Ealing could be boasting their very own tennis star in years to come after George Loffhagen spoke of plans to turn professional after exiting the Wimbledon boys’ singles.
The 16-year-old former St Benedict’s School pupil has already made the decision to leave school and train full-time, with his former teachers tutoring him from home.
And after losing to America’s Patrick Kypson in a three-set marathon at the All England Club on Thursday, Loffhagen is already looking to the future.
“I’d prefer to go pro straight away, but it just depends how my tennis is going,” said the Junior Tennis Coaching Chiswick player.
“Next week I’m playing in Switzerland, then I’ve got Summer Cup and maybe the junior US Open, depending on my ranking.
“Then a couple of tournaments in Canada and America.
“I think, potentially, I might go to an American University on a scholarship if I don’t turn pro straight away, so I’m trying to keep my options open by doing the right things - because they have quite strict rules to get in.”
Loffhagen made the third round of the boys’ singles at Wimbledon on just his first appearance at the Championships.
After two wins though, Kypson proved too strong and bounced back after losing the first set to beat Loffhagen 4-6 6-0 8-6.
The Brit, playing with Jack Draper, also exited the boys’ doubles in the first round on Wednesday - beaten by the third seeds - but was pleased with his efforts in SW19.
“I started quite well against Kypson and broke in the first game, which was good, then I played quite aggressively and I think I prevented him from doing a lot in the first set,” Loffhagen added.
“Then in the second set I started serving not as well and I got a bit frustrated about that, which didn’t help me.
“He was serving quite well so it was quite a quick second set, but then I thought I played well in the third, he just continued to serve well so it was tough to break.
“I was feeling good ahead of the match, I had a good win on Wednesday and it’s my first Wimbledon experience, so it’s been really good.
“The courts are really nice and it’s a bit different today because I was playing on Court 12 so we got challenges, which was really cool to have because I’ve never had that before.
The court was a lot bigger than what I’ve played on previously, too, so it was all good experience.”
SSE, the energy behind Andy Murray Live 2017 returns for a second year to The SSE Hydro in Glasgow. SSE do more for their customers, providing access to exclusive sport and entertainment reward offers and they’re giving customers the chance to win amazing experience packages to this year’s already sold out event.
Sign up to #SSEReward now for free ssereward.com/competition
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here