Draft:Harry Wendelken

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Harry Wendelken
Wendelken in Wimbledon 2023 Qualification
Country (sports) Great Britain
Born (2001-12-18) 18 December 2001 (age 22)
PlaysRight-handed
Singles
Highest rankingNo. 466 (16 October 2023)
Current rankingNo. 544 (1 January 2024)
Doubles
Highest rankingNo. 487 (31 October 2022)
Current rankingNo. 591 (1 January 2024)
Last updated on: 6 January 2024.

Harry Wendelken (born 18 December 2001) is a British tennis player. He has a career high singles ranking of 499 achieved on 30 January 2023. He has a career high doubles ranking of 487 achieved on 31 October 2022.[1][2]

Early life[edit]

Born to parents Kevin and Kim Wendelken, he was raised in Horseheath in Cambridgeshire, Wendelken was schooled at Linton Village College before changing to Culford School in Bury St Edmonds in 2015.[3]

Career[edit]

Junior career[edit]

Given wildcards into the junior competitions at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships, he lost in the first round of the singles to Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo but reached the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Juniors Boys’ Doubles alongside James Story before losing in two tie-breaks to eventual winners Yankı Erel and Otto Virtanen.[4] Shortly afterwards he moved his base to the Good to Great Academy, near Stockholm in Sweden.[5]

Senior career[edit]

2022[edit]

After turning pro he reached his first $25,000 ITF Tour final as a wildcard entrant into a tournament in Shrewsbury in February 2022 where he was defeated by compatriot Alastair Gray.[6]

After overcoming illness and injury Wendelken had success on the British tour in 2022.[7][8]

In September 2022 Wendelken and Benjamin Hannestad were unseeded but won an ITF doubles title in Sintra Portugal.[9]

2023[edit]

In June 2023 he defeated the higher ranked Li Tu and Pierre-Hugues Herbert to qualify for the Surbiton Trophy main singles draw. In the first round he lost to Bu Yunchaokete.[10] That month, he made his debut in qualifying for a grand slam tournament at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, losing to world No.254 Matteo Gigante 6-3 7-6.[11]

Personal life[edit]

Wenkelden has described himself as being good friends with Jack Draper and close to other British players on tour of a similar age, such as Blu Baker, James Story, Jacob Fearnley, Connor Thomson, and Anton Matusevich.[12] He is also a big cricket fan and played cricket for Essex from the age of seven to 12 years-old.[13] He supports Premier League football club West Ham.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ https://www.atptour.com/en/players/harry-wendelken/w0ah/overview
  2. ^ https://www.itftennis.com/en/players/harry-wendelken/800412886/gbr/mt/S/overview/
  3. ^ Beyeler, Marc (5 January 2017). "Junior tennis star Harry Wendelken determined to follow in the footsteps of Sir Andy Murray". Cambridge-News. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  4. ^ Street, Tim (18 July 2018). "Cambridgeshire teen makes Wimbledon semis despite GCSE revision cutting training time". Cambridge-News.
  5. ^ Sharp, Alex (14 November 2019). "Harry Wendelken: 'Meeting with Jamie and Judy Murray was such a great experience'". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  6. ^ Claydon, Russell (24 February 2022). "Harry Wendelken taking aim at Wimbledon return after former Culford School Tennis Academy pupil's ITF wildcard runs". Suffolk News. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  7. ^ Apicella, Liam (6 September 2022). "UK Pro League victory for Cambridge tennis player Harry Wendelken". Cambridge Independent. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  8. ^ "Amelia Rajecki & Harry Wendelken crowned British Tour Masters champions". lta.org. 19 December 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  9. ^ Furness, Glenys (14 September 2022). "Wendelken claims ITF doubles title in Sintra". Britwatchsports.com. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  10. ^ Thompson, Grant (6 June 2023). "Chinese Star Yunchaokete Bu: From Idolising Murray To Playing The Scot". atptour. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Wendelken pleased to overcome nerves despite Wimbledon loss". The Telegraph and Argus. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Behind the scenes with the future stars of British tennis". The Daily Telegraph. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  13. ^ Sharp, Alex (19 August 2019). "Who is inspiring the next generation of British talent?". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  14. ^ Sharp, Alex (27 September 2019). "Peugeot's NextGen on the sporting heroes that inspire them". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 January 2024.