Home school, training and travel: Life of a child tennis prodigy

Wimbledon is in full swing and all eyes are on the English players; So what does it take to reach the top of the sport?

Hunter Henderson is one of those hoping to make a career in tennis, and the 10-year-old is already making sacrifices to get there.

Hunter, whose father is former Sheffield United striker Darius Henderson, has been playing tennis since the age of three and works at Doncaster Lawn Tennis Club.

She and her younger sister Halo, who is also a talented player, are home-schooled to accommodate their training schedules and have to travel to Leeds and Sheffield for advanced coaching sessions on indoor courts.

Hunter’s hard work is paying off, as he just won the Smrikva Bowl, a junior tournament in Croatia where Carlos Alcaraz is considered a past finalist.

The young player stated that he “felt like a part of British tennis history” after winning the championship.

Darius, who was a youth academy trainee at hometown club Doncaster Rovers and later made 72 appearances for the Blades, said his son was fully committed to training five days a week.

“Initially it was just a matter of taking him to the local tennis club and seeing how he progressed and he really loved it and now uses it himself.

“Hunter and Halo have something in common and can be quite competitive at home at times.”

Doncaster has no indoor courts, meaning the family make regular trips to tennis centers elsewhere in Yorkshire.

“You only have seven days a week and you have to make a choice and that was his decision.

“He realized very early that if he wanted to win more tennis matches, he had to play more tennis.”