Congratulations to Trinity Second Year student Robbie Taylor, who recently competed in the Junior International Bolton Tennis tournament, one of the most prestigious junior tournaments of the year. Robbie is currently ranked 22nd in the country, which means he qualifies for all national tournaments but was particularly excited for this one.
He says, “I was thrilled when I found out I had qualified because lots of famous players have played this in the past when they were U14 e.g. Andy Murray and Coco Gauff. In the qualifiers I was drawn against a player from Portugal who was pretty good, but I definitely made it difficult for myself, just about winning 10-8 in the third set tiebreak. I then played against the Italian #3. He was an extremely good player, and I unfortunately lost the match, but was pleased as I had played loads better than in my first match.
“It was a great experience watching, and especially playing, the best U14 players in the world. I know that some of these players will go on to be the best in the world and maybe even win grand slams.”
Although the Summer is Trinity’s tennis term, recreational tennis takes place throughout the year and Robbie takes advantage of training on the courts all year round. He has represented the school for two years but is an all-round sports player and also plays for the school’s cricket and hockey teams.
Robbie has his sights set on big things, he says “I am continuing to train hard and compete, alongside my schoolwork and school sports. My goal is to get in the top 10 nationally by the end of the year. I feel like that is a very achievable goal as I feel like I am improving very quickly. This school year I’ve competed in 14 tournaments and have been winner or runner-up in nine so far, and some of those were for U18 players. I am hoping to keep improving and am looking to win a national tournament and a Tennis Europe this year!”
Mr Kimmins, Robbie’s Head of Year, says, “We are extremely proud of Robbie and can’t speak highly enough of how he approaches his training as well as his studies and participation in school life. We’ll soon have lots of school tennis fixtures for him and are looking forward to seeing what comes next for this promising tennis star. Well done.”
Scroll right to see more stories
