Wimbledon dreams come true for Exeter Tennis Centre's Performance players

Louis Davey (9), Matthew Rutter (9), Louis Skupien (11) and Emily Syms (10) will travel to the home of the “All England Club” on 29 June (the middle Saturday of the two week competition) to take part in an exhibition which will include specific drills and point play to show off their skills to tennis fans from all over the world.

The players were selected by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) in recognition of their exceptional performances in regional and national level competitions, which have included British National Tour victories, Masters Finals qualifications and top five UK leader board rankings over the last 12 months.

Home to “Grand Slam” tournament the British Open, Wimbledon will see nearly 500,000 spectators pass through its gates throughout the two weeks of the competition. The young players are relishing the prospect of taking centre stage, and getting a taste of what will hopefully be their future in years to come.

“I can’t wait.” commented National Tennis Championship winner Louis Skupien. “It is going to be a brilliant, once in a lifetime opportunity. It will be my first time playing in front of a big crowd which is very exciting.”

Regional Tour finalist Matthew Rutter added: “This is my biggest tennis achievement so far. I am very excited and hoping to meet some professional players and get some autographs if I am lucky.”

Despite all training together the young stars will be featuring on different courts alongside a small selection of the best mini and junior players from around the UK.

National Tour winner Emily Syms, who is hoping to follow in the footsteps of favourite player Maria Sharapova said: “There will be four people from the South West in my group doing a demonstration on Court Five. We will be doing some drills with coaches. I am really excited about playing at Wimbledon and having the crowds watching me play.”

Louis Skupien will also take to Court Five for a 45 minute display featuring a demonstration of high-calibre drills and matchplay whilst Matthew Rutter will appear on Court Six for exhibition match displays.

Performance coach, and former Wimbledon competitor, Charlotte Wallace applauded her squad for their hard work. “It is a fantastic achievement for the players and to be selected for such a prestigious event is testament to their hard work and exceptional results over the last year.

Stepping out on court at Wimbledon is an unforgettable feeling and I hope that they enjoy every minute of it. It will be a challenge to perform in front of such large crowds for the first time, but I am sure that they will all relish the opportunity and display their talent to the world. This will be one of their best tennis learning experiences so far, and hopefully we will see them return as future Wimbledon stars."