Over the Wimbledon fortnight, Adam Jones turns into a tennis impersonator.
Each day the 27-year-old Briton is asked by the world’s leading players to mimic the style of their next opponent on the All England Club practice courts.
Jones is ranked 1,513th in the world in the singles, a bit higher in the doubles at 619th, but has one of the most important jobs at the Championships.
As a Wimbledon hitting partner, he has been the go-to guy for semi-finalists Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Amanda Anisimova and Belinda Bencic this year, as well as British number one Emma Raducanu.
“It’s a great gig and a fun way to earn some money,” Jones told BBC Sport at the Aorangi Park practice courts.
“Whoever they’re playing you try to copy their style.
“With Carlos, before he played Jan-Lennard Struff, who has a massive serve, I was standing a metre inside the baseline nuking serves.”
Standing across the net from the stars is quite the change from what Jones is used to.
The Birkenhead-born player, who trained in Wrexham and Bath before moving to the United States, travels the world to play on the ITF Futures Tour – the lowest rung of the professional ladder.
It is hard to make ends meet on what he calls the “grind” of trying to climb up the ranks.
Jones describes having to sleep in a tight tent pitched on a golf course, and a sweaty 15-man dormitory, because he cannot afford a hotel.
Sitting for six hours in a train toilet between London to Glasgow was another way to save cash.
“The Futures tour is a rat race – the finances are absolutely brutal,” Jones said.
“If you lose in qualifying you get no money. A couple of weeks ago I won $37 after losing in singles quallies and then lost first round doubles – the minimum for a hotel was $150 a night.
“You’re losing money every single week. When people see you’re a tennis player and see you’re at Wimbledon, they think you have loads of money and live a luxurious life.
“You don’t – it’s the complete opposite.”
With the constant necessity to make ends meet, Jones returned to Wimbledon this year as one of their in-house hitting partners.
Several are employed during the championships, with players believed to be paid a daily rate of about £120 – whether they are asked to hit for one hour or several hours.
They are also provided with a food allowance at the club, while also able to use the racquet stringers and physios.
Jones first took up the role in 2022 and enjoyed the experience so much that he returned the following year.
Last year, he was employed by Croatia’s Donna Vekic – who reached the SW19 semi-finals – as her full-time hitter.
He travelled on tour with the world number 25 and her team for six months before leaving to continue his own playing career.
“It’s funny because when I was travelling the world with a top star, staying in the nicest hotels and using the best facilities, I actually missed the Futures.
“I wanted to go back to the jungle and the hellholes. You’ve got to remember where you came from. Remember the grind.”
The hustle will restart after Wimbledon.
Jones, who lives in California with his girlfriend, is going back to the US for a three-week stint at Futures events in Illinois.
Improving his doubles ranking in order to gain entry to the ATP Challenger Tour, and eventually the ATP Tour, is his ambition in the coming months.
Related topics
- Tennis
Source: BBC
Leave a Reply