Warwick teen ready for dream Wimbledon debut

A British teenager who started playing when he was four years old has said appearing at Wimbledon has been his dream since he was a little boy.

Ferran Redza from Warwickshire is due take part in the doubles tournament at Junior Wimbledon on Monday after receiving a wildcard for the event.

The 17-year-old qualified with his playing partner, Felix Bockelmann-Evans, after winning a doubles event at the National Championships in London.

His coach, Gary Naughton, said: “It couldn’t happen to a nicer boy.”

Redza said when he first started playing “I didn’t think anything of tennis”, but he stuck with it and when he was nine years old he had to make the choice between pursuing tennis or playing football.

“From then on its been really good fun playing tennis,” he said.

Redza is currently ranked sixth in the UK at the under-18 level and has recently been selected to play for Great Britain at an event in Romania.

Mr Naughton said he was “very proud” of him and added: “It’s one thing having talent, but the next thing is you’ve got to have that desire and work ethic behind it.”

His mother, Fifi, said he had been “working and training hard” to be ready for Wimbledon and had also secured a four year tennis scholarship at Santa Clara University in California, starting in January 2026.