Lara's Story

Lara Borough: Islington

Funny enough, I used to go to the tennis centre with my mom and brother. She would take him every Saturday and I would watch him play every so often. And I just thought it looked fun, and I really wanted to try it. So, I begged my parents and they said sure.

My dad plays tennis as well and he’s a big influence on my tennis life.

After that I started falling in love with the sport, started playing more and more.

Tennis is generally regarded as an individual sport, and I feel like the London Youth Games is a really great way to make it a team effort. You get together with your mates, other people that you train with and you work together as a team. It’s very friendly, but it still has a nice balance of that tournament feel. Plus it’s much less stressful.

Tennis makes me feel free. It’s such a mentally challenging sport, but I think it is really good for building your character. And the game itself is so interesting. 
There’s so much nuance and it’s just really entertaining.

Doing the London Youth Games really helps build the sense of community between players, because, tennis is quite individual, so it’s really nice to come together with a common goal, and the atmosphere in which it takes place is very friendly. 
Every year we have a great time.

Obviously, losing’s always hard, but we always come out of it a bit stronger, and I think it’s just a very great, healthy competitive environment. I feel like the atmosphere at London Youth Games is much more friendly and cooperative.