A Wellington School pupil has been competing at Wimbledon in the finals of a national tennis competition and rubbing shoulders with tennis stars.
Stephanie Buckingham, 14, entered the ‘Road to Wimbledon’ event at her local tennis club. Stephanie won and progressed through the county final to represent Avon at the famous All England Tennis Club. The nationwide event was entered by over 20,000 players who were all in the 14 and under age group, with the top 144 making it to the finals at the home of tennis.
After a number of matches, Stephanie was eventually eliminated – but the experience is one that she will never forget. She had access to the hallowed Wimbledon courts, met Tim Henman and even played a match on the famous Court No 18 where, in 2010, John Isner and Nicolas Mahut played for over 11 hours in the longest match in the history of tennis.
Stephanie commented: “It was a great experience and something that I will probably never have the opportunity to do again.’
