Kate and Andy double up for Wimbledon call
Duchess brings along special guest for virtual visit to primary school
IF 2020 had gone to plan, she might have been looking forward to a sunny day in the Royal Box — while he warmed up ahead of a Centre Court comeback clash in the men’s semi-finals.
But with Wimbledon cancelled because of the coronavirus lockdown, the Duchess of Cambridge and Sir Andy Murray instead made an unlikely virtual mixed doubles pairing at a south London primary school.
Tennis fan Kate was making a “royal visit” by video call yesterday when she revealed she had a special guest waiting on the line.
The duchess was speaking to pupils at Bond primary school in Mitcham — three miles from the courts of SW19 — from her home at Anmer Hall in Norfolk in her role as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Kate visited the school in January 2018 to see the work of the Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative, the AELTC’s community tennis programme, in which coaches deliver free tennis sessions to schoolchildren in the boroughs of Merton and Wandsworth.
After talking to the children and being shown one of their tennis drills, Kate, who is said to have been taking private tennis lessons at the Hurlingham club, revealed she had another guest waiting.
She told the pupils: “I’ve got a very important person here that’s going to come and join us, that would love to meet you guys and might be able to share some tennis tips as well with you.”
The duchess, 38, briefly turned interviewer, asking the two-time Wimbledon champion about his lockdown experience and whether he had kept up with training. He admitted he did not play tennis for about 10 weeks, instead staying in shape by cycling.
“I was going out on my road bike which was something I’ve never done before, so that’s something kind of new that I learned I enjoy during lockdown,” he said. “It’s quite important in these times to stay as active as you can because it good for the mind as well.”
Before she said goodbye, the duchess asked Sir Andy, who had been expected to make his return to Wimbledon singles after losing two years to injury, whether he had been missing matches.
The 33-year-old replied: “I think missing the big competitions, because I’m getting old for a tennis player — you never know how many opportunities you’re going to have left to play the biggest competitions. So missing Wimbledon this week is obviously a shame.
“I’ve missed the travelling ... missing seeing friends like everyone else. Family, I’ve not seen my mum and dad for a few months so I’m looking forward to seeing them again hopefully very soon.
“There’s been some challenges but I guess sometimes when you go through difficult moments like this you learn to appreciate the things you maybe took for granted sometimes?
“I’ll definitely make sure I spend more time with my family and friends when I get the opportunity.”
“Exactly,” the duchess replied. “And hopefully that time is relatively near as well.