Ball boys and girls expected to ‘rise to the occasion’

AFTER a rigorous selection process and months of intense training, hundreds of teenagers will take their place on the courts of Wimbledon to showcase their skills as ball boys and girls.

Around 800 applicants have been whittled down 250.

While ball boys and girls are on average just 15 years old, trainer Sarah Goldson said they “rise to the occasion” as soon as they take their first tentative steps on the famous grass courts at SW19.

Ms Goldson, who is a PE teacher alongside her work at Wimbledon, told the Press Association: “I think trust is a big thing, because there is one-hundred-and-something of them on court at one time, teenagers, expected to be doing what they are supposed to be doing.

“They are very good and most of them rise to the occasion.

“Some of them surprise me in how good they are and how they cope with the crowds and things like that.”

Prospective ball boys and girls are nominated by more than 30 participating schools.

The year nine and 10 students must then pass a written test, prove their ball feeding and coordination skills and show they can stand still for three minutes after completing a circuit to progress to full training.

Those who show most promise are invited to weekly training sessions at the All England Lawn Tennis Club from February until June.

They are constantly assessed and those who do not meet Wimbledon’s exacting standards will not take part.

Ms Goldson said: “I think the ball boys and girls realise that when we say little things – ‘we expect your shoelaces to be done up, we expect you to address everyone as sir and miss’, that we really mean that.

“They buy into the philosophy that this all goes towards the reputation that we’ve built and I think they don’t want to undermine it.”