Tennis in Surrey Magazine 2016

More documents

Recommendations

Info

people Player Profile: Gemma Heath In this edition of Tennis in Surrey we speak to aspiring Surrey junior player Gemma Heath. Tennis career so far: Gemma started playing tennis at the age of five. She has played for County Cup teams from U10 up to most recently U18, with the Surrey team being successful many times. Gemma was the Nike Junior U14 and U16 Champion, has represented Great Britain in the summer and winter cups and has played in the Nike invitational Masters in Miami. At the age of 13 she was one of the youngest girls to win an ITF singles at Grade 5, her first tournament at that level. Gemma trained at Sutton Tennis Academy since the age of five, only recently moving on to work full time with her individual coach Neil Carter. She now trains at the National Tennis Centre as well as Sutton Tennis Academy. Neil has known Gemma and her family for years and is familiar with her game down to the finest detail. Before working with Neil, Gemma credits her first coach Ross Sheppard at Sutton Tennis Academy with helping to kick start her tennis at a young age. What a typical week looks like: Gemma trains six days a week -that’s an average of 14 hours of tennis plus fitness and strength and conditioning. She also has to ensure her nutritional needs and of course school work are well looked after. Gemma is learning online with Wolsey Hall for her IGCSE’s in English, Maths and Science. Key achievements this year: Gemma was delighted to become U16 National Champion and win the Doubles title at the same time. She said: “It was fantastic to become national champion two years running, U14 last year and U16 this year. It is also an honour to be presented with the Surrey County Association Progress Cup in 2016. I feel very lucky to be able to follow my dream of being a professional tennis player. I am so grateful for all the support I receive from my coaches (fitness and tennis), sponsors, and of course my parents.” The year has been an exciting one for Gemma as she explains: “This year I was a finalist in two Grade 4 ITF’s and also won three Doubles titles in the same event. I won the Nike U16 Junior Nationals titles in Singles and Doubles and competed in my first professional tournament in Surbiton, where I was really pleased with the way I played. “I then competed at Roehampton and Nottingham pro events and won some tough matches. Doing as well as I did in the ITF women’s events has given me a lot more confidence to go forward. I am more determined to work on my game style and dedicate myself to my training programme.” Who do you admire in the sports world? My sporting role model is Serena Williams. For me she is the greatest of all time. Her power and aggressive game is inspirational. I admire many athletes; the work and commitment it takes to reach the best you possibly can be is incredibly tough.” What are your hobbies? “I don’t have an awful lot of spare time after a full day’s training and school work but I do love music, going to the cinema and a cheeky Nando’s with my friends. I have tried golf in the past so maybe one day I’ll give that more of a go.” Goals: “My aim for the future is to improve my professional and junior ITF world ranking, so I will be able to compete at higher level events. I hope to play in Junior Grand Slam events including Wimbledon.” 6 tennis in surrey 2016 facebook.com/TennisSurrey www.tennissurrey.org.uk
people www.tennissurrey.org.uk Follow us on twitter @TennisInSurrey tennis in surrey 2016 7
Page 1 and 2: Crosshead 2016 Surrey coach wins Na
Page 3 and 4: Letter from the editor Another extr
Page 5: places Performance Squads and 2016
Page 9 and 10: “A couple of days ago we were hav
Page 11 and 12: people Men’s 60: Chris Gotla, Ste
Page 13 and 14: people Denise Woods receives top aw
Page 15 and 16: people Successes I have had in rela
Page 17 and 18: cover story Danny Sapsford, Luke Mi
Page 19 and 20: cover story Amy Love the 1970’s.
Page 21 and 22: Graham and Jeremy Honorary Stewards
Page 23 and 24: people Celebration of Surrey Tennis
Page 25 and 26: county cup 12U Girls a great job pi
Page 27 and 28: promotion Success for Great Britain
Page 29 and 30: promotion fitness, fun and achievab
Page 31 and 32: Memories of 1936 Davis Cup Success
Page 33 and 34: promotion Aegon Team Tennis update
Page 35 and 36: promotion The ITF Woking Open Senio
Page 37 and 38: promotion 10U Boys 12U Girls xxxxxx
Page 39 and 40: esults Wimbledon Club 1 Roehampton

Tennis in Surrey Magazine 2016

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?