Latest news with #JamesMcCabe
Irish Times
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Irish-Australian James McCabe suffers first-round defeat at Wimbledon
Australian James McCabe, whose father Patrick is originally from Walkinstown in Dublin, has been defeated in his opening-round match at Wimbledon by Hungary's Fábián Marozsán. The 21-year-old from Sydney, currently 181st in the ATP rankings, reached the main draw having come through last week's qualifiers. The Hungarian, who sits 58th in the ATP rankings, saw off McCabe 6-1 6-4 6-4 on Court 11. [ Wimbledon player James McCabe's Irish father: 'If the tennis court hadn't been where we rented, I don't think he would have picked up a racket' Opens in new window ] Elsewhere on day two at the All England Club, world number one Jannik Sinner has got his tournament under way with a straight-sets win over fellow Italian Luca Nardi. READ MORE Later, Novak Djokovic takes on Alexandre Müller on centre court.
Irish Times
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Irish roots run deep for James McCabe as he prepares to take Wimbledon stage
Not since Conor Niland, back in 2011, has an Irish player reached the main draw at Wimbledon. While the Limerick man remains the last to play under the Irish tricolour at the famed Grand Slam event, on Tuesday one very proud Irish-Australian player will take to the turf at the All England Club. Twenty-one-year-old James McCabe will face Hungary's Fábián Marozsán in the opening round after coming through last week's qualifiers. Currently 181st in the ATP rankings, his attendance at Wimbledon will go some way towards helping him climb the ladder to the coveted . Quite the achievement, given his unconventional start in the sport. The son of Dubliner Patrick McCabe, who emigrated to Australia from Walkinstown in 1987, and his wife Irene, who is from the Philippines, McCabe's first introduction to tennis was in the complex where the family live in southern Sydney. READ MORE Clay is not his surface. He likes grass and hard courts 'There just happened to be a tennis court there,' Patrick McCabe explains. 'So when he was two-and-a-half I brought him down, and he seemed to have a very good aptitude for it, so I just kept on bringing him down daily.' Patrick himself has never played tennis. 'I didn't know what I was doing. There was a tennis club about a mile away, but we couldn't afford to hire the courts or the lessons because it was really expensive. 'If the tennis court hadn't been in that complex where we rented, then I don't think he ever would have picked up a tennis racket, because he wouldn't have been able to afford it.' But the tennis court wasn't the only sporting facility readily available: there was also a pool, and James took to swimming as naturally as he did to tennis, becoming a national champion in both sports before hitting his teenage years and earning himself a scholarship to a private school. Tennis player James McCabe and his sister Jasmine There, James discovered another aptitude, this time for music, learning the piano and flute before teaching himself to play the guitar. With his swimming and music commitments, tennis took a back seat for much of his school years, bar a stint which ultimately saw him earn a wildcard spot at the 2020 Australian Open junior championships. Unlike many of his tennis contemporaries, McCabe's time on the junior circuit was rather limited, playing in only a handful of tournaments, but it doesn't seem to have hampered his efforts in the senior ranks. In January, he played in the main draw at the Australian Open for a second year running, going one better than 2024 by winning his first-round match against Martin Landaluce, before being defeated by Alex Michelsen in the second. When James was two-and-a-half I brought him down to the courts, and he seemed to have a very good aptitude for it Wimbledon will be his first grand slam event outside of Australia, but the McCabes are confident the Melbourne outings will stand to him in southwest London. 'It's experience, it's just constant experience,' says Patrick. 'He played in the French Open qualifying and he didn't do too well there, but clay is not his surface. He likes grass and hard courts. He does have a very decent serve, so if he serves well and returns well, he's got a good chance.' MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 16: James McCabe of Australia celebrates a point against Alex Michelsen of the United States in the Men's Singles Second Round match during day five of the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 16, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by) So far in 2025, the ATP 250, Challenger Tour and majors have taken the McCabes around Australia, India, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, South Korea, China, Portugal, France, England and the Netherlands. After Wimbledon, it's more of the same. 'Eight months a year we're on the road,' Patrick says of the rigorous calendar. He does have a very decent serve, so if he serves well and returns well, he's got a good chance 'As soon as he's out of Wimbledon, he heads to America, then to Mexico, then to Canada. Hopefully he'll be in the main draw again for the US Open at the end of August. And then we'll be going to Asia – China, Japan, South Korea – and then looking to head back to Australia.' McCabe is proud of his Irish roots, holds an Irish passport and has visited a number of times, as Patrick has three sisters still living here. Tuesday will be a tough ask for McCabe, with his opponent Marozsán currently 58th in the ATP rankings. But his father says his son will treat this like any other tournament. They'll do a quick 20-minute debrief on the Hungarian tonight, but aside from that McCabe will go out and play his own game. 'It's a dream,' McCabe says. Long may his dream continue. ♦ McCabe is scheduled to be in action on Court 11 at 11am on Tuesday. BBC Two will have live coverage of the morning session.
Irish Independent
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Irish-Australian tennis player James McCabe to play at Wimbledon
Irish-Australian tennis player James McCabe beats Tomas Barrios Vera of Chile at Roehampton to qualify for Wimbledon.
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Man of many talents hits right note for Aussie tennis
One-time national junior swimming champ, accomplished flautist who's graced Sydney's grandest stages, Phantom of the Opera star and mentored by a great sportsman, let's just say James McCabe is one multi-talented lad. And the great news for Australian tennis? This gifted musical and athletic allrounder has finally alighted on the sport as his chosen destination, with the late-starting but quickly-blooming 21-year-old virtuoso now ready to play all the right notes on his Wimbledon debut. Qualifier James McCabe gets his first look at #Wimbledon 🌱🍓 — TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) June 27, 2025 With his every progress being backed all the way by the great dual-code rugby legend Sonny Bill Williams, McCabe gazed over the All England Club and declared: "Definitely, tennis was the right choice. "It's been my dream. When I was a kid, the first thing I did was pick up a racquet when I was two-and-a-half, and dad took me on the court and I could hit the ball, I could actually rally. "Dad thought it was a bit silly, but he's got those videos somewhere, and I had a diaper on at the time!" But McCabe, born in the Philippines to a Filipina mother and Irish father and a proud Sydneysider from the moment he moved to Australia with the family at six months old, had to wait a long time before he finally turned his attention to tennis three years ago. Er, that's because he was just a bit too busy being one of life's achievers. View this post on Instagram A post shared by James McCabe (@jamesmccxbe) It was exhausting just listening to McCabe relating how during his school years in Sydney, after he got his swimming scholarship to Trinity Grammar, he would regularly get just a few hours sleep, fitting in all his early morning training in the pool with a bewildering amount of after-school musical fare. "I was a flautist in orchestras and symphonic wind bands, marching bands and musicals, and played in the biggest venues in Sydney, like Town Hall and St Andrew's Cathedral and that was a big part of my life. And now it's tennis," explained McCabe, who's a fine choral soloist, guitarist and pianist. Now he's on one of sport's greatest stages instead as the world No.181 after making huge progress over the last three years, culminating in his qualification for his maiden Wimbledon last week, which has set up his debut against Hungary's world No.58 Fabian Marozsan on Tuesday. "When you're playing music and stuff, you're basically looking to be perfect, but in tennis, you can't be perfect," he shrugged, comparing his two worlds. "You're versing someone else, and they're doing everything that you basically don't want to do, that's the game. In tennis, you've got to take the punches, but also give them back." Which brings us to Williams, the All Blacks great who's a long-time family friend and mentor to McCabe. When McCabe came through qualifying last week, Sonny Bill sent him a message voicing his congratulations. "I'm very lucky and very grateful that I have him mentoring me and giving me all of his tips and advice, maybe the greatest of all-time in his field who carries himself so humbly." Williams has got his own big sporting date lined up for next month, his boxing blockbuster in Sydney with rugby league hard man Paul Gallen. Asked for his prediction, McCabe smiled: "I guess I definitely have Sunny, he's always my number one." But could McCabe, a national junior 200m butterfly champ before he turned his back on the swimming grind, turn out to be as brilliant a sporting allrounder as his hero? "Everyone has their own path, and you gotta make the most out of what you can make of it," shrugged McCabe. "And if you believe in your dream, anything's possible."
