Surbiton Trophy Programme 2016

INTERNATIONAL STARS 

ON YOUR DOORSTEP 

Official Programme 

4 – 12 June 

Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club

Get serious about 

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A warm welcome to the Aegon Surbiton Trophy at 

Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club 

We are delighted that we are once 

again returning to the Surbiton 

Racket & Fitness Club for the 

Aegon Surbiton Trophy, a key 

international tennis event in 

the British grass court calendar. 

After a very successful event in 2015 the feedback 

following the tournament was excellent and 

many players spoke fondly of the great setting and 

hospitality they received at the club. 

The club was established in 1881 and is a popular 

sports club in southwest London which thrives on 

its friendly and informal setting. 

All our events, small or large, are a fantastic 

window for our sport. We hope they act as an 

inspiration for you all to find a tennis venue, pick 

up a racket and get on court. Many of you are 

already part of the backbone of tennis in Surrey, 

and co-incidentally also British tennis. On the back 

of our wonderful Davis Cup win in 2015, together 

with the Tennis for Kids offer, Quorn Family Cup, 

and Go Hit It campaign, we are aiming to inspire 

young and old to “have a go” and enjoy this 

wonderful game. 

Events like this are not delivered alone and we 

are only too aware of the vital contribution made 

by our partners in bringing an event like this to 

the town. We thank the ATP, ITF, Aegon, Surrey 

LTA, the Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club for their 

fantastic support of the event, the event volunteers, 

who play such an integral role in delivering 

such an event, and of course thank you to all our 

sponsors for their continued support in growing 

the sport. 

World-class tennis action awaits. I wish all the 

players, those competing from home and abroad, 

the very best of luck this week. 

Cathie Sabin 

LTA President 

forewords 

A warm welcome to the Aegon 

Surbiton Trophy at Surbiton Racket 

& Fitness Club. 

We’re delighted the ladies’ $50k 

and men’s $50k event make their 

return to the Surbiton grass courts. This year, 

the Aegon Surbiton Trophy is guaranteed to keep 

tennis fans entertained. 

A fantastic grass court season is synonymous 

with Britain and while we Brits are great at many 

things, when it comes to retirement only 12% of 

the population are on track for the retirement they 

want. Pensions have never been more topical and 

the past year has seen great changes for consumers 

who want to access their savings more flexibly, but 

there’s still work to be done. If you’re a tennis fan 

like me, you’ll already be thinking about the extra 

time you might have out on the court to perfect 

your serve during retirement, so start planning for 

the future early. See how we can help at 

Aegon.co.uk. 

Enjoy the tennis! 

Adrian Grace 

Chief Executive, Aegon UK 

Aegon Surbiton Trophy 

The tournament 

Tournament Director George Donnelly 

ITF Supervisor Tom Kinloch 

ATP Supervisor Stephane Cretois 

The club 

Club President Mike Carroll 

Club Director Roy Staniland 

Head Coach Tom Crisp 

The Programme 

Editor Dominic Bliss 

Design Anthony Collins 

Printed by cubiquitymedia.com 

The tournament would like to thank the members of 

Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club for the use of the club. 

Thank you also to Hollyfield school and Christchurch 

primary school, Surbiton, for providing our ball crew. 

www.LTA.org.uk/aegonsurbitontrophy @SurbitonTrophy 3

looking ahead 

the future 

of surbiton 

New floodlights, an outreach programme that brings tennis 

to the local community, and plans for a new clubhouse… 

Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club always has new projects 

on the go, as Club President Mike Carroll explains. 

4 Aegon surbiton trophy 2016

“A new clubhouse in the 

near future will be the next 

step in our great story.” 

vibrant sports club is one that’s always looking 

A to the future. Here at Surbiton Racket & Fitness 

Club there are some significant changes coming 

since we have plans to build a brand new clubhouse 

in the next few years. Built on the west side of the 

club grounds, it will be a superb two-storey building 

with views from one side over the squash courts, 

and from the other side over the grass tennis 

courts. There will also be a new function room and 

restaurant. The existing clubhouse will probably be 

remodelled for indoor sports and function areas. 

Regular visitors to our club will notice the new 

floodlights we’ve installed on the hard courts. Paid 

for with grants from the Lawn Tennis Association, 

these allow us to offer a further 500 hours of tennis 

every year, something which all club members have 

welcomed. 

The club now boasts 20 tennis courts (11 grass, 

three artificial clay and six hard, of which two are 

covered in winter), four squash courts, a gym and 

a fitness studio. We also offer one of the friendliest 

and most community-aware social clubs in Greater 

London. All just 15 minutes by train from Waterloo. 

Our innovative and extensive coaching 

programme allows us to steal a march on other 

London clubs. Under the supervision of head coach 

Tom Crisp, the junior coaching programme sees 

over 380 players, aged three to 16 years, honing their 

skills here every week. The junior programme offers 

a huge range of sessions from 3-year-olds, all the way 

up to our performance programme for county-level 

players and above. 

Adults benefit too, with beginner coaching, 

cardio tennis and team coaching. The club prides 

itself on its links with the local community. Over 

twenty schools benefit from these links, sending 

children for valuable coaching both during and 

after school hours. 


looking ahead 

Thanks to our work with disabled tennis players, 

the LTA has designated our club an LTA disability 

hub. This means we provide coaching both on and 

off-site for players with a range of disabilities. Our 

links with Fulham Football Club and local specialneeds 

schools have seen this area blossoming. 

Our community outreach programme is 

always expanding. This year we have taken over 

the management of 10 park courts in southwest 

London – four in Alexandra Recreation Ground in 

Surbiton, three in Beverley Park in New Malden, 

and three in Kingston. With the help of LTA grants 

we plan to resurface them and offer them to local 

players via a low-cost key-fob system. We want this 

exciting new Parks Tennis initiative to provide 

affordable tennis for all and encourage more local 

people to get active by playing our great game. 

We’ve always had an eye on the future, here at 

Surbiton. That’s not to say we don’t have enormous 

respect for our club’s history. After all, we’re only 

13 years younger than the country’s most famous 

tennis club of all – a certain one just up the road 

in Wimbledon. While the All England Club was 

founded in 1868, our club came to life in 1881, under 

the original name of Berrylands Lawn Tennis Club. 

Initially there were 200 members (compared with 

1,500 today). It wasn’t until 1900 that the original 

clubhouse was built. Four years after that the first 

Surrey Grass Court Championships were staged. 

Over the next century or so, the club slowly 

and surely grew in stature. Granted, there were 

challenges to overcome – financial problems in 

the 1930s, for example, when the club was forced 

to sell off the land to the council and then lease it 

back from them. During the Second World War, 

like many sports clubs, Surbiton had to sacrifice 

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looking ahead 

“Our innovative and extensive 

coaching programme allows 

us to steal a march on other 

London clubs.” 

court space for crucial allotment farming, yet 

the club remained open, even during the London 

Blitz, thanks almost entirely to the efforts of the 

secretary at that time, Leslie Perry. 

After World War II the club bounced back even 

stronger. Both grass and hard courts were added, 

squash became a major feature, stands and new 

buildings and facilities were constructed. In 2008 

the gym and fitness studio were added, and we 

finally went all-weather during the winter thanks 

to our air dome and two indoor courts inside it. 

Many of the world’s greatest tennis players have 

competed on our beautiful grass courts at one 

time or another. The last century saw the likes 

of Fred Perry, Roger Taylor, Ann Jones, Christine 

Truman, Sue Barker, Evonne Goolagong, Martina 

Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Stefan Edberg, Pat 

Cash and Jim Courier. More recently there was 

Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski, Boris Becker, Michael 

Chang, Lleyton Hewitt, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and 

Roger Federer. 

As ever, Surbiton is still looking towards the 

future. Our leasehold is now secure until 2075, 

which will be almost 200 years after the club was 

first founded. The opening of a new clubhouse will 

be the next step in our great story. 

Thank you to everyone who has supported us 

over the years. 


Summer 

Tennis Camps 

2016 

25th July – 26th August 

Tots tennis camp, for ages 3-4 years, is a 

great introduction to tennis. Players learn 

movement and co-ordination skills in an 

exciting and fun session 

The mini tennis camp is for ages 5-9 years. 

Players play in a red or orange group 

dependent on age as recommended by 

the LTA Mini Tennis framework 

Green/full court for players aged 10+ with 

groups suitable for all levels 

Sign up for 

the week 

and get one 

day free! 

All coaches LTA qualified and licensed 

Sibling discounts: 10% off 2nd child, 

15% off 3rd child 

Low player to coach ratios 

Please provide drinks and snacks for 

breaks throughout the afternoon 

Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club, Berrylands, Surbiton, Surrey, KT5 8JT 

T: 020 8399 1594 | E: info@surbiton.org | www.surbiton.org

itish players 


ule 

britannia 

Davis Cup triumph for the national team. Jamie Murray 

at the top of the world doubles rankings. Johanna Konta 

lighting up the women’s tour… British tennis is in fine fettle. 

And, for once it’s not all about Andy Murray. 

Photography by Action Images 

year ago, if you’d asked even the most astute 

A tennis expert which of the Murray brothers 

would be sitting at the top of the world rankings, 

they’d have immediately pointed at Andy. Yet, 

back in March, it was his elder brother Jamie who 

became world doubles No.1, and the first Briton 

ever to top the ATP rankings. 

Our best doubles player has been on stunning 

form over the last 12 months. As well as helping 

the British team triumph in the Davis Cup, the 

30-year-old won his first Grand Slam title at the 

Australian Open (partnered with Brazilian Bruno 

Soares). Later this year, both Murray brothers are 

teaming up for the Rio Olympics where they stand 

a good chance of taking a medal. As Jamie says, 

“We’re coming into our best years in our careers. 

We’re both playing our best tennis now and we can 

use that to great effect in Rio.” 

No one needs reminding of Andy Murray’s 

amazing success in singles. But even among his 

lower-ranked British peers, there’s now reason for 

optimism. In February this year, after reaching the 

quarter-finals in Doha, and winning a Challenger 

tournament in Texas, Kyle Edmund posted a careerhigh 

ranking of 82 in the world. In May he won 

another Challenger tournament in Rome but later 

suffered an ankle injury. 

Birmingham’s Daniel Evans is playing the best 

tennis of his career, too. Challenger success earlier 

this year propelled him into the ATP top 100 for 

the first time. He admits that he has struggled 

in the past with the commitment and discipline 

required to progress on the ATP Tour. He once even 

joked that might need an electronic tag to stop 

him going out in the evenings so much. It looks 

now as if he has turned a corner. His recent results 

certainly suggest he is far more driven than before. 

More exciting is what’s happening in the British 

women’s game. Johanna Konta leads the charge. 

She’s been in stunning form this year, reaching the 

quarter-finals in Miami, and the semi-finals at the 

Australian Open – Britain’s first female at this level 

in a Grand Slam since Jo Durie in 1983. In April she 

reached a career-high ranking of 21 in the world. 

Depending on her performances during the grasscourt 

season, this may soon be eclipsed. 

At 25 years old, Johanna’s success has come fairly 

late compared to many of her peers, something 


itish players 

Like Jamie Murray, 

Johanna Konta is excited 

about the prospect of 

competing at the Rio 

Olympics. “Meeting the 

other British athletes, 

the foreign athletes, the 

village, being part of the 

biggest sporting event 

in the world, competing 

for your country, getting 

lots of cool kit, trading 

badges, meeting new 

people.” 

Dan Evans 

Kyle Edmund 


she puts down to fate. “It didn’t happen before 

because it wasn’t meant to. I had to have a lot of 

experiences and I had to grow up a bit. I think 

every[one] runs their own course. Everyone has 

their own journey, their own career. This is how 

mine’s developing. It would be silly for me to say 

I wish it would have happened earlier or later, or 

whatever, because I’m very much a believer in 

living in the here and now.” 

Johanna’s coaches, Esteban Carril and Jose- 

Manuel Garcia, who are based near Gijon, in the 

northwest of Spain, have certainly had a noticeable 

effect. Although Johanna lives in the Sussex town 

of Eastbourne, and often trains at the Lawn Tennis 

Association’s National Tennis Centre in southwest 

London, she regularly flies out to Spain to meet 

with the coaches. “My team is Spanish,” she says. 

“It would be incredibly unfair of me to ask them 

always to come to London. It’s nice to have a 

change of scenery.” 

The scenery has constantly been changing for 

this player. Born in Sydney, in Australia, to parents 

(Gabor and Gabriella) of Hungarian origin, she has 

sporting prowess in her genes (her grandfather 

Tamas Kersetz played football for Hungary) and in 

her upbringing (as a youngster she excelled both at 

tennis and as an 800-metre runner). When she was 

14, the family moved to Europe – first to Spain and 

then to the UK where her father now works as a 

hotelier and her mother as a dentist. There’s also an 

older sister Emese. The Kontas eventually settled in 

Eastbourne – that seaside town on the south coast 

favoured by the elder generation – where, Johanna 

jokes, her parents prefer the slower pace of life. 

Her tennis skills then developed over the next 

few years courtesy of a string of academies 


itish players 

including Academia Sanchez-Casal in Barcelona 

(Andy Murray’s alma mater), the Weybridge Tennis 

Academy in Surrey, the Sutton Tennis Academy in 

south London, and Bisham Abbey National Sports 

Centre in Buckinghamshire. There was even a brief 

stint at a coaching set-up in Texas, run by Andy 

Roddick’s brother John. 

During this period Johanna applied for British 

citizenship, finally getting the papers rubberstamped 

in May 2012. She said at the time – in an 

accent that betrays only a hint of her antipodean 

roots – that she no longer felt any sense of being 

Australian, and became so fond of her adopted 

country that she even shed a little tear during the 

opening ceremony of the London Olympics that 

same year. 

Like Jamie Murray, she is excited about the 

prospect of competing at the Rio Olympics. “It’s 

everything that comes with it,” she said. “Meeting 

Heather Watson 

the other British athletes, the foreign athletes, the 

village, being part of the biggest sporting event in 

the world, competing for your country, getting lots 

of cool kit, trading badges, meeting new people.” 

The other British females in the world top 100 

are Naomi Broady who reached her career-high 

ranking of 76 in the world in March, and Heather 

Watson who won her third WTA title in Monterrey 

in the same month and, at the time of writing, is 

ranked at 56 in the world. 

Judy Murray, Great Britain’s Fed Cup captain, 

believes the latter has the ability to join Johanna 

Konta in the top 30. “I set her a target of top 30 

by the end of the year,” she says. “I’m absolutely 

convinced that if she works hard she will make 

that.” 

Imagine that: two British females among the 

best 30 players in the world. It’s been a very long 

time since we’ve been able to boast of that. 



Net 

income 

Sponsors are queuing up to sew their 

patches to the shirts of the world’s top tennis 

players. But what makes some players so 

much more attractive than others? 

Dominic Bliss finds out. 

[All financial figures courtesy of Forbes.] 


tennis’ top earners 

2 million each. That’s what this year’s singles 

£ winners at Wimbledon will pocket in prize 

money. Enormous though it is, that amount will be 

totally eclipsed by what they earn in sponsorship 

money. 

At the top level the sport of tennis is awash with 

cash. Forbes magazine, the experts when it comes 

to salaries and earnings, ranks seven tennis players 

among their top 100 list of the “world’s highestpaid 

athletes”. In the lead is Roger Federer who, 

last year, banked an eye-watering US$67 million in 

all – $58 million in endorsements and $9 million 

in prize money. Not far behind him is Novak 

Djokovic at $48.2 million, then Nadal ($32.5m), 

Sharapova ($29.7m), Serena Williams ($24.6m), 

Murray ($22.3m) and Nishikori ($19.5m). 

What is it about tennis players that gets the 

sponsors so excited? Good looks and personality 

are of course crucial, and the players must have 

proved themselves successful in Grand Slams. A 

clean-cut image and popular social media accounts 

are important, too. 

Most important of all, however, is the power of 

television. Should players win through to the final 

of a Grand Slam, they could well find themselves 

appearing on screen for many hours, often on 

prime time broadcast slots. In between points, 

the cameras focus on the players’ upper bodies 

where, rather conveniently, the sponsors’ logos are 

attached. 

Add to this the fact that tennis is popular all 

over the world (the ATP and WTA currently stage 

over 120 main-tour events on six continents), 

particularly with the wealthy middle classes, and 

that it benefits from TV coverage from January 

all the way through to November. Which sponsor 

wouldn’t see this as a valuable investment? Hence 

the enormous earning potential of the following 

top players. 

Roger Federer 

5th highest-earning sportsperson in the world 

Total annual earnings: $67m 

Prize money: $9m 

Sponsorship: $58m 

Don a smart white jacket, comb your hair nicely, 

and chat politely to the guests in the sponsor’s tent. 

It’s not difficult to endear yourself to the powersthat-be 

in tennis, especially if you’re well groomed, 

you speak several languages, and you have 17 

Grand Slam titles to your name. This explains why 

a certain Swiss gent counts blue-chip companies 

such as Mercedes-Benz, Rolex, Credit Suisse, Moet 

& Chandon, and telecoms company Sunrise among 

his sponsors. Then there’s Nike (rumoured to be 

worth $10m a year), Wilson, private jets NetJets, 

chocolatiers Lindt and coffee manufacturer Jura. 

Clean-cut Federer is an advertiser’s dream. 

Novak Djokovic 


Total annual earnings: $48.2m 

Prize money: $17.2m 


Earlier in his career, Djokovic wasn’t able to draw 

in the same calibre of sponsors as his American 

and western European counterparts whose 

stronger economies allowed for wealthier partners. 

But now that he has 11 Grand Slam titles under his 

belt, and his brand has gone global, the Serbian 

has picked up very lucrative deals with the likes of 

Peugeot cars, Seiko watches, Uniqlo clothing and 

Jacob’s Creek wines. With his star continuing to 

rise even further, other sponsors are waiting in 

the wings. 



Rafael Nadal 

22nd highest-earning sportsperson in the world 




Fans love Nadal’s gutsy, aggressive and highly 

physical style of play. So, it seems, do sponsors such 

as Nike, Kia Motors, Tommy Hilfiger, Babolat and 

communications giant Telefonica. It matters not 

that he doesn’t have the same gentlemanly image 

as Federer since his sponsors are using him to sell 

to a younger, less conservative demographic. In the 

1990s it was Pete Sampras for the more upmarket 

brands, and Andre Agassi for the trendier brands. 

To a certain degree it’s a similar case with Federer 

and Nadal. 

Maria Sharapova 





Depending on the legal outcome, the meldonium 

scandal may end up tarnishing this Russian player’s 

image and decreasing her future earnings. (The 

figures above pertain to 2015, before the scandal 

broke.) There was a time, though, when this woman 

was the most photographed tennis player on the 

planet. Possibly even the most photographed 

sportswoman on the planet. The cameras couldn’t 

resist her catwalk looks and glamorous style. A 

whole plethora of sponsors included Porsche cars, 

TAG Heuer watches, Avon Products, Evian water, 

Head rackets, Nike clothing, Supergoop skincare, 

plus her own brand of sweets, Sugarpova. It will 

be interesting to see if, post-meldonium, she still 

features in the Forbes list next year. 

Serena Williams 





Despite massively eclipsing Sharapova in terms 

of tournament success, Serena doesn’t lure in the 

sponsors to quite such a degree. Nevertheless, this 

American champion counts Nike, Wilson, drinks 

company Gatorade and nail care company OPI 

among her clients. With her sister Venus she is 

part-owner of American football team the Miami 

Dolphins. She is also in business with retailer 

Home Shopping Network, sports product brand 

Mission, and social media website Mobli. 



Andy Murray 





Everyone used to think he was dour and grumpy, 

and his sponsorship earnings suffered as a result. 

But after he won that elusive Wimbledon title in 

2013, and then established his own management 

company (77), he embarked on something of a 

charm offensive. International brands have now 

warmed to him so that he now counts Under 

Armour, Head and Standard Life among his 

sponsors. 

Kei Nishikori 

92nd highest-earning sportsperson in the world 




This Japanese player enjoys a gargantuan fan 

following across all of Asia where tennis is an 

enormously popular sport with hours and hours 

of TV coverage. By regularly reaching the business 

end of Grand Slam tournaments he has cemented 

his status as a household name across the Orient. 

How does tennis compare to 

other sports? 

Tennis isn’t the highest paid sport on the 

planet, but it comes pretty close. According to 

Forbes magazine, in 2015 these were the top 10 

highest-earning athletes in the world. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

Floyd Mayweather (USA) 

Boxing $300m 

Manny Pacquiao (Philippines) 

Boxing $160m 

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) 

Football 

Lionel Messi (Argentina) 

Football 

$79.6m 

$73.8m 

Roger Federer (Switzerland) 

Tennis $67m 

LeBron James (USA) 

Basketball 

Kevin Durant (USA) 

Basketball 

Phil Mickelson (USA) 

Golf 

Tiger Woods (USA) 

Golf 

Kobe Bryant (USA) 

Basketball 

$64.8m 

$54.2m 

$50.8m 

$50.6m 

$49.5m 

It’s not difficult to endear 

yourself to the powers-thatbe 

in tennis, especially if, like 

Roger Federer, you’re well 

groomed, you speak several 

languages, and you have 17 

Grand Slam titles to your name. 

This explains how he has managed to pick up the 

following international brands as sponsors: Jaguar, 

Tag Heuer, Asahi, Japan Airlines, Procter & Gamble, 

Uniqlo, Wilson, adidas, plus many other blue chip 

companies with a large presence in Asia. 



surbiton coach 

life 

on court 

It’s busy times for Surbiton’s head coach 

Tom Crisp who is now overseeing the 

coaching of record numbers of players. 

Here he describes a typical working day. 

om Crisp spends around 1,500 hours a year 

T on the courts of Surbiton Racket & Fitness 

Club. Before he became head coach four years ago, 

and took on all the managerial and office work 

that required, it was a lot more. Perhaps 2,000 

hours a year. 

Given the physicality of the work, it inevitably 

takes its toll on the body. “When you’ve had a long 

day and you’ve done maybe eight hours flat out on 

court, hitting at a decent level, your feet hurt, your 

body hurts, that can definitely be tough,” says the 

28-year-old. 

Tom and his team of 12 to 15 coaches (depending 

on demand and the time of year) pride themselves 

on being very dynamic on court. “Somtimes the 

image of coaches is leaning against a basket feeding 

balls. We’re not like that at all here. We expect the 

coaches to hit a lot and to put a lot of effort into the 

session. So it’s very demanding, yes. All the coaches 

have to demand a level of intensity and a work rate 

for themselves if they’re going to get the same out 

of the player they’re training. At Surbiton it would 

look out of place if a coach wasn’t running around, 

chasing balls and hitting a lot.” 

A typical working day for Tom stretches well 

beyond nine to five. He starts at the club at 8am 

with coaching sessions for local schoolkids. Then 

he might have a couple of adult lessons. In the 

afternoon, from 3.30pm onwards there is the 

club’s very active junior coaching. In between all 

this he must complete “all the organisation and 

scheduling”. “I have an office but it’s not very 

nice,” he says. “It’s a sort of Portakabin. Very chilly 

in the winter!” 

On the upside are the club lunches. A new 

catering team was recently appointed which 

means Tom and his staff eat very well now. Given 

the energy they expend on court, they need to. 

They are also given rackets and tennis clothing 

through their partnership with Wilson. 

Tom says the best aspect of his job is the variety. 

“I have to work hard but it’s a ranging role,” he 

explains. “You see some head coach or racket 

manager jobs where they’re stuck in the office all 

the time. I think I’d get tired of that. I like to get 

out on court and do a bit of coaching, work with 

players who maybe I have a vested interest in and 

who I’ve coached for a long time.” 

He believes this is the real reason many 

tennis coaches embark on their careers. Just like 

schoolteachers, they want to take on promising 

juniors and, through their nurture, see them 

progress over the years. Tom also loves the 

managerial side of his job where he initiates 


surbiton coach 

coaching programmes, and creates links with local 

schools and communities. 

That’s ultimately how he measures success. “By 

the number of people who are accessing coaching 

with us. The number of schools we link with, the 

number of sessions we run weekly, the number of 

people we have participating.” 

Right now those numbers are looking very 

healthy for Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club. There 

are currently 1500 members but, when you add 

the number of non-members who access coaching, 

that rises significantly. Tom estimates that he and 

his team coach around 380 junior members every 

week, and another 100 children in after-school 

clubs. Factor in coaching programmes he runs 

within local schools, and you have another 2,500 or 

so kids receiving coaching every year. 

Not that there aren’t challenges to overcome. 

Tom says he struggles to keep the coaching costs 

down. “Tennis is not an easy sport to coach for 

cheap. You need a lot of courts available. A five-aside 

football pitch is around the size of a tennis 

court and you could easily have 14 kids on that. 

On a tennis court those numbers are massively 

reduced. We try to keep the ratio of coach to pupils 

around 1:6.” 

Surbiton has a very active club team, and 

occasionally members will ask Tom and his 

“Somtimes the image of 

coaches is leaning against a 

basket feeding balls. We’re not 

like that at all here. We expect 

the coaches to hit a lot and 

to put a lot of effort into the 

session.” 

coaching colleagues to compete in matches. Some 

of them obviously play to quite a high level. Tom 

himself was a junior county player for Middlesex 

when he was growing up in Twickenham. 

Nevertheless, he has to be careful not to become a 

match regular. 

“When you’re coaching all day, going back out 

onto court in the evening for a tough match isn’t 

always what you want to do,” he explains. “It will 

put extra pressure on your body. From all the 

coaching, I sometimes get sore arms, a sore back, 

tennis elbow, all the standard problems linked to 

tennis. Match play could make those even worse.” 

Being around tennis all day at work means, as 

much as you love the game, sometimes it’s good to 

get a break from it in your downtime. 

Team Babolat Pro Players may play with a customized or different model than the equipment depicted. * EXCEPT IN JAPAN 


F 




Rafa Nadal (SPA) 

Babolat Pure Aero PLAY racket 

RPM Blast string 

Rafa Nadal (SPA) 

Babolat PLAY Aeropro Drive racket / RPM Blast string 

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@BABOLAT 

BABOLAT – OFFICIAL TENNIS RACKETS, SHOES*, PERFORMANCE APPAREL, 

BAGS AND ACCESSORIES OF THE CHAMPIONSHIPS, WIMBLEDON 

BABOLAT – OFFICIAL RACKETS, STRINGS, BALLS, BAGS 

AND ACCESSORIES OF THE FRENCH OPEN ROLAND-GARROS

Come and enjoy a great range of activities including: 

TENNIS 

• 6 all-weather, 

3 artificial clay and 

11 grass tennis courts 

• Indoor courts 

(October – March) 

• Floodlit courts 

• Junior and adult 

coaching 

• Social tennis 

• Leagues and teams 

SQUASH 

• 4 heated and 

air-conditioned 

squash courts 

• Junior and adult 

coaching 

• Social sessions 

• Leagues and teams 

FITNESS 

• Life Fitness gym and 

studio 

• Free weights 

• Weight resistance 

machines 

• Studio and classes 

• Free induction and 

programme advice 

For a FREE one-day guest pass, text ‘Surbiton’ followed 

by your name and email address to 63333 

(Normal text rates apply) 

Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club, Berrylands, Surbiton, Surrey, KT5 8JT 

T: 020 8399 1594 | E: info@surbiton.org | www.surbiton.org

Surbiton Trophy Programme 2016

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