New tennis sensation was a battler from birth
After fighting cancer at one and making the pro tour at 26, Britain’s Ryan Peniston is tipped for bigger things
‘I want to inspire other kids who may be going through something similar ... give them hope that things can work out ’
THE thrilling run of Britain’s new tennis hope came to an end on the scorching centre court of Queen’s last night.
But Ryan Peniston’s will to fight was never more evident than in defeat.
And those close to the Wimbledon-bound left-hander from Southend in Essex have spoken of the battle that forged his iron will to succeed.
As a one-year-old he was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer that he beat after undergoing surgery and chemotherapy.
Although he barely remembers it, the disease and its cure took a significant physical toll on his early life, slowing his growth until his mid-teens.
At 26, he is relatively old to burst onto the professional world singles tour.
But his manager, John Wright, explained that for Ryan Peniston the normal rules don’t apply.
“He’s got unbelievable strength, a never-say-die attitude that’s just amazing to watch.
“Ryan’s been up against two or three match points at tournaments in the last month, but he’s stayed grounded and fought through them.”
If the noise from the crowd in London this week was anything to go by, tennis fans agreed.
After Tuesday’s rout of the world number five and recent French Open runner-up, Casper Rudd, two days later Peniston fought back from a lost second set against the powerful Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo. Addressing the crowd after the match, he described his dizzying ascent as a “rollercoaster” and “a dream” he didn’t “want to wake up from any time soon”. Friday’s third-round clash against Filip Kranjinovic, however, proved too big a mountain to climb, even though he won the first set. But at times in the two sets that followed, he showed his desire to succeed, winning an epic rally with a diving volley at the net to keep his hopes alive, albeit briefly. Peniston, who outlasted his higherranked compatriots at Queen’s by several days and is ranked 145 in the world, has a week to prepare for Wimbledon, for which he has a wildcard entry.
Speaking before this week’s tournament, he spoke of his childhood fascination with the championships.
“As a kid I went to watch four or five years in a row,” he said. “I think since then I’ve had this dream to play there.”
He describes the trauma of his early-years cancer as “a pretty hectic start to my life”, adding: “For my parents it must have been really tough, but it brought my family together.”
Peniston’s awareness of his brush with death, before he could even walk, lives with him – the first line of his biography on Twitter reads: “Every day is a bonus.”
“As I’ve gotten older, I wanted to learn more about it because when I was a kid, we didn’t talk about it that much as a family. I think because it was such a tough time for my parents and my brothers and relatives.”
His father introduced him to tennis and coached him before he moved, first to the South of France to train at the ISP Academy and then to join the University of Memphis tennis programme.
He hopes his success as a debutante on the men’s single tour will be a help to other families under stress.
“I just want to inspire other families and other kids who might be going through something similar,” he said. “Give them a bit of hope that things can work out.”
He’ll have plenty of opportunities to do that in the coming weeks. As John Wright explained: “He’s in the main draw for Eastbourne, which is fantastic, and after that it’s Wimbledon.
“Then he’ll probably have a bit of a rest before trying to qualify for the US Open. It’s unbelievable, considering where he’s come from.”