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Andrew (19) from Surrey is one of Britain's brightest junior tennis stars. He was not only key to Britain's first ever European Team win, he also won the Lawn Tennis Association International Junior Tournament 2003, whilst successfully juggling his GCSE studies in the same year. In 2005 he was awarded the LTA Junior Tennis Player of the Year, and he is now competing all over the world.
Andrew has been a Young Blade since the initiative was established in 2004. He was presented with a cheque for £1000 by Colin Jackson and Will King at the Jubilee Gym, Covent Garden, London.
Please scroll down to read the latest updates and news from Andrew.
Update: 3 October 2006 from Andrew
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My second round match was pretty similar where I wasn't able to really hit my serve hard but I still managed to scrape through in another three tight sets!
This week, in a town just outside Melbourne, I unfortunately went down in the first round to an American guy who hit the ball so slow and so high that it reminded me of being part of a 10 and under tournament again! And every different tactic I threw at him, he seemed to have an answer for. I just have doubles left this week and then I am off to Melbourne to play at Melbourne Park where the Australian Open is played, so it will be nice to have a few nice results there!
Update: 10 July 2006 from Andrew
It's been a very busy couple of months for me with a tournament going on every week! I managed to pass the first round in the qualies of the Surbiton Trophy but then narrowly losing to a high ranked player who eventually qualified and made second round.
The following week I was awarded a wildcard entry in to the qualifying event of the Stella Artois. Having been able to warm up with Verdasco, a top 30 player, it was a nice start to the day. It almost got better wen I came very close to winning my first round against a top 200 player.
Later that week there was the Wimbledon Wildcard Playoffs which is an event open to British players only and the winner earns a wildcard direct into the main draw of Wimbledon. Unfortunately I played a very experienced grass court player and with the combination of his flat hard-hitting shots and low bouncing courts it resulted me in having to serve and volley on most occasions which is not usually my style of play!
Anyway, I have recently returned from few tournaments in Turkey where I was struggling to play my best tennis. I picked up just a single point from that trip but the doubles proved to be a lot more successful. I have been having a few problems with certain aspects of my game which, when opponents realise, makes it very difficult for me to protect them and that has been the case over the last couple of months. I will be in England for the next two months now where I will have a lot more time with my coach to try and resolve these problems.
The next two weeks are very important for me as I have 5 points to defend which involves making the later rounds in the tournaments. However, I am looking forward to getting back on the grass of Felixstowe and Frinton as it is a completely different ball game! I hope all is good at King of Shaves and I look forward to catching up with all of you soon.
Update: 31 May 2006 from Andrew
Shame we didnt get a chance to meet at last months Young Blades day but it was very enjoyable to meet everyone again and especially being able to ask Shelley Rudman and Kristan Bromley questions about their experiences in the Winter Olympics!
My last month has not been very successful. I lost a few consecutive first round matches in England and Romania, losing very closely in two of them. I was really looking forward to the clay-court season as I quite enjoy to play on the red stuff but as I don't get seeded in any of the events it is pot luck whether I play a seeded guy or not, and for two of these tournaments I have come across a high seeded player first round!
I have also recently had a knee problem that's been playing up occasionally. I have had an x-ray on it and now it seems to be on the mend! My next events will be on the grass, first being a big international event held in Surbiton where players such as Rusedski and karlovic play every year! I hope to be in the qualifying there and then the following week is the Stella Artois Championships where I have received a wild card in to the qualifying as a reward for winning the Junior event last year. So I have good memories of this place where I hope to keep them going. During the Stella week also is the Wimbledon wild card playoff where it is a great opportunity to make my way into the Wimbledon mens draw!
Update: 5 December 2005
Andy Kennaugh won the LTA Junior Player of the Year 2005 award. Andrew's results this year have ensured that he is, by some margin, Britain's number one ranked played in the ITF junior rankings.
He is currently closing in on the top 50 following a year that has included reaching the third round in the French Open junior tournament and was a beaten finalist in the Malaysian International junior championship.
Undoubtedly the highlight of a tremendous year was Andrew's victory in the final of the Stella Artois junior tournament.
Update: 24 October 2005 from Andrew
After a little bad spell in September I am beginning to get back on track with a few good results:
- 1st round US Open (4th Sept)
- 1st round Glasgow International Senior Futures (20th Sept)
- 1st round Edinburgh Futures (27th Sept)
- Quarterfinalist Bolton Futures (4th Oct)
- 2nd round Jersey Futures (10th Oct)
Upcoming Events:
- UK International Senior Satellite Event (25th Oct - 20th Nov)
- Sunderland Challenger - 1 step higher than a Futures event (25th Nov)
- 2 weeks tennis and physical training in La Manga with the British LTA squad (5th - 19th Dec)
Current Rankings:
- Number three U18 in the country
- Number 754 in the ATP (International) rankings (Seniors)
Update: 18 August 2005 from Andrew
After winning the junior version of the Stella Artois Championships two weeks prior to Wimbledon, it was all looking good for the tournament that all British players look forward to the whole year. Unfortunately I didn't save my best performance for the right day as I lost in the 1st round of the Wimbledon Juniors to an American guy who proved very tricky to play on the grass. Obviously I was very disappointed with that result. I tried to forget it as soon as possible and turn my attention to the doubles where I was due to play with Andy Murray. But because of his incredible run to the 3rd round of the seniors, he sensibly chose to withdraw from both the singles and doubles in the Junior event. I was aware of his withdrawal only 30 minutes before the doubles sign-in deadline so it was a mad rush to try and find another player who wanted to pair up with me! I finally found one though...Sam Groth,a giant Australian. I had met the guy only once before so I did not know much about him. But what I did know was that he had an absolute rocket of a serve, which I thought would be a very handy weapon to have in doubles!
I enjoyed each match more as the week went on but the semi final was the highlight without a doubt. After returning to stay in the match twice in the third set, we finally beat two Dutch guys 15 - 13 in the third set in just under 3 hours on a packed court 18!! It was an unbelievable feeling but there wasn't much time for it to sink in as we had to play the final on court 2 with only an hours rest! We got off to a great start but unfortunately couldn't keep it up and eventually lost to a useful American pair.
The whole fortnight was an amazing experience. I was regularly interviewed for newspapers, radio stations and TV, and was lucky enough to have the semi final televised on BBC interactive and the final live on BBC 2, complete with commentary!! And to top it off, I was invited to The Champions Ball held at the Savoy in London where I got the chance to meet all the champions and finalists including Venus Williams and Roger Federer!
Just a day later, though, it was back to reality for me as I travelled to Felixstowe for a Futures event where there was a maximum of 3 or 4 spectators if lucky! I won a round there, gaining 1 ATP point.
Next was Frinton. After beating two players 300 and 400 ranking places above me I made the semi final, narrowly losing to the number 1 seed. I received 4 more points moving me up 100 places to 783 in the world.
Over the last month I have been playing in the UK Satellite where I picked up 2 more ATP points. This puts me around the 750 mark, which is my end-of-year target given to me by my coach at the beginning of the year when I was unranked.
A few days ago I got confirmation that I had been accepted in to the main draw of the US Junior Open starting September 4th. From what I have heard it is an amazing experience. I can't wait to get there and, as the only British participant in the Junior event, hopefully be as successful as Andy Murray was last year by taking the title!
Update: 29 July 2005 from Andrew
Unfortunately I didn't save my best tennis for Wimbledon singles but making the final of doubles with Sam Groth, an Aussie, was nice to end the week on a high. And also, going to the Championships Ball after the final with the likes of Roger Federer being there was a great experience!
Back to reality though, a week later I was on the field-like grass courts of Felixstowe in a futures event! There were actually no matches played on the grass that week as I think Felixstowe was the only place in the country to be hit by rain! I made second round here.
The following week I played another futures event in Frinton where I made the semi final. These results move me up the rankings by over 100 places to 783!
I just returned from the first week of the UK satellite in Ilkley where I made second round. This puts me in a good position for making more ranking points within the next couple of weeks. I'm off to Wrexham in a few days for the second week.
Update: 20 July 2005 by Sandy Lund, Octagon Athletes & Personalities
Fantastic news for everyone that we have the Olympics, here is the latest on our Young Blade Andrew Kennaugh:
Andy has had a fantastic few months! He is now starting to make his mark in the Men’s game and not only the Junior events. His highlights have been:
- Last week he reached the Semi Finals of the International Men’s Futures singles event at Frinton, eventually losing to the Number one seed (11 July).
- He made 2nd round of International Men’s Futures singles at Felixstowe (5 July).
- At Wimbledon he reached the finals of the Boys Junior Doubles event with Sam Groth of Australia (July).
- He reached round 2 of the International Boys singles event at Roehampton Bank of England Club (19 June).
- He won Junior event at The Stella Artios, Queens Club (June).
- He reached 3rd round of the Junior French Open singles and the Quarter Finals with Andy Murray in the doubles.
- Number three U18 in the county.
- Number 50 in his age group worldwide.
- Number 862 in the ATP (International) rankings (Seniors).
Update: 15 June 2005
Andrew unfortunately lost in the first round of this year's Wimbledon Boy's Tournament in a hotly contested match. However in the Boy's Doubles he made it all the way through to the final, before, unluckily losing.
Update: 12 June 2005 from Andrew
Sorry that I couldn't make the photocall on the June 3rd but I suppose it was for a good reason as I was still competing in Roland Garros Juniors. It was my first grand slam event and I managed to qualify and make 3rd round of main draw. The weeks leading up to the French Open I played in the UK Satellite on clay where, in the first week, I qualified and made semi final! The third and fourth weeks I made quarter finals and picked up 6 ATP points in total. I have 10 points now which puts me at about 880 in the world which should get me directly in to most main draws around Europe.
I recently won the Stella Artois Junior Championships which was being played in conjunction with the main senior event! I am training hard on the grass at the moment to get ready for Junior Wimbledon which starts in two weeks but I am also juggling my maths A-level around my tennis schedule which is making it very challenging!
Update: 2 June 2005
Andy reached the doubles semi finals at the French Open Junior partnering Andy Murray (they will also play Wimbledon together). Unfortunately he lost yesterday in the singles quarter finals but is obviously on great form.
Update: 31 March 2005 from Andrew
It has been a very busy start to the year. I have played 11 tournaments to date, a mixture of mens and juniors. In January I decided not to go to Oz for the Australian Open Juniors. Instead, I stayed to play in the mens events where I qualified a couple of times, including one in France, but didn't quite manage to pass a first round main draw, just missing out on world ranking points. However, due to my efforts in qualifying a few times, I was awarded a wild card in to the first week of the British satellite. The satellite works my accumulating circuit points for three weeks. The 24 players with the highest number of points get in to the Masters event which takes place in the fourth week where you can still gain circuit points. At the end these points are converted in to ATP world ranking points.
So, in week 1, I was drawn against the number 1 seed Jonny Marray who is ranked about 240 in the world. I played one of the best matches of my life and won 6-3 6-4! Last year in the Stella Artois event at Queen's Club, Marray only just lost to Lleyton Hewitt in the 3rd round so this was a very big result for me!
I couldn't quite keep up that quality for the next round where I lost to a Norwegian guy. The 2nd week of the satellite I got another wild card as a result of my big win in week 1. Believe it or not, I got drawn against Marray again 1st round!! This time he was too good!
I got in to the 3rd week main draw direct. I had another good result, beating a German who made the final of the previous week. Again, I lost in the second round but over the 3 weeks I easily achieved the necessary points to get in to the Masters event.
Unfortunately I picked up a slight injury on my right shoulder just before my first round match. Luckily, however, so had my opponent!! We both knew about each others injuries and were carrying on in the hope of the other pulling out! Eventually, I was the winner of the battle of the wounded after he retired late in the first set! The 2nd round was as far as I went in that tournament due to my injury. It was a big bonus that I came through that first round match as I earned an extra 5 circuit points - the equivalent to 2 ATP points. So, at the end of the satellite I picked up 4 ATP points which puts me around 1100 in the world!
At the end of February I played for Surrey in the Junior County Cup at number 1. I won every match as our team comfortably became county champions!
I have been away most of March playing a junior event in Malaysia and a Futures event in India. I made the final of the high graded tournament in Kuala Lumpur, only just losing in a tiebreak in the 3rd set to an American who was being coached by Andy Roddick's brother!
Because I made the final of Malaysia, I wasn't able to get to India in time for the first futures event. However, I wasn't totally disappointed as the tournament was played on cow dung!! I did play the second mens event which was held in Bangalore. I made last round qualifying, just losing to the number 1 seed from Germany ranked 600 places above me. The tennis was being played right next door to the India vs Pakistan cricket match so there was some great atmosphere! It was my first time to all of these places and it was a great experience!
I have got a few days off tennis now, which gives me time to catch up on my maths A level that I will be taking in June, and then I am off to the south of France to play two more junior events where I hope to boost my ranking up high enough to be accepted directly in to Roland Garros Juniors at the end May.
Update: 24 December 2004 from Andrew
Firstly, my wrist is absolutely fine now and back to strength. I played a few futures in the UK during September and October where I made last round of qualies a few times. In the Satellite event in November I managed to qualify one week but then lost in a close match, which if I had won, would have earned me my first ATP point. However, during these weeks I picked up a few more doubles ranking points.
I have recently returned from spending a month in Florida where I was playing in some high grade ITFs. I didn't start off too well losing in 2nd round qualies in the Eddie Herr tournament at Bollettieri's Academy. But because of this early exit I was able to train hard for a full week before the start of the next tournament.
The second week was played at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne where the big ATP event, the Nasdaq Open, is played every year. I had to qualify and I was very close in going out in the second round again. I was down 6-1 5-2 (40-15) but managed to save those two match points and win 6-2 in the third set.
I ended up making the semi final of this tournament winning all my matches with the loss of only 3 or 4 games!
I had to play 3 matches on the day. I lost in the semi final because the qualifying for the Orange Bowl had already started at the University of Miami and the organisers where unable to give me a special acceptance into the main draw, which is what usually is offered if a qualifier gets this far in the previous tournament.
I didn't really mind, however. I had been on a good run of 8 wins so I thought why not play more. It gave me a lot of match practise, and by the end of the last two weeks I had played 16 matches! I made the quarter final in the Orange Bowl which is a big achievement for anybody but especially for me as I was a qualifier.
So the trip was very successful and I am very pleased as I am playing a lot better now. Another good thing is that my ITF ranking moved up almost 200 places to around 100.
I may be off to Australia in a week to play some more ITFs including the Australian Open for the first time. But unfortunately, at the moment I am not in the draw as the entry rankings were taken at the beginning of December when I was about 300. Hopefully a few more people will withdraw to make way for me.
Update: 1 November 2004
Andrew is getting some good results, his arm has healed fully and it’s back to normal. He reached the finals of a British Tour Senior Event, beating some of Britain’s top men on the way and he has a lot of events planned other the next few months.
Update: 9 September 2004 from Andrew
Just writing to keep you updated on a few things. Firstly, I'd like to thank you very much for sending me some of your products. Also, that massive check is an awesome souvenir! Unfortunately I just missed you at the Octagon house during Wimbledon.
I had my cast taken off during Wimbledon fortnight and my wrist is absolutely fine now The first day that I could play properly without any pain was just over two weeks ago, a day before the Nationals, so the timing was quite good. I lost in the last 16 after a marathon match of 12-10 in the third set tiebreak! I had three match points in that tiebreak but the guy hit an ace on each of them! Almost the same story in the doubles - lost in the semi final 10-8 in the third set tiebreak after having a match point. Not much luck in this tournament!
I am back training at Queen's tomorrow where i will do about three weeks of solid training. I will keep you informed on how my tournaments go as they come along over the coming months. Thank you very much again for your support, it is very much appreciated.