Meet the talented NI kids who are hoping to be Wimbledon stars of the future
As Wimbledon begins today, Lee Henry talks to the mums and dads of Northern Ireland’s up-and-coming tennis players. Here they say how they are willing to commit their lives and spend thousands to help their child become the next Serena Williams or Andy Mu
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‘Karola can make history as NI’s top player’
Taxi driver Leonard Bejenaru (50) lives in Belfast with his wife Anca (48) and daughters Arthemis (25) and Karola (20). He says:
Imoved to Northern Ireland from Romania in 2001 to support my family. Although we had a peaceful life with our friends and family there, it was a financial struggle and we had to look for better opportunities elsewhere.
Karola started playing at five in Braila, Romania. She continued when she moved to Northern Ireland in 2007, at the Ulster Tennis Academy. She didn’t know any English when she first arrived, so it was very hard for her to communicate with her coaches and friends, but I helped her out and always tried to support her.
I’m a very proud dad. I talk about her to pretty much everyone. I’ve been watching Karola grow and improve over all these years. She always works hard, putting in 100% all the time. When she was little, I saw a sparkle in her and I knew that she would be a good player.
Karola is a very happy, cheerful and optimistic person and has developed into a hard-working and ambitious young woman. She is very committed and focused when it comes to training and competing, which amounts to most of her time nowadays.
I think it’s safe to say that her ambition is our motivation to keep hoping and to give everything that we have to see her living the dream.
I’ve travelled with Karola since she was a junior. We travelled by car as it was cheaper.
Now she is an adult and travels by herself most of the time. Her favourite players are Rodger Federer and Serena Williams. She met them and saw them play at Wimbledon two years ago. They were very nice and keen to talk with her.
Wimbledon is our favourite competition and even if we cannot be there this year, we will watch it closely. It is inspiring for us to see the top players competing in the best tennis competition. We always have something to learn, something to aspire to.
In the future we want to keep Karola’s level high and make sure that she keeps improving.
I want to focus 100% on Karola’s career. I want her to become Northern Ireland’s first WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) number one player. I believe we can make history.”