As part of the LTA's Play Tennis 99 week, Hutton & Shenfield Union Church Tennis club provided free coaching for 40 under 12s on Saturday, May 1.

Karen Finch, the club coach, nominated 10-year-old Sophie Adams of Hutton and 10-year-old Frank Claydon of Brentwood as the most promising 'new talent' to be entered in a free draw for a trip to Wimbledon.

The club won one of only eight places from over 1,500 centres in the country and Sophie and Frank enjoyed a wonderful day at The All England Tennis Club on Saturday, May 8.

The day included two hours of coaching from Peter Flemming, a guided tour of the club, including the Wimbledon Tennis Museum. The LTA will also pay for 24 hours of group coaching at the Shenfield club.

Sophie and Frank's school friends were thrilled to hear about their exciting day at the world's most prestigious tennis centre.

Also, in the Fastest Service competition, sponsored by United Sports & Head UK, 13-year-old Ben Gibbs served at an amazing speed of 102 mph to beat his partner and men's first team captain, Nigel Ware, who was timed at 91 mph.

Sixteen-year-old Simon Bradbury, who partners Ben in the under 18s, served at 95.9 mph to come second.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.