TSSI # 12 – It’s Not About Achievement, It’s About Who You Become: My Story
Read Time: 4.5 minutes (sorry, I’m breaking my own rules)
I remember being incredibly nervous.
I was just a little 12 year-old blonde boy with a strong welsh accent who had been educated in the welsh language for the past decade.
I'd accepted a full-scholarship to the David Lloyd Tennis Academy at Reed's School.
Located just outside of London.
An all-boys boarding school 4 hours away from home…
It was too good an opportunity to turn down.
All of a sudden, I was going to be living a long way away from home. In a big victorian style school. With people I didn't know. And studying in english.
I remember being so scared.
Scared of not knowing the correct scientific and mathematical terminology, and being made fun of as a result.
I remember my parents dropping me off at the boarding house the evening before my first day of school.
I vividly remember standing at the side of the road as they drove away, leaving me in this unfamiliar place…
I started crying.
I guess this is where my tennis journey truly started…
Thankfully, I settled in quickly. Once I made friends and got through the first couple of weeks a lot of my fears subsided.
For the next couple years, I worked hard. I had great coaches and I was training with the best boys in the country.
By the age of 14, I found myself at #2 in the European rankings.
I had fallen in love with the travel...and of course, the winning.
It was at that point that I decided that being a professional tennis player was my dream.
Top 100 ATP was the target.
For the next few years, I continued to progress.
The point of no return.
On my 18th birthday, I got to 53 in the world in the ITF rankings.
But honestly, I wasn't doing as well as I'd hoped.
My game wasn't where it needed to be. I was still physically weak. And, I wasn't mentally strong enough to handle the pro tour.
So I started to consider the US college route. I went on visits to TCU, Wake Forest & Virginia Tech.
When completing the college documentation we decided to disclose that:
'At age 16, I signed with a sports agency for a 10-week period before we cancelled the contract. I didn't receive anything, so it was swept under the rug like nothing was ever signed.'
But, the NCAA ruled me ineligible to attend US College.
I'd been honest about the situation, and it had bitten me in the butt. I was so pissed.
So here I was, 18 years old. With no choice but to fully commit to going pro.
The dream of Top 100 became the only goal once again.
The start of the climb
This was when my pro journey started after graduating from school.
I was travelling as part of the British Team with Cameron Norrie, Kyle Edmund, Liam Broady, Luke Bambridge & Jonny O'mara.
But I was struggling.
I got injured for 8 months with a stress fracture in my back. And after 2 years, I was still outside the top 1000 in the ATP rankings.
I had lost my LTA funding, and I decided to move back home to train in Wales.
After 2 months, out of nowhere, I managed to win 2 pro futures titles in Tunisia. A complete turning point.
And, I got my ranking up to 550 ATP.
I was on cloud 9.
The spanner in the works
Weeks later, I started getting this aching sensation whenever I'd serve.
And with time, it became too painful to compete.
Months went by, doing rehab with no improvement in pain. After 6 months, I went to see a specialist.
I needed surgery.
But:
I didn't have medical insurance.
I was an unfunded athlete.
The waitlist on the NHS would have been 12+ months.
And the surgery was £4,000 ($5,000).
I didn't know what to do. I thought my career was flashing before my eyes. I started to think of what I'd do if I wasn't a tennis player.
But then, my family gave me a small glimmer of light. My parents, aunties & uncle came together and agreed to pool money to pay for the surgery.
They saved my career.
After a double repair of the anterior and posterior labrum, and 18 months out of the game, I finally got fit…
But I had no money.
So, I saw an advertisement for a hitting partner role at SotoTennis academy in Spain.
The conditions:
Hit for 2 hours a day with the pro female players & you can train for free the rest of the time.
The Comeback
This was the start of my journey back to the tour…
I sucked at first. Being out of the game is tough. And 18 months is no joke. I basically had to learn tennis again (at least that's how it felt at times).
But, over the next 3 years, I kept inching up the rankings.
And at the end of 2018 & start of 2019, I picked up 4 more futures singles titles, got my ranking to 319 ATP and started playing challengers.
The push
By June, I was awarded a WC into the mens singles qualifying for Wimbledon, as well as the main draw doubles & mixed-doubles.
I was living the dream. I had dreamt about playing Wimbledon for a decade by that point.
I was nervous. I wanted to prove myself. Show that I deserved my WC's.
I choked in the key moments of my singles.
My doubles came & went. A close first round loss.
It was all a blur.
But, somehow we hit a hot streak on the mixed doubles court and made it to the quarter-finals.
A career highlight.
Mixed Doubles Quarter-finalists at Wimbledon with my partner Eden Silva.
I was on a high. Mega excited.
And for the first time, a little money in my pocket which eased the financial pressures that always consumed me.
The start of the end
I tried to run with the momentum for the next 6 months, but things slowed a little.
I was struggling to string back-to-back matches together at the challenger level...
...and then the pandemic hit.
...as did 3 knee surgeries in the next 2 years.
So, I made the decision to retire from pro tennis.
The next chapter
I’ve been coaching in Silicon Valley for the last year. Which has given me time to reflect.
I didn't achieve my biggest goal of reaching the Top 100 ATP.
But that's okay.
Because what I've come to understand throughout this whole journey is that it was never about the titles, trophies & rankings.
It was about who I became in the process.
A decade of professional tennis taught to be disciplined. To persevere. To be independent. To lead. To be resilient. To be humble. To learn & grow. To handle pressure & overcome fear. To be courageous.
I've grown so much since that evening that I was dropped off as a 12 year old boy at Reed's School.
Little did I know I'd go on that journey.
I didn't achieve what I wanted to achieve, but I transformed into the person I wanted to become.
And that for me, is success.
My Message
Sport is an amazing teacher. No mattar what level you play at.
It builds character and develops many attributes that help you excel in life.
So, strive to achieve your goals. But, remember, it's the inner transformation that really matters.
Keep Persevering.
Ev
P.s. this was obviously very different from my usual newsletters. If you are looking to grow and be fulfilled, consider joining over 600 high-performers receiving an issue in their mailbox every Saturday morning. Subscribe below.
