Former Wimbledon junior champion Laura Robson does not think Henry Searle will come under the same pressure to succeed as she did after his win at SW19 this summer.
Searle won the boys’ title at the All England Club 15 years on from when Robson triumphed in the girls’ tournament and expectations are high for the 17-year-old from Wolverhampton.
Winning a home grand slam at such a young age can often be a burden and with British tennis still searching for its next star at the time Robson found herself under undue pressure to quickly transition into the women’s game.
She was making a good fist of it, reaching the fourth round at the US Open and Wimbledon, as well as winning Olympic silver in the mixed doubles in 2012, until injury ruined her career and forced an early retirement.
Searle’s Wimbledon victory was exciting, but with Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Jack Draper all established on the main tour, Robson says there is no rush for him.
“I don’t think you can compare it to my title in any way because 2008 is such a long time ago,” she told the PA news agency.
“I think people were unnecessarily excited because British tennis wasn’t what it was today, there are so many top players in the men’s and women’s side.
“It wasn’t the same when I played. I just feel like he is going to have so many people to lean on, from Andy all the way to Jack Draper, who is not too far away from him age wise. If there is as little pressure as possible, then great.
“He just seems like he has got such a good head on his shoulders. It is a really special moment for him, I just hope he soaks it up and continues to improve.
“He needs to keep as much joy as possible because that is what is most important as you try and transition from juniors to seniors because it is very tough but it seems like he has got such a good head on his shoulders.
“The more you can keep it the same and keep doing the same sort of training and effort into every session the better he is going to do. It seems like his team knows what they are doing.”
It could be easy for Robson to be bitter about having her career taken away from her by injury.
Just months after reaching her career high ranking of 27 she suffered a wrist problem in early 2014 and was never properly fully fit again for a sustained length of time. Hip surgery in 2018 proved too difficult to overcome and after several years out, she officially retired in 2022.
She has not dwelled on her bad luck, though, forging a career in television and also has taken her first steps into tennis administration, working as a player liaison at Wimbledon and being the tournament director of the WTA event at Nottingham.
“I will always miss it but I have a different appreciation for it now,” Robson said. “It definitely took me some time but I knew for a good amount of time before I officially retired that I knew I wasn’t going to be playing so I had that whole journey before having to tell anyone, which makes it a lot nicer.
“I was at home, I was chilling with the dog and getting used to not picking up a racket every day and not going to the gym and rehab and just to have that couple of months to myself made it a lot easier.
“To announce it officially got rid of a lot of the emotions because people were always asking if I was going to play again. Since announcing I have been totally fine with it and I have been very, very busy, which always helps.”
The 29-year-old also held a coaching clinic at Wimbledon for players who did not make it to the finals of the Play Your Way To Wimbledon – a national competition with regional and county rounds.
This year’s competition included categories for adults’ doubles pathway, visually impaired, wheelchair and learning disability tennis, which Robson believes is important for Wimbledon.
“It has been really fun, just to see the excitement on all of their faces at playing at Wimbledon for the first time,” Robson said.
“They were just enjoying themselves. To see so many different age groups and categories now, I feel like the more we can open Wimbledon up to people who think it is a little bit inaccessible or is a bit stiff, the better.”
:: Play Your Way to Wimbledon, powered by Vodafone, is the UK’s largest individual mass participation tennis competition and is delivered by Vodafone in partnership with the LTA and The All England Lawn Tennis Club, forming part of the brand’s ongoing commitment to support grassroots tennis in the UK, whilst encouraging more people to pick up a racket.
