TWO young Cumbrian tennis players will have the opportunity to compete on the world famous grass courts of Wimbledon next month.

Matthew Davidson, from Penrith and Harriet Glaves from Kirkby Lonsdale will compete at the All England Club next month after emerging victorious in the county Road to Wimbledon event.

The HSBC Road to Wimbledon event is the biggest annual recreational junior tournament in British Tennis, offering young players aged 11-14 the opportunity to rise through the ranks of their club and county before qualifying for the national finals. 14-year-old Matthew and 13-year-old Harriet won their respective events at Ullswater and Eden Junior Tennis Club and Queen Elizabeth School before competing in the county finals at Heversham & Milnthorpe Tennis Club, based at Dallam School in Heversham.

Harriet, a pupil at the Queen Elizabeth School in Kirkby Lonsdale, began playing tennis at four years old.

Both Harriet & Matthew will now head to London for a school summer holiday to remember. The Road to Wimbledon national finals will take place at Wimbledon from August 14-19.

All finalists will receive a special Wimbledon souvenir, an invitation to the Players Party, a Wimbledon museum voucher, a tour of the grounds and an allowance for accommodation and meals. Wimbledon will play host to over 350 matches during finals week, with a singles round robin leading to a knock out draw plus doubles. The latest news about the competition can be found here: www.lta.org.uk/competitions/junior/road-to-wimbledon

22-year-old tennis enthusiast, Alex Meek from Kendal viewed the grass courts of Wimbledon from a different perspective this year as he joined the tournaments team of line umpires for the first time. The Keele University Accounting & Finance graduate was selected as one of over 350 officials who call the lines at the Championships.

Alex, who qualified as a line umpire in 2014 has worked his way up the ranks from basic local tournaments to one of the most coveted tennis events in the world for players and fans alike. In 2016 he umpired at professional events in Nottingham & Ilkley as well as the British Wheelchair Open and the Visually Impaired World Championships before graduating to his first Grand Slam in 2017.

‘I have only been umpiring for 2 and a half years so I am really excited about how quickly I have progressed to Wimbledon’, said Alex. ‘It was really exciting being involved in Wimbledon. It’s just bigger crowds, better players and more umpires. It was also a lot more sociable than other tournaments as there were a lot more umpires my own age’ explained Alex.