More Huw reminiscences:

From Anthony :Good lord..I just googled for the correct spelling to the legend that is, was and will always be Huw Wauchope and found your site.Incredibly, it is the site run by the very man Huw sent me to as a youngster when he let me know he wouldn't be back in the UK to coach for a while. Unfortunately, if I recall, you were up in Totteridge at the time which felt like a million miles away and was a really tough journey to make for us. I remembering making the first trip but sadly the time of the squad and coming back so late at night ruled out a return for me.Thank you for putting something online about Huw. He was THE ONLY REASON I kept playing tennis, the only reason I had a monster serve (to this day I am still asked where I got it and HUW is still the answer), the reason I played single-handed backhand and the reason I dedicated myself to play serve-volley tennis.Never considering trying to play pro, I simply enjoyed playing a few events during the summer. I was eventually asked at the aged of 21 if I would consider making a late run for it. I decided to give it a go, got a bunch of sponsors together and got a place at Bolletierri's. After three months of them trying to force me to become a baseline player I left and worked with Pete Fischer and Vince Spadea over in L.A then moved back to Miami with Diego Dominguez (www.extremetennisacademy.com). When I eventually won my first ATP points I pointed to the sky and dedicated that long awaited moment to the man that always had that twinkle in his eye and the only person that could have convinced me to use a Pro Ace racquet as long as I did.

Back when Huw was coaching and I was watching his every move, his world outside of the court wasn't one I understood being so young. I just knew that he was a "hippy", the coolest guy I knew and the most fluid player I had ever seen. He once strode into the club with two frames and a straw hat and blew everyone away to take the title. Doing this without so much as a tie-break under his belt for more than a year sealed him as a legend for me.When the news of his passing came through, I do remember not really understanding too much. He had called my home from India not long before checking in on me and telling me he would be back soon. That was the last we spoke. I actually made the journey to Huw's funeral with another player from our squad at Grafton but my knees fell apart when I saw the hearse arrive and I didn't make it past the bench outside the chapel. It was too much to say a final goodbye to a very, very good man and one that taught me incredible lessons on and off the court.We all leave this world one way or another but Huw left behind a legacy and helped raise a very respectable group of kids that are all now good men. For all the troubles he had, he still managed to do brilliant job and will NEVER be forgotten.Thanks again for putting up the page about Huw, it brought tears to my eyes this Hong Kong evening and reminded me of the very, very good old days.I am glad to see you are doing well and the clubs you've been running have benefited greatly from your hard work. I've encountered a fair few characters on tour who Huw would have steered clear of and it's great to know a man he trusted is still giving his all to the sport.Sincerely, Anthony

From Dave:Hi there,

I've just come across your moving tribute To Huw Wauchope on your website. He coached me as a kid and was a real hero of mine growing up. I never really had much talent for the game but I loved playing and for years I wanted to follow in his footsteps and be a tennis coach. Quite unlikely really considering even Huw failed to teach me how to hit a decent backhand! I remember Huw showing me his racquet and telling me it was like an old friend who you could always come back to. He was right and I'm looking forward to finding tennis again when my life allows. His death was a real shock and I think I was around 16 at the time. I went to the funeral with Anthony and found it all a bit overwhelming. I was too young to understand the other side of Huw's life and having always looked up to him, it was hard to comprehend why someone who I thought was so cool had ended his own life. I still have lots of very happy memories of Huw and am quite glad that I was too young at the time to realise that some of those slightly wacky early saturday morning coaching sessions were possibly substance induced!Dave From SamDear Bruce,I live on the South Coast and this afternoon played my first club tennis match after quite a few years away from the game. While reminiscing about all the tennis I played as a kid, I wondered what would appear if I googled my old coach's name - Huw Wauchope. Feels very emotional (almost 20 years later) to read the fitting tributes to a unique character. I spent hours playing at Grafton in London around the same time as Anthony. I remember being introduced to Huw and finding him fascinating – so different to the standard club coach, so different to everyone. His playing style and movement were so fluid and graceful that we all watched and thought “I want to be able to play like that”. A lot of us were at an impressionable age, loved tennis and probably dreamed of standing out from the crowd – Huw was our inspiration. I even grew my hair long probably influenced by Huw’s dreadlocks – looking back at old photos I looked ridiculous! But they were happy days – a little group of kids, all different ages and backgrounds spending hours practising the shots and tips we’d learnt from Huw. In a group coaching session one Saturday morning he even taught us the Yoga Sun Salutation as a warm-up! There was a lot going on in Huw’s life that I too knew little about, but I remember he once handed me a joint before walking onto the court and I knew he couldn’t play for the club team on weekends because Huw’s Friday nights usually went on til Sunday afternoon. There were a lot of negative thoughts we occasionally glimpsed but I never considered it would end in such tragedy. I was abroad when he died but heard the stories about the people who turned up to pay their respects at the funeral. Huw once tried to explain his spiritual beliefs to me, I didn’t understand them but am reassured that by ending his life he believed he would go to a happier place. 

I never amounted to much more than a good club player, but those hours spent at Grafton have given me a couple of life-long friends, a long list of happy memories and a passion for sport. I am indebted to Huw because he was the person who started it all with his talent, energy and unique ability to make every kid feel so at home on the court. Thanks for setting up the webpage – I have sent the link to a few others who I know still miss Huw. Sam From Russell:Hello BruceI came across your website dedication last year when I was googling Huw’s name. I still think about him a lot – as you say, he was a unique and lovely character.I married Jane in 1974, and about 7 years later Huw started going out with her sister Jacquie. They came to stay at my flat in Brighton when I was studying for a psychology PhD sometime in the early 1980s. We were all from the same hometown (Shrewsbury), and I became good friends with him. He moved to London, and we visited each other quite regularly until he started making journeys to India.I moved to work at Liverpool University and have specialised in research and lecturing on drug use. I understand that Huw commited suicide while in prison in Copenhagen, Denmark, in the early 1990s, after being sentenced to six months custody for supplying cannabis in the city. I’ve no idea what he was doing there. None of it really makes sense.So, when I wrote a conference paper recently about giving ‘harm reduction’ help to people who use drugs to cope with life, I dedicated it to Huw (and another guy), because there’s no way he deserved to have been sent to prison, and if he hadn’t, I guess he would still be alive. You can’t put a wild bird in a cage. Thanks for writing

Russell