The Play Your Way to Wimbledon, powered by Vodafone, tournament now gives most players an opportunity to follow in their heroes footsteps and compete for the title at Wimbledon. Last year, Abi Redmand and Eva Senior won the 18U Girls Doubles title and we were delighted to continue the success as, this year, saw Susanna Thompson win the 14U Girl's Singles title. Fantastic and congratulations Susanna! So what is it really like to play at Wimbledon in this tournament? Read Susanna's report of her experience...

The question that everyone asks me when they find out that I am a performance tennis player is the same: “Do you think you will win Wimbledon one day”? Now when I get asked that question, I can answer: “I already have”.

It might not be the Wimbledon women’s singles title, but I can now say that I am the 2023 National Play Your Way to Wimbledon  14U Girls Singles Champion. This is a competition run every year that sees winners from each county compete on the grass courts at Wimbledon for a week in August. I had to win two competitions just to get to Wimbledon. It is the biggest mass participation tennis competition in the UK.

What are the best things about this week?

The highlight of this competition is without a doubt the opportunity to play tennis on the grass courts at Wimbledon. They are so pristine and every morning when I arrived past the endless security checks, there were seemingly hundreds of members of staff mowing the lawns and getting them ready for the day’s play. We were blessed with sunshine on 4 out of the 5 days that I was there. On the finals day, there was a guard of honour greeting the finalists onto court. There were two very loud line judges on my court and a chair umpire. It was surreal having someone say: “Game, Thompson”. The final was watched by a mostly neutral crowd, who cheered on both players when they made good shots, just like they do on tv. By the end of the week, I had played and won 7 matches on the grass, had some tips from top British players who were just hanging out in the clubhouse, been interviewed by the press and had my photograph taken like I was a celebrity.

But playing tennis is just one of the many highlights. When you sign in on day one, before you have even hit a ball or won a match, you are gifted with various Wimbledon goodies, including a gym bag. You also get a food card that lets you spend £28 per day in the restaurant. It is not just any restaurant, there is a pasta station where the chefs will make you any pasta you want, along with sushi and of course Wimbledon strawberries. There was not the usual tennis club food – a ham and cheese toastie – anywhere in sight. If you get to the final, then you get also get a gift certificate to go to the Wimbledon shop. It was more money than I had ever had in my life but was easily swallowed up by the expensive clothes.

If you win the event, then your name goes up on the winners board in the Wimbledon clubhouse. There is a board with the junior U18 champions, with names like Federer and Swiatek, and there is also a board with the U14 Road to Wimbledon (as it used to be called) winners. I was very excited to see the board and recognise that there was a Cheshire name up there – Kim Schmider. Kim is now the women’s captain for Cheshire and she plays with me sometimes when she is back home. I hope Kim doesn’t mind me saying that I was born in the year that she won the event. Let’s hope that Cheshire doesn’t have to wait 14 years for its next singles winner. It is exciting to think that I can come back to Wimbledon in the future during the championships in July and casually see my name up on the board as a past champion.

Last but by no means least, was my trip to the new Wimbledon indoor facility. Only members are allowed here (and there are only 550 of them in the whole world, including all the past singles champions). I was fortunate enough to be invited to play a friendly doubles match against some members. It has 6 indoor courts and outdoor clay courts. It is the most luxurious tennis facility I have ever seen (though unlike the newly refurbished Birchwood facility where I train, there was no library). After my match, I was allowed to shower and change in the women’s changing room which is reserved for the seeded players during the Wimbledon fortnight. The lady in charge of the changing room offered to run me a bath and make me a cup of tea. Life really doesn’t get any better than that.