3 to seal GB’s first win in the 40 year old competition.

This threesome have for some time been at the forefront of their age group. Having won the Eurpean Winter Cup this win confirmed the GB strength in the U16 division in Europe. They now head for the World Junior Davis Cup in Mexico in September. A job well done and we wish them more success in Mexico.

Jasmine and Eden triumph in Bournemouth

At the Aegon Junior International tournament in Bournemouth last week, there was a double victory for Jasmine Amber Asghar. Asghar, the no.1 seed, triumphed in the Girls U14 Singles, taking the title with an impressive 6-3, 6-3 win over Olivia Tomkins. She then paired up with her fellow Tennis First Grantee, Eden Richardson, and the dynamic duo (the no. 2 seeds) had a great tournament, culminating in a victory over Ellie-Rose Griffiths and Emily Smith 6-2, 5-7, 10-7 to take the Girls Doubles Title. A great week girls!

Dart is triumphant at The Aegon Juniors in Newcastle

Congratulations to Harriet Dart who took the Girls Singles Title at the ITF U18 tournament in Newcastle this weekend. In an all British final, Dart, the no.3 seed, claimed the title with a win over Georgia Craven 6-3, 7-6. Success in the singles for Dart ensured the 14 year old ended the week with a clean sweep after partnering fellow Brit (and Tennis First Grantee) Pippa Horn to victory in the doubles. They took the title 6-4, 6-7, 10-7 against Alice Keddie and Yuriko Miyazaki. A great week Harriet!

12 TF players play in the Junior Championships

There were 12 Tennis First players in the Championships, 7 boys and 5 girls, including Pippa Horn (pictured). For many this was the first time they had played on the world's biggest tennis stage and the experience they gained will be locked away in the memory banks. Many will have plenty more opportunities to progress further through the draw. Tennis First was very proud to have so many of our grantees represented in SW19 and we certainly hope for even more at next year's championships!

Liam is Championships Runner Up

Congratulations to Liam Broady, who had a fantastic week at SW19. Broady stormed his way through the tournament, beating the world's No.1 ranked junior Jiri Vesely along the way for the second time in a week. Broady had the better start in the final, played in front of a huge crowd on No.1 Court against Luke Saville of Australia and looked a likely winner as he forged a 6-2, 4-3 lead. But after an outstanding 2 weeks of demanding competition Broady could not quite press home his advantage and Saville ended the stronger, taking the title 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Broady was aiming to become the first British winner of the boys singles title since Stanley Matthews in 1962. He may not have taken the title, but he played a tournament to be proud of and has seen his ITF ranking go up to 9 as a result. Quite an achievement and he is young enough to have another attempt next year!

George Morgan wins; Ollie Golding is runner-up 

George Morgan and his Croation partner Mate Pavic have won the boys doubles title at Wimbledon. The No. 2 seeds beat the top seeded Ollie Golding and his Czech partner Jiri Vesely in a tight 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 final. It is the second consecutive year George has contested the Boys Doubles Final - last year he partnered Lewis Burton to the Runners' Up spot but went one better this year by taking the title with Pavic.

Morgan concluded a great Championships for Tennis First. Ollie is a former grantee, and Liam Broady was the singles runner-up (see story above). Morgan's ITF world ranking is now 11; Golding is number 5 and Broady is 9. As all three boys start to make their way onto the ATP tour, they offer a great deal of hope for the future of men's tennis in Britain.

Liam triumphs at Roehampton

The Bank of England Club at Roehampton has become a happy hunting ground for Tennis First as 17 year old Liam Broady followed James Marsalek in becoming the champion of this important pre Wimbledon Grade 1 event.

Broady beat the Russian Evgeny Karlovskiy 6-2 4-6 6-1 in the final but argiuably his best win in the tournament was against the leading ITF junior player Jiri Vesely from the Czech Republic. Liam won a tense match in the deciding tie break, showing his resilient qualities to record a great victory.

There is a chance that these two may meet again in the Wimbledon Juniors next week, but this was a big success for one of our bright young players.

Morgan and Golding lead party of 12 in SW19

Ollie Golding (ITF rank 5), George Morgan (10) and Liam Broady (16) will probably be amongst the seeded players in the Boys Junior Event at Wimbledon starting on Saturday, and 4 other Tennis First grantees will join them in the draw.  Andrew Bettles, Luke Bambridge, Kyle Edmund and Evan Hoyt have all been awarded wild cards into the tournament.

In the Girls Junior Event, Lucy Brown, Francesca Stephenson, Katie Boulter, Katy Dunne and Pippa Horn will be in the draw, making a round dozen players who have received support from Tennis First represented in their home Grand Slam. We wish them all the best next week.

First Grand Slam Meeting of Grantees

Anne Keothavang (WTA 111) and Naomi Broady (WTA 213) became the first pair of players supported by Tennis First to meet each other in a Grand Slam, when they played each other at Wimbledon. Unfortunately drawn together in the 1st round, Anne had the better of the match winning 6-4, 6-2. However, the match marked a significant milestone for the charity in its mission to help British players reach this level.

Lumsden and Wilson triumph at Queenswood

Congratulations to Tennis First Grantees, Maia Lumsden and Ross Tiree Wilson who both won the singles titles at last week's AEGON Clay Court Championships at Queenswood, Hertfordshire. In the girls tournament, Lumsden beat fellow grantee, Jasmine Asghar to take the title 6-4, 6-2 and Wilson beat Ryan Brough by the same scoreline, taking the boys title with a 6-4, 6-2 victory. Lumsden and Asghar went on to become the Girls U14 Doubles Champions, working together brilliantly as a team after competing against each other in the singles final. Well done all three of you!

Grantees get wild cards for The Championships

2 Tennis First grantees have been awarded wild cards direct into this year’s Wimbledon Championships. Dan Cox, 20, has had a great year, rising from  556 to 273 in the ATP rankings. Cox was the recipient of Tennis First funding from 2007-2009 and is making good headway as he makes the transition from junior to senior.

Naomi Broady, 21, has also been making smooth progress and cracked the TF criteria of 250 in the world this year. But there seems to be plenty to come. Possessing a big game, Naomi is currently ranked 231 and already has a WTA grass court win under her belt, beating Caroline Garcia (France) in the event at Edgbaston. Broady received her TF funding in 2009.

Wimbledon has also smiled on TF grantees with wild cards for the Qualifying. Liam Broady, Oliver Golding and George Morgan, all still juniors, will compete in the event held at The Bank of England’s ground at Roehampton. They will be joined by Anna Fitzpatrick and Mel South who will play in the Ladies tournament, which starts next week.

23 Tennis First Riders cycle 330 miles

The first Roland Garros Challenge (there will be another in 2012!) was successfully completed by this rather disparate group of cyclists on 28th May! Despite the variety of backgrounds. ages and interests of the participants, the challenge proved to be a wonderful experience for everyone.

Barry Cowan, the Sky tennis pundit, led from the front most of the way, before the whole group cycled triumphantly to the Eiffel Tower. Sunday was spent watching tennis at The French Open, where we were able to watch TF grantees George Morgan and Ollie Golding in the junior event.

Peter Verow, 58,  the former GB squash international and almost the oldest cyclist on the tour (!) said ' A great few days of exercise along with great company. I hope there is a chance to do something again in the future'

Kim Sears, 23, one of four ladies who made the trip, was equally enthusiateic. 'How lovely it was to meet everyone and I had the best time riding with you all (apart from Barry who I never saw for all the dust...). Keep me posted if anyone's planning a repeat!

Philip Rann, a successful businessman from Lincolnshire who formed part of a team of 4 from his company said 'We had a top time! Woody Allen said - Life is for people who turn up' - and that pretty much sums up the positive, friendly atmosphere that pervaded through out the trip.'

And Jeff McMillan, part of the Ceuta company team of 7 from Bournemouth said 'We have got to put this trip in the diary again for next year. Thanks everyone, it was great meeting you all.'

These are just a few of the many comments we received. Tennis First trustees Matthew Cattaway and Ken Weatherley also made the journey and were delighted with how the whole group gelled. It wasn't just a cycle ride - the social interaction 'apres cycle' included lots of outrageous banter.

We are already planning next year's ride, but in the meantime anyone who would like to register their interest in signing up for a trip you'll remember all your life and go to The French Open, just send us an email at tennisfirstgen@hotmail.com

A great tournament for Maia Lumsden

Congratulations to Maia Lumsden, who won her third Tennis Europe U14 tournament last week. The Salona Open in Croatia saw top seed Maia battle it out with her fellow Brit and TF grantee, Jazzi Plews, in a tight three-setter semi final. Lumsden secured her place in the final with a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 win. She then went on to take the tournament title, beating Magita Sunjic, who was on her home turf, with a 6-7, 6-1, 6-1 win. Well done Maia, keep up the good work!

Doubles Title for Stephenson and Brown

Two TF grantees Francesca Stephenson and Lucy Brown secured a fantastic win in the 10K Doubles Event in Antalaya, Turkey (11th-17th April 2011). The girls recovered from a set down in the semi-finals to beat the 4th seeds, before enjoying a more straightforward triumph in the final. They took the title 6-4, 6-4 against Rompies (INA) and Ysidora (INA). Well done girls, what a great British win!

Francesca was clearly on a confident roll as she then went on to be a singles semi finalist and a doubles winner of the Aegon GB Pro Series event in Bournemouth at the end of April. Francesca and her doubles partner, South African Surina de Beer were seeded 3 and took the title with a comfortable win over the 4th seeds, Scarlett Werner and Alina Wessel (both from Germany) 6-2, 6-2. Keep up the good work Fran!

A look at the big picture

From time to time we look at the impact of our work and it is gratifying to see some of our players well on their way to achieving their ultimate goal of becoming Tour players. Inevitably it is much more difficult to judge at the younger ages, but here are some examples of where our older grantees, past and present, are on track.

Starting with the girls, Eleanor Dean (born 1996) is already on the WTA computer rankings aged 14, a remarkable achievement.  In their last year as juniors both Lucy Brown (’93) and Francesca Stephenson (’93) have places on the senior list at 774 and 970 respectively. Further up the age scale Naomi Broady (’90) has cracked our target ranking of 250 with a career high place of 231 (now 263) and Anna Fitzpatrick has the target in her sights at 318. Mel South (‘86) reached a high of 99 but has since slipped to 254.

On the male side Liam Broady (’94), George Morgan (’93), Ollie Golding (’93) and James Marsalek (’92) have achieved ATP rankings ranging from 759 to 1216 respectively. Golding is ranked No 4 on the ITF junior world rankings, followed closely by Morgan (8) Broady (27) and Kyle Edmund (’95 and pictured) at 31. In their year group Broady is ranked 4^th and Edmund 2^nd in the world. 21 year old Dan Cox has been making steady progress in the transition period between successful junior and Tour player by reaching a ranking of 274, tantalisingly close to the target and beyond.

The transition period can be a long haul. It is easy to assume that a top junior automatically becomes a good senior, but there is a considerable amount of learning still to be done. It would be surprising if players achieved a ranking close to the top 100 before 21, given that the average age for the world’s best 100 men is 27. But a good junior career is a good base for progress and we enjoy helping our grantees achieve this first goal before their senior career begins in earnest.

A great win in Finland for Gaby Taylor

Gaby Taylor has won the U14 Volvo Open in Helsinki, Finland. The 13 year old came through qualifying and won five rounds in the main draw, including wins in the quarters and semis over the 3rd seed Antonina Lysakova and 2nd seed Alexsandra Pospelova. In the final she beat the unseeded Victoria Kulesh 6-3, 7-5, making it a trio of wins over Russian opponents, to take the title. What a tournament Gaby!  Well done!

Three Tennis First grantees have a good week. 

Ollie Golding, Josh Sapwell and Liam Broady all played well in the BNP Paribas Junior Zurich Open Tournament, which ran alongside the Champions Tour March 8-12. They also enjoyed the experience of playing amongst some of the sports' greatest legends, including Sampras and Henman.

Ex-grantee Ollie Golding reached the final of the tournament, narrowly losing out to Filip Haransky, of Slovakia. Golding fought a brave comeback to win the second set on a tie-break, but the match was finally decided on a champions tie-break which was won by Haransky 6-3, 6-7(5), 10-3.

Golding had had three wins out of three to get to the final, including a tight match against fellow Brit and Tennis First grantee, Josh Sapwell. On the other side of the draw, Liam Broady (pictured) narrowly lost to the eventual winner, Haransky. Broady showed real promise in his match but, in the end, the powerful serve of the Slovak won the day. Well done to all three boys - a great British performance!

Stockholm proves happy hunting ground for Asghar

Following her victory at the Tumba Europe Spring Trophy, Jasmine Ashgar has had another fantastic week with yet more success at the U14 Kungens Kanna & Drottningens Pris, which took place once again in Stockholm, Sweden. Jasmine had a very impressive tournament. In the first round she beat Vera Aleshcheva of Russia, the No.2 seed, and reached the final without dropping a set. Her week culminated in a victory over the no.1 seed, Sofia Ferding (playing on her home turf) to take the title with a most convincing scoreline of 6-3, 6-0. To top it all, her two tournament win in Sweden has seen her halve her ranking from 118 three weeks ago to 54 this week! Well done Jasmine and keep it up!

National Tour Final win for Lana

Congratulations go to Lana Rush who secured a fantastic home-turf victory at the weekend by winning the U16 Aegon National Tour Finals at Roehampton. Lana, a wild card entry, beat the no.1 seed, Georgia Craven, in the first round and had a conclusive 6-1 6-2 victory in the final over Brigit Folland, the no.2 seed. Well done Lana - a great weekend's work!

Jasmine triumphs in Sweden

 What a fantastic start to the New Year for Jasmine Asghar with a victory at the U14 Tumba Europe Spring Trophy (Feb 21st - 27th) in Stockholm, Sweden. She beat the no.2 seed, Erika Hendsel of Estonia 7-5, 6-4 to take the title. This impressive victory came right on the heels of the U14 National Tour Finals, NTC, at Roehampton, where Jasmine narrowly lost to Anna Brogan in the finals.

Congratulations to Jasmine on both these successes and we wish her luck for her next tournament, the main draw of the Kungens Kanna & Drottningens Pris, which takes place at The Royal Tennis Hall, Stockholm (Kungliga Tennishallen).