English tennis legend Tim Henman to coach young Indian talent

Four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Tim Henman is all set to don a new hat, that of a coach. The former British number one will host coaching clinics, workshops and a parent session in Mumbai designed to boost the development of junior tennis in India.

The Road to Wimbledon programme, which is a tournament for Under-14 players, is a joint initiative by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and the All India Tennis Association (AITA), who have extended the event to Indore and Hyderabad, thereby reaffirming their intent and commitment to the development of tennis in India.

The top 16 boys and girls from across the four qualifying events will be invited to take part in the Road to Wimbledon Junior Masters, which will be held in April on the grass courts of Kolkata in the state of West Bengal in eastern India. The two boys and girls finalists will be invited to compete in the National Finals at Wimbledon in August.

Henman, who was Britian's great hope during the 1990s, himself began systematic training in the Slater squad at the age of 11. He said he felt there was a lot of untapped potential yet to be unlocked in India.

"It was great to see that both the boys' and girls' outright winners of the 2015 Road to Wimbledon were from India and it clearly demonstrates the huge wealth of untapped potential here," said Henman, as quoted by NDTV.

The former world number four, who enjoyed success in India, further added: "I've been coming to India for more than 20 years, and as a player, I enjoyed a lot of success here so it has a special place in my heart. Now that I've retired, it's fantastic to be able to give something back to this wonderful country. I can't wait to see the next generation of Indian tennis players in action."