The British Ryan Peniston gave the note at the start of the Queen’s ATP 500, a traditional tennis tournament prior to Wimbledon. Protagonist of a story of amazing improvement, at 26 years old he achieved his first victory in the maximum circuit… and against a world top-10!
Currently ranked 180th in the professional rankings, Peniston beat 1st seed Casper Ruud, world number 5 and recent Roland Garros finalist, in the first round on Tuesday with double 7-6 in successive tie-breaks. (7-4 and 7-2).
When he was just one year old, a tumor was detected in his stomach. He was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a type of cancer associated with the muscles that are attached to the bones and that mainly affects children.
The man born in Essex, England, had to go through numerous chemotherapy sessions, which gave effect and led to a cure in a process that lasted three years.
“It was a difficult way to start my life. Above all it had to be hard for my parents and siblings. After that, I had tests and checkups every two years, sometimes once a year, to see if everything was okay. And here I am,” she explained.
Fairytale stuff ?
the moment @ryanhpen got his first-ever ATP win against World No. 5 Ruud at Queen’s!#cinchChampionships pic.twitter.com/JmvLzcIevg
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 14, 2022
– His journey in the ‘white sport’ –
A regular competitor in Futures and Challengers tournaments (levels below the ATP), Peniston had never had the opportunity to enter a tournament on the main professional tour.
But thanks to Andy Murray’s strong performance in Stuttgart last week, where he was a runner-up, it allowed him to make the cut and enter the London ATP 500 without the need for a wild card.
Therefore, a ‘wild card’ was left vacant and this was granted to Peniston, who thus had access to play on the grass of the Queen’s Club.
And being drawn against the number 1 seed was not an impediment to making history in his career.
