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Bright prospect John needs to find funding  HE
has been invited to play at Nick Bollettieri’s world-famous tennis
academy, is coached by the winner of the Australian Amateur Open and recently
triumphed at a major 12-and-under tennis competition in Ireland.
But for Irish tennis prodigy John McEvoy to bring his game to the next
level he needs funding.
The Irish Post was instrumental in finding funding for another Irish tennis
star Roisin Mullin whose game has blossomed since Co. Down-born businesswoman
Roisin Isaacs offered financial assistance. And now the McEvoy family
is hoping someone can do the same for John.
John’s parents Rita and Kevin have invested a huge amount of their
time and money into their son’s tennis career.
Since his potential was spotted by a French tennis coach at the age of
six John’s family have been without sponsorship.
Rita said: “It’s a huge commitment financially. I stayed in
the Wirral with him when he played over Easter and because he won through
so many qualifying rounds it ended up costing at least £300 on accommodation
alone.
“Tennis is a hugely expensive sport. If we could get sponsorship
for rackets and equipment it would help massively. We would benefit tremendously
from someone willing to sponsor John. If we could get some sponsorship
it would be fantastic. We certainly wouldn’t be greedy.”
John is currently coached by Nathan Rooney at Edgbaston Priory’s
High Performance Centre and his coach believes his pupil is an excellent
prospect for the future.
Mr Rooney said: “I have been working with John for nearly a year
now. I have taken him over to Ireland to play a couple of tournaments
over there.
“As regards to being an athlete and competitor he is probably the
best we have got on the programme in Edgbaston. We are pleased to have
John in our tennis programme.
“Obviously with his Irish roots he is a natural competitor. He is
an excellent prospect for the future. And his recent results have been
very impressive. In fact the best result he ever had was about three weeks
ago when he beat a Warwickshire top-ranked player.”
John’s mother Rita is immensely proud of the progress her son has
made during his brief tennis career. But watching him strive for perfection
is certainly not easy. She said: “Tennis is such an individual sport.
“It is so competitive and he is out there on his own. I struggle
when watching him play. I could never be a Tim Henman’s mum that
sits there on the side emotionless.
“And my husband finds it even more difficult than me. He sometimes
struggles not to say something to John while he is on court. As a parent
you have to sit there and say nothing, you can’t become involved.”
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