Wimbledon pride for Culford School near Bury St Edmunds as Henry Patten crowned doubles champion while Scott Watson and Megan Knight make junior debuts
The final days of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships left those connected with a west Suffolk school bursting with pride as they watched two current pupils’ debuts ahead of an alumni being crowned a champion on Centre Court.
The excitement for Culford School’s community began last Thursday when Scott Watson and Megan Knight made their bows at the All England Club, with their classmates having waited in the early morning queues, in the junior ranks.
A magical day hit new heights when former pupil Henry Patten won his semi-final in the Gentleman’s Doubles as an unseeded pairing with his Finnish partner Harri Heliövaara.
And it then became a super Saturday for Culford as Knight, 13, went into a semi-final of the Girls’ 14 & Under Singles – which she lost to the eventual champion – before a humdinger of an evening doubles’ final saw Patten and Heliövaara win the last of three tie-break-ending sets to lift the trophy.
Head of Culford Tennis, Chris Johnson admitted the ‘Culford community couldn’t be prouder’ after watching their talented student from 2012 to 2015 in action.
He said: "Henry always had a great left-handed serve, which has flourished over the years and helped him get to the Wimbledon doubles final.
“Culford was his starting point; I don't think in his wildest dreams he would envisage himself being in the Wimbledon doubles final and inside the world's top 50 in doubles.”
A 17th title on the tour for Patten, from Manningtree – having beaten the Australian duo of Max Purcell and John Thompson 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (11-9), catapulted him to a career-high doubles ranking of 17.
A social media post reacting to the result by Culford read: “What a proud moment for everyone at Culford, our first Wimbledon champion.”
It was also a successful first outing at SW19 for Bury St Edmunds-based Watson in the Boys' 14 & Under Singles as he won two of his three group matches before bowing out in the ensuing consolation play-offs.
''We are incredibly proud to have two home-grown players compete in the U14 invitational event at Wimbledon,” said Johnson.
“Witnessing our players compete against the world's finest is a standout moment, especially when we have been a part of their tennis development from the beginning.
“Megan and Scott have worked very hard and made sacrifices to have this opportunity.
“This is a massive achievement for everyone, from the tennis coaches to the strength and conditioning team and the academic staff who supported them with school work while they've been competing around the world.''
Mat Lowe, Culford’s regional player development centre head coach added: “To have the opportunity to play on the prestigious grass courts at the All England Club, Wimbledon at their age is amazing.
“Their performances were excellent and both performed at a very high level with confidence on the world stage. This will inspire them to keep working hard and create further opportunities in the future.''
Watson, who is set to take up a coveted place at the LTA Tennis Academy at Lougborough University in September, was said to have revelled in the experience which reinforced his ambition to forge his career in the sport.
His father Ken said: “Scott really enjoyed the Wimbledon experience, he embraced the challenge winning a couple of matches and finished seventh out of 16 players, so he was relatively happy with that.
“The ambiance of the occasion was great with the linesmen and women, ball boys and girls, chair umpire, electronic scoring, being live on BBC i-Player as well as being escorted to the court by security staff.
“It was all things you do not normally get at junior tournaments and he loved signing all the autograph requests too.”
“Scott also really appreciated the support from his Culford friends and their parents who travelled to support him.”
He added: “It reinforced his ambition to become a top player and re-visit Wimbledon in the future.”
After a training camp in Roehampton, he is off to Duren in Germany for a tournament before heading to Czechia where he will represent Great Britain at under-14s level at the World Team Championships.
