ODIHAM’S Ryan Golesworthy insists he will never forget his outing at the All England Club after starring in front of former British number one Tim Henman as part of the HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 and Under Challenge Finals.

The 14-year-old Robert May’s pupil booked himself a spot at SW19 by triumphing in the regional Finals.

The tournament travelled through Hyderabad, Indore, Mumbai, Delhi and Nanjing, finally came to an end on the All England Club grass.

The finalists from the Road to Wimbledon Masters events in India and China, held at the Calcutta South Club and Nanjing University respectively were invited to south west London to take on some of the best junior talent Britain has to offer including the Hampshire youngster.

Britain’s largest grass court tournament, involves more than 10,000 youngsters each year.

In 2016 it has spanned three countries, two continents and worked with tens of thousands of future stars.

Having lain quiet after the likes of Andy Murray and Serena Williams had struck the final balls of Wimbledon Championships, the Aorangi practice courts came alive once again for a sun-drenched week of high quality tennis.

Playing at Wimbledon is a universal sign of achievement and everyone watching could sense the pressure growing as the tournament started.

Golesworthy started off well in his box matches, beating Cumbria's Ali Hassan 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). Up next was Surrey's Max Basing, Golesworthy winning this match 4-6, 6-4, (10-4).

The final group match was against Staffordshire's Rohan Thawait with Golesworthy taking the match 7-5, 6-3 to win the box.

Next up was the knock-out stage with Golesworthy up against the powerful form of top Chinese player Luo Shuai.

In a very entertaining three set match which turned into a duel in the sun, Golesworthy battled back from having lost the first set on a tie break to take the next two sets 6-2, 6-2.

The quarter final against Warwickshire player, Arran Trainor proved to be another three setter with both players battling hard. Golesworthy raced to win the first set 6-1 with Trainor taking the second set 6-4. Golesworthy fought back with the pressure sharpening his game, rather than weighing on it as he took the final set 6-3.

In the semi-final Golesworthy came up against Cambridgeshire's Harry Wendelken, the number 1 seed. Golesworthy put in a valiant and gutsy performance but the previous three set matches took their toll and he lost 3-6, 6-4, 1-6.

In the doubles, Golesworthy teamed up with Yorkshire's Johannus Monday where they got as far as the quarter-finals before losing to the number one seeds 7-6 (8-6), 6-4.

Despite failing to follow in Wimbledon Champion Andy Murray’s footsteps by lifting silverware at SW19 this year, Golesworthy admitted his outing at the All England Club was certainly the highlight of his summer.

He said: "I was a bit nervous at the start of the tournament but once I started playing it was amazing to be here. Coming onto the court I knew I had a chance to get out of the box and into the knock-out stage if I was prepared to work hard and believe in myself. It's been a phenomenal week, we've been treated like the professionals, from using the players changing rooms to also having a players party..

"To play at Wimbledon is something everyone dreams of and to have people cheering us on was cool. I want to enjoy my tennis and fit it around my education and so far it is working. I beat some top players and my tennis is improving all the time. The doubles was great. Johannus and I played well and will definitely play more tournaments together.

"To win one singles match at Wimbledon is great, to win five is awesome. I played some of my best tennis here and I'm proud of my performance. It is a dream come true to play at Wimbledon and I enjoyed every minute of it."

HSBC Road to Wimbledon offers youngsters the chance to meet their tennis heroes and inspire the next generation of Wimbledon stars to take their tennis careers ‘from the back garden to Centre Court’, while it also supports the Wimbledon Foundation through the Ticket Resale Scheme – with the bank matching donations made by the public.

Golesworthy got the chance to meet up again with former British No.1 and HSBC Tournament Ambassador Henman whilst playing at Wimbledon. The former world number four said: “There’s 10,000 kids every year with the Road to Wimbledon and it’s great to see how the standard has improved over the years,” said Henman, a four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist.

“There’s some really good young players and it’s a great carrot for the youngsters to realise they’ve got this opportunity of coming to play at Wimbledon."

HSBC has been a proud investor in grassroots tennis around the world since 2008 and the Road To Wimbledon National 14 and Under Challenge forms a key part of this investment in grassroots tennis in Britain.

HSBC is the Official Banking Partner of The Championships and is committed to supporting grassroots tennis, helping to inspire the next generation of Wimbledon stars to take their tennis careers from the back garden to Centre Court through the HSBC Road to Wimbledon 14 & Under Challenge. @HSBC_sport