See Ruben’s video journey here
Ruben Harris started his tennis journey when he was 11 by joining his local monthly wheelchair club. He had only been to three or four sessions when the opportunity to go along to the 2018 British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships came along. Ruben was a complete beginner but had fallen in love with the sport and was brave enough to attend. Whilst at the British Open Ruben was given a wheelchair to borrow and learned of the Dan Maskell Tennis Trust, so the weekend was the start of great opportunities.
Ruben immediately applied for a grant from Dan Maskell and was successful in receiving funding for some training sessions. This allowed him to begin having one private lesson a week, where his understanding of the game quickly began to grow along with playing ability, his confidence and a passion for playing.
He was soon good enough to join in a group session with the able bodied children at his local tennis centre. Seeing Ruben being accepted by all the other children in his class was a real heartwarming moment for Ruben’s parents and they credit this to the Dan Maskell Trust. The funding they received made that possible and started Ruben on a pathway that they never could of dreamed of a couple of years ago.
Ruben is now 13 and on the Wheelchair Tennis National Age Group Programme, run by the LTA. This programme is designed to support junior players considered to be demonstrating early signs of potential to succeed at Grand Slam and Paralympic level, so it is a massive achievement for Ruben to be selected. Ruben has just received a second grant from the Dan Maskell Trust to help purchase a new tennis chair. The Dan Maskell Trust see’s a bright future ahead for Ruben and is so proud to support such a hard working boy to achieve his potential.
See Ruben’s video journey here
