Tracy Compton - Women's Visually Impaired B1 National Champion
We are very proud to say that one of our Sutton Sports Village members and tennis players, Tracy Compton, has been crowned Women's Visually Impaired B1 National Champion at Wimbledon.
Earlier this month Tracy competed in the All England Wimbledon Championships during the "Play Your Way to Wimbledon" event, emerging victorious in the singles final by defeating the reigning champion 6-2. Following her victory Tracy said "I'm overjoyed...this achievement is incredibly meaningful to me". Pictured with Tracy is Andy Jeffery, Tennis Manager at Sutton Tennis Academy, who was in attendance to lend his support.
Tracy is also a proud GLL Sport Foundation athlete, receiving support including access to training facilities with a Better membership, and financial support to go towards the training, travel and equipment requirements that come with life as an athlete. The GLL Sport Foundation is the largest independent athlete support programme in the UK and provides talented sportspeople, the vast majority of whom receiving no other source of funding, with the tools to help them on their journey towards achieving their sporting goals.
Tracy was initially an unwilling participant in the sport as she says “a bad experience at senior school left me feeling inadequate and isolated in playing tennis with my friends due to my disability of being visually impaired. I was reluctant at first to participate in the taster sessions being delivered at my local tennis venue, Sutton Sports Village. However, due to the close proximity of the venue and the well delivered session for VI tennis, I began to enjoy tennis again and this quickly became an addictive sport for me. Now I just love playing VI tennis and it encourages me to want to do better. VI tennis has been great for growing my confidence on and off court, encouraging me to participate in regional and national tournaments across the country."
For those who are interested in playing tennis at Sutton Sports Village the centre offers a weekly disability tennis programme including:
- Wheelchair Tennis - Fridays 12pm-1.30pm
- Visually Impaired Tennis - Wednesdays 12.30-2pm
If you are interested in joining one of these sessions please email the tennis team and we will be able to assist you in registering to attend.
For more information on the wider tennis provision available at the centre please visit our Sutton Tennis Academy webpage.