Jack Draper faces added pressure as home favourite at Wimbledon
The 23-year-old will be seeded fourth when play begins next week as he looks to build on victory at Indian Wells in March, his first ATP Masters 1000 title, as well as his first Grand Slam semi-final at last year's US Open.
Draper was drawn to face Argentine Sebastian Baez in the first round and faces a potentially tough route through the tournament which could see him go up against each of Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Clare Balding was speaking alongside Frances Tiafoe and Ian Wright at an event to mark one year of Barclays Free Park Tennis scheme (PA)
But though the world's top two Alcaraz and Sinner have split the past six Grand Slams between them, Draper has already tasted victory over both.
'I do think Jack Draper is capable of winning Grand Slam titles,' said Balding, who was speaking at an event in London to mark one year of Barclays' Free Park Tennis scheme, which provides facilities and coaching with the aim of removing barriers between children and grassroots sport.
'But I think it's harder for a British player to win Wimbledon than any of the other Grand Slams because of the added pressure of it being your home tournament.
'The attention and the distraction of all the media you have to do. For all the benefits of the support of the crowd you've also got that added element of how much you want it.
'It's why Andy Murray's even more remarkable. Dealing with that desire and how it affects your brain and how your brain then affects your body, it's a big psychological challenge.'
Balding points to Murray's career as an indicator of why initiatives like Free Park Tennis are key in widening the pool of potential tennis stars.
Traditionally, lack of access to facilities and equipment due to costs have acted as a barrier within some communities and demographics. The hope is that by opening up those facilities and putting them within easy reach, those barriers will fall away.
Since its inception last year the initiative has engaged 35,000 children by offering free coaching and equipment on around a hundred courts nationwide.
'(Murray's) is not a story of coming from a privileged background,' said Balding. 'It's a story of access, because his mum was a tennis coach, so there's the key.
Andy Murray won Wimbledon on two occasions (Steve Paston/PA)
'Andy and Jamie Murray would have played another sport. If their parents had been involved in a golf club they'd have taken up golf. They had access (to tennis) but through a very specific route.
'There are going to be over a hundred courts open, available and free to use. Thousands of kids have already done it and I hope more and more will.
'We know all the research into kids being outside, kids being fitter, healthier, all of those things. But I think the key with tennis is the focus that's required, the real concentration. That's a huge benefit to children.'
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Telegraph
29 minutes ago
- Telegraph
BBC Wimbledon's Andrew Castle: ‘You have to know when to shut up!'
In 1990, at the European Indoor Championships in Berlin, Andrew Castle stumbled elegantly into a new career. Having been knocked out of the doubles in the quarter-finals by Goran Ivanišević and Petr Korda, Castle was invited by the BSkyB commentator Gerald Williams to be an analyst on a match between Luiz Mattar and Jean-Philippe Fleurian. He loved every minute of it. For two years, Castle moonlighted as a Sky commentator in between tournaments, before being offered a full-time position in 1992. The former British No 1 and Australian Open mixed-doubles finalist, then aged 28, did not hesitate to retire from playing: 'Do you want to travel halfway around the world to lose your second match against somebody that you should beat, and not get paid very much? Or would you like to talk about it, get paid, and then go home and sleep in your own bed?' More than three decades on, Castle is now one of the voices of the British summer, having commentated on the Wimbledon Championships for the BBC since 2002. When we speak, he is at home in Cobham, Surrey, preparing himself for another full day at the Queen's Club tournament, surrounded by notes, boning up on Carlos Alcaraz's quarter-final opponent, Arthur Rinderknech [Alcaraz went on to win the title last Sunday]. It's all good prep for the hectic Wimbledon fortnight. After so many years at SW19, Castle has his rhythm. 'I go in on the motorbike – public transport from here is just brutal – I park in the same place. I put my head down and get on with it. It's a place of work for me. I'll come home on the motorbike, eat, and it'll be time for bed. And then repeat.' The commentators, it seems, have to be as disciplined as the players. 'Not a single blowout,' confirms Castle. 'There's plenty of time the rest of the year for that.' When Sue Barker left Sky for the BBC in 1993, Castle – tall, handsome, smooth – was promoted to presenting across various sports, from golf to Nascar. It was a role that he took to slightly less naturally than jumping into the commentary box. 'I'd have running-order dreams,' he says. 'The hours, the days I spent preparing for my first time on air. I was so uptight, so nervous and, no doubt, extremely sweaty.' By 2000, he had mastered the art form and left Sky to become co-host of the ITV breakfast show, GMTV, where he remained until 2010, interviewing everyone from Vera Lynn and Tom Cruise to Tony Blair and Benjamin Netanyahu, while also enjoying a memorable appearance on Strictly Come Dancing – where he lost in a dance-off to M People's Heather Small (his samba lacked bounce) – and hosting a couple of short-lived game shows. Following that, in 2013, came a 10-year stint on the talk-radio channel LBC. Throughout it all, however, has been tennis. Despite having no intention of going back to the sport after he left Sky, Castle could not resist the lure of the BBC and Wimbledon. Soon, he was fronting the men's final, as Roger Federer beat Mark Philippoussis in 2003 to win the first of his 20 major titles. 'It was only my second Wimbledon and they told me on the Friday I'd be doing the final [on the Sunday],' he says. 'I'm sure plenty of people thought it was too early. I remember very distinctly the executive producer, Dave Gordon, came up to me by the tea urns – where we had polystyrene cups, those were the days – and he said, 'I just want you to know, I didn't want you for this job.' I said, 'Oh, thanks, Dave, any other words of encouragement?' He said, 'Just remember. This isn't a tennis match. It's an event.' And he was right about that.' Now it is Castle who dispenses the wisdom, having racked up 21 Wimbledon men's singles finals, sharing the booth with John McEnroe, Tim Henman, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker and more. The key to good sports commentary, says Castle, is simple: 'Know your audience. Know the rules. And know when to shut up!' Knowing how to handle your co-commentators is a skill that Castle has learnt, too, though last year's Wimbledon threw up a new challenge in the shape of tennis's enfant terrible, Nick Kyrgios. The previous year, the Australian had called Castle a 'clown' on X and he didn't hold back in 2024, either, dubbing his new colleague 'disrespectful' and stating he 'probably never played tennis at a high level'. How does Castle assess these spats between him and Kyrgios now? 'Me and him? It wasn't me and him. It was him,' he says firmly. 'I didn't say or do anything, sorry. Look, he tweeted something and my life wasn't very easy for a while. And he said, 'Sorry, mate.' And that was it. We don't have an issue.' Castle describes Kyrgios's talents as a commentator as 'absolutely superb' and would welcome the chance to work with him again – although the BBC has opted not to employ Kyrgios this summer. Castle does have an issue, however, with social media, and left it in 2021 on the advice of his family. 'It's a bear pit,' he says. 'I certainly wouldn't go anywhere near Twitter again. It's incredible how the discourse has become so base. It's a dangerous time.' Having hosted phone-ins on the often pugilistic LBC for many years, he is familiar with bear pits. During his time on air, he got into heated tussles with trans-rights advocates, net-zero campaigners and pro-Palestine activists. He also received death threats, which he describes as 'par for the course'. There was much speculation in 2023 when Castle was no longer on air at LBC. It was, he says, his decision. 'The final straw for me was the October 7 attacks. We were on air when it was unfolding. That, plus the invasion of Ukraine – I just got to the point where I thought I wanted to step away. Not just from social media, but from consuming and broadcasting these traumatic events.' While Castle was stepping away from social media, a certain other BBC sports presenter was using it more and more. How does Castle reflect on the demise of Gary Lineker's BBC career? 'I've known Gary a long time,' he says. 'I was amazed that he suddenly became so outspoken on various issues and it made things very difficult, clearly, for a lot of people at the BBC. But it's a changing landscape – what's acceptable and what's not. I've got to be honest, I was more than a little surprised, as a news journalist, when I saw him making comparisons between the language used in the British government's immigration policy and Germany in the 1930s. This is very, very provocative stuff and it has to be dealt with. Listen, we have freedom of speech in this country and Gary is allowed to have his say. And he still has a very successful broadcasting career, so he hasn't lost much.' For Castle's part, he's delighted to be 'sticking to tennis', being able to dedicate himself to the sport he loves without becoming embroiled in the heat of political debate. As for Wimbledon, he can't look beyond Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner for the men's singles title, but highlights Britain's Jack Draper as one who could muscle in. |He would also love to see a run from Emma Raducanu: 'She's a little bit special, she's capable of great things.' After the grass-court season, it will be time to unwind and have some 'blowouts', one of which will be the wedding of his daughter Georgina, a musical-theatre star who is in Mean Girls in the West End. 'Where did her voice come from? I have absolutely no idea. I told her when she was 15, under no circumstances should she pursue this career. There you go – never listen to your parents.' The wedding, Castle admits, will be 'quite stagey'. Perhaps the father of the bride will brush up on that samba. 'It was a moment of electricity': Andrew Castle's best Wimbledon moments 1975: The first trip The first time I was at Wimbledon, 1975, the Arthur Ashe year. I remember walking onto Centre Court and up the steps with my mum, and I just thought, 'Oh my god, this is the place to play'. I saw Ashe, Niki Pilić, Chris O'Neil, Chris Evert… I went over to No 2 Court just to watch Ilie Năstase. There was a glamour and an otherworldliness to the stars of sport in those days, an air of mystery, before every tournament was covered by cameras. So to witness up-close, as an 11-year-old, the brooding nature of Năstase. To see his three-stripe Adidas and his big quad muscles, watching him swear and then hitting some shot that I could only dream of hitting. These were the days when the love started for the sport. 1986: Stepping onto court My first match was against the Australian Brod Dyke, and I could see my mum on the other side of Court 6. I was wearing white Pumas. I remember looking down and seeing the stripe against the green of the grass. That was a moment of electricity. Swiftly followed by when Brod hit a return of serve into the net, and I had won a match at Wimbledon! At the press conference, [the tennis correspondent] Neil Harman said to me, 'You do know who you play next, don't you?' Six months prior to that, I'd been living in a low-rent place in Wichita, Kansas, wondering what I was going to do with my life. I was going to try and be a tennis player, but I had no real clue. And six months on, I was at Wimbledon about to play [the French Open champion] Mats Wilander. 1986: Getting a pep talk from a great The Centre Court anteroom is quite a bare place, nothing much more than a couple of benches. The royal box is above. You just sit there and wait. It's like you're about to be executed. And then, in walked Chris Evert. I mean, it's me – and Chris Evert [who had just won her 18th major at the French Open]. She just leant over and said, 'You'll be fine once the knock-up starts.' And I thought, 'Thanks, Chrissy'. I've never spoken to her about it, but it was a great moment for me. I should thank her for such kindness to a nervous 22-year-old. 2005: Sharing a commentary box with the bad boys of tennis I once commentated with both Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe. They weren't supposed to get on and it was deemed to be some sort of titanic battle between these Tyrannosaurus rexes. But they greeted each other with warmth and something approaching love for everything we've been through together. We had the most wonderful afternoon, most of it spent with the microphones off, chatting – or, more accurately, me listening to them. To sit in the box with Connors and McEnroe? You've got to be kidding. 2013: Andy ends 77 years of hurt The 2013 final. Andy Murray versus Novak Djokovic. Murray went 40-love up and then Djokovic made a fight of it. We couldn't believe it – 10 or 11 minutes later, they were still going. The camera guys did a great job – I remember there was this gentle push in, to Novak's eyes and to Andy's eyes, and I wrestled briefly with myself whether I should say what I was about to say: 'Sporting immortality doesn't come easy.' I've watched Murray since he was a child and here he was about to achieve this wonderful thing. I was pleased to find a line that summed it up. I also remember, right after Novak hit the winning point, Tim Henman jumped to his feet and hit me in the head with his elbow. So the memorable line for this historic moment could well have been very different... Wimbledon begins on the BBC on Monday; follow the Women's Summer of Sport across BBC Sport
The Independent
32 minutes ago
- The Independent
Wimbledon 2025: Coco Gauff is just 21 but already thinking about what to do after tennis
To be clear, Coco Gauff didn't bring up the word 'star' during a recent interview with The Associated Press; the reporter did. So as Gauff began to answer a question about balancing her life as a professional athlete with her off-court interests, she caught herself repeating that term. 'I definitely didn't know how it would look like,' she began with a smile, 'before I got to be, I guess, a star — feels weird to call myself that — but I definitely did want to expand outside of tennis. Always. Since I was young.' She still is young, by just about any measure, and she is a really good tennis player — Gauff owns the Grand Slam titles and No. 2 ranking to prove it as she heads into Wimbledon, which begins Monday — but the 21-year-old American is also more than that. Someone unafraid to express her opinions about societal issues. Someone who connects with fans via social media. Someone who is the highest-paid female athlete in any sport, topping $30 million last year, according to with less than a third of that from prize money and most via deals with companies such as UPS, New Balance, Rolex and Barilla. Someone who recently launched her own management firm. And someone who wants to succeed in the business world long after she no longer swings a racket on tour. 'It's definitely something that I want to start to step up for post-career. Kind of start building that process, which is why I wanted to do it early. Because I didn't want to feel like I was playing catch-up at the end of my career,' said Gauff, who will face Dayana Yastremska in the first round at the All England Club on Tuesday. 'On the business side of things, it doesn't come as natural as tennis feels. I'm still learning, and I have a lot to learn about," Gauff said. "I've debated different things and what paths I wanted to take when it came to just stimulating my brain outside of the court, because I always knew that once I finished high school that I needed to put my brain into something else.' In a campaign announced this week by UPS, which first partnered with Gauff in 2023 before she won that year's U.S. Open, she connects with business coach Emma Grede — known for working with Kim Kardashian on Skims, and with Khloe Kardashian on Good American — to offer mentoring to three small-business owners. 'Coco plays a key role in helping us connect with those younger Gen-Z business owners — emerging or younger entrepreneurs,' Betsy Wilson, VP of digital marketing and brand activation at UPS, said in a phone interview. 'Obviously, she's very relevant in social media and in culture, and working with Coco helps us really connect with that younger group.' While Grede helped the entrepreneurs, Gauff also got the opportunity to pick up tips. 'It's really cool to learn from someone like her,' Gauff said. 'Whenever I feel like I'm ready to make that leap, I can definitely reach out to her for advice and things like that. ... This will help me right now and definitely in the long term.' ___ Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: More AP tennis:
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka bury the hatchet with TikTok dance at Wimbledon
Any lingering speculation about animosity between tennis stars Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka has been decisively put to rest, as the pair delighted fans by dancing together at Wimbledon and sharing the moment across social media. The two, who recently contested the French Open final, were seen showcasing their moves on the hallowed Centre Court grass. Sabalenka posted a clip on Instagram, captioning it: " TikTok dances always had a way of bringing people together," as they grooved to C+C Music Factory's 1990 hit "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)." Gauff, a frequent TikTok user, also shared a video of them outside the All England Club's main stadium, lip-syncing to a track. She wrote: "OK, guys, we're back. Did you miss us? 'Cause we missed you." She also added a clear message to fans, stating: "the olive branch was extended and accepted! we're good so you guys should be too." The No. 1-ranked Sabalenka and the No. 2-ranked Gauff held a practice session together at Centre Court ahead of the year's third Grand Slam tournament, which begins on Monday. Three weeks ago, Gauff beat Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 in the championship match at the last major, the French Open. Afterward, Sabalenka drew criticism from some for saying Gauff 'won the match not because she played incredible; just because I made all of those mistakes from ... easy balls'. In a press conference, Gauff said she did not think Sabalenka's comments were fair. 'The way Aryna was playing the last few weeks, she was the favourite to win. So I think she was the best person that I could have played in the final,' she said. 'Her being No. 1 in the world was the best person to play, so I think I got the hardest matchup just if you go off stats alone.' Later, Sabalenka called her comments 'unprofessional' and said she had written to Gauff to apologise. 'I absolutely regret what I said back then. We all make mistakes. I'm just a human being who's still learning in life,' she said. 'I think we all have those days when we lose control. The difference with me is the world is watching.' Sabalenka, a 27-year-old from Belarus, is a three-time Grand Slam champion and was the runner-up both times Gauff, a 21-year-old American, won a major trophy, including at the 2023 U.S. Open. At Wimbledon this year, they only could face each other in the 12 July final.
