East Midlands tennis coach sees "massive increase" in people asking for lessons
Wimbledon continues today, with Andy Murray competing in the doubles event
An East Midlands tennis coach says he sees a "massive increase" in people asking for lessons as a result of Wimbledon.
Britain's Jack Draper and Leicestershire's Katie Boulter are in action in their respective singles events, while Andy Murray takes to the court alongside his brother Jamie in the doubles.
The two-time former champion announced on Tuesday (2nd July) he would not compete in the singles due to recovering from a recent operation.
Richard Wilson, of RTR Tennis Coaching, said: "I think Andy Murray has inspired a lot of British players.
The current crop, there seems to be a bit of depth in those players. Raducanu obviously has had a couple of years with injury problems, but she seems to be coming through that.
Katie Boulter is playing the best tennis of her life and the one I like is actually Jack Japer. I think the big thing about Jack is he's got big serve, big forehand, he's got a real weapon and I definitely can see him doing particularly well at Wimbledon this year but in future years as well."
Wilson, who coaches in Rutland, added: "Certainly Wimbledon is an important part of my tennis year.
There's no question that people are inspired by watching the great players on the television and they want to come out and give things a try. We certainly see a massive increase in people contacting us, looking for lessons, coming to try and join in in what we do. I personally love Wimbledon."
"Since I've been coaching since the early 2000s, Murray's been a big part of what tennis has meant in Britain.
He's an absolute warrior. To have won as many slams as he had during the Djokovic, Nadal and Federer era has been fantastic and I think we are going to miss him but he has also inspired a lot of players."