We can still be successful even when we don’t win a tournament because only one person ever wins and everyone else doesn’t, but that doesn’t mean that all the others are not successful or good players, they are" -  Tim Henman

 Berkshire player, Joseph Brittain - R2W County Runner Up from Maidenhead LTC - was lucky enough to attend the Road to Wimbledon Finalists’ Clinic with Tim Henman at Wimbledon SW19 

"I had an excellent day at Wimbledon doing the clinic with Tim Henman today 17th August. I’ve been counting down the days to today!

We spent the morning with him and the other Wimbledon coaches doing lots of fun drills on court and learning how to be better players and what that takes. I found Tim to be kind and funny and quite inspirational in a gentle way. He doesn’t look like someone who has been so successful and a top 10 player for 10 consecutive years! He just acts so normal and talked to us really nicely. I was inspired by that because maybe one day I could be like that.

I was inspired by what he said to us, that we should work really hard at being the best version of ourselves. That we should do that in school, at home and on the tennis court. That our life should be about working 100% and giving our best efforts in everything we do. Homework, revision and exams. That our parents want to see us trying hard and not worrying about the results and not behaving badly, although I don’t behave badly because my mum would kill me!

He said we can still be successful even when we don’t win a tournament because only one person ever wins and everyone else doesn’t, but that doesn’t mean that all the others are not successful or good players, they are. I found that really helpful and will try and remember it when I’m out there competing and doing other things. In fact, I’m going to write it in my tennis book so I can look at it and remind myself when I forget.

I’m really glad I did the Road to Wimbledon and have enjoyed the experience a lot. Even though there were times of great nerves and worry about doing well, it was all worth it because now I have these amazing memories of an unforgettable time and an experience that I will keep forever, plus the many photos my mum and dad took! I realised today that I’m very lucky because there are lots of kids my age that just don’t get the chance to do something like this. I would say to anyone who has the chance to do this to give it a go and see where it gets you. For me it got me court with Tim Henman and the chance to play at Wimbledon, something all tennis players will dream about at some point and so for those memories I’m really grateful to my mum and dad for helping me do it and for the organisers for making the event in the first place. It’s been brilliant. I will continue with my tennis journey better prepared because of the tips Tim Henman gave us today"