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Congratulations to Tennis School pupil Ollie Richards on reaching the top spot in the Kent 14U rankings.
14 year old Ollie has been playing with Appeti Tennis since the age of 4 and has been coached by Tim Bean since joining the Tennis Academy.
**8 year old Ollie showing some early skills!**
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The last year have seen many new experiences, with Ollie playing for Kent, competing in his first Grade 2 and Grade 1 tournaments, playing at Wimbledon for the first time and winning the Kent Championships. Ollie also won a week's training camp in Spain at the prestigious Juan Carlos Ferrero Academy.
Ollie has had a great summer representing Kent as Number 1 early in the season, then competing in many National level tournaments, the Road to Wimbledon International Finals and then the Nationals in Nottingham. Ollie is currently defending the Kent Championships he won in August 2015 and is seeded 1 in the 14’s and 3 in the 16’s.
**8 year old Ollie in 2010 and this summer with long time coach Tim Bean**
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Ollie chose to take up an offer to join the Appeti Tennis School. where he combines tennis and education and trains extensively in tennis, fitness, nutrition and psychology as well as French and Spanish, which will be invaluable when travelling to international events. Ollie's consistent results have given him the top spot, having progressed steadily through the ranks over the past 3 years.
In September 2013, when Ollie joined the Tennis School he was ranked 14 in the 12U and 56 in the 14U. He made top 10 within a year of being at the school and has spent the last 2 years making very deliberate progress through the top ranks of Kent Tennis and the National game, where he has ranked as high as 30 in the UK for 14U.
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During that time Ollie has been supported by his family and the Appeti coaching team who travel from tournament to tournament and aid in his development and provide the support needed to progress at National Level. As a pupil of the Appeti Tennis School Ollie receives financial support from Appeti Tennis and The Canterbury Academy and has been sponsored for the last season by Volkl Tennis, Spurling Cannon Chartered Accountants and Cargills Opticians.
From September the main focus will be on developing a higher national ranking with the aim being to break the top 10 in the UK for 16U. From there progression into international junior events will be the next major goal.
Eb Appeti said “I have no doubts that Ollie will continue to develop and progress to the next level and beyond. It is a pleasure to coach him and see him grow up. We are all very proud of him!”
Watch this space for the next exciting chapters in Ollie's tennis development.
Well done Ollie Richards!