Tim Henman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Tim Henman
OBE

Full name	Timothy Henry Henman
Country (sports)	Great Britain
Residence	Aston Tirrold, Oxfordshire, England
Born	(1974-09-06) 6 September 1974 (age 50) Oxford, England
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Turned pro	1993 (amateur tour from 1992)
Retired	2007
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Coach	David Felgate (1992–2001) Larry Stefanki (2001–2003) Paul Annacone (2003–2007)
Prize money	$11,635,542
Singles
Career record	496–274 (64.42%)
Career titles	11
Highest ranking	No. 4 (8 July 2002)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	4R (2000, 2001, 2002)
French Open	SF (2004)
Wimbledon	SF (1998, 1999, 2001, 2002)
US Open	SF (2004)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	SF (1998)
Grand Slam Cup	SF (1996)
Olympic Games	2R (1996)
Doubles
Career record	89–81
Career titles	4
Highest ranking	No. 62 (21 February 2000)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	1R (1996, 1997, 1998)
French Open	3R (1996)
Wimbledon	2R (1994)
US Open	2R (1996)
Other doubles tournaments
Medal record Representing  United Kingdom Olympic Games Silver 1996 Atlanta Doubles

Timothy Henry Henman (born 6 September 1974) is a British former professional tennis player. He was known for his "serve-and-volley" style of play. This means he would hit a powerful serve and then quickly run to the net to hit the next shot.

Henman was the first British man to reach the singles semifinals at Wimbledon since the 1970s. He reached six major semifinals in Grand Slam tournaments. He won 15 career titles on the ATP Tour, including 11 in singles and 4 in doubles. One of his biggest wins was the 2003 Paris Masters. He also had a great record playing for the Great Britain Davis Cup team.

Tim Henman was the top-ranked British player in 1996 and from 1999 to 2005. He reached his highest ranking of world No. 4 three times between 2002 and 2004. He is one of the most successful British tennis players of the Open Era, earning over $11 million in prize money. In 2004, he was honored with an OBE award.

Henman started playing tennis very young, before he was three years old. He began serious training at age eleven. After an injury that kept him out for a while, he started playing internationally as a junior. He quickly moved up the ATP rankings. By 1996, he reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. For most of his career, he was known as a specialist on grass courts. He reached four Wimbledon semifinals between 1998 and 2002. He also did well on hard courts early on, winning his first top-tier ATP title in Sydney. Later in his career, he became good on clay courts too, reaching the semifinals of the French Open in 2004. Henman retired from professional tennis in late 2007. He still plays on the ATP Champions Tour, which is for former professional players.

Growing Up and Starting Tennis

Tim Henman was born in Oxford, England, on September 6, 1974. He was the youngest of three boys. His father, Anthony, was good at many sports, including tennis. His mother, Jane, played in Junior Wimbledon and taught Tim and his brothers to play tennis. They had a grass tennis court in their backyard. Tim started playing before he was three years old, using a small squash racket. He even taught himself how to serve and volley early on.

Tim went to the Longbridge School and then the private Dragon School in Oxford. He was excellent at all sports, but tennis was always his best. In 1985, he became the school's tennis captain. He led his team to win 21 out of 27 matches. He is the only student to win both the junior and senior tennis tournaments in the same year at his school. From age eight, he was coached by former professional player Onny Parun. Parun said that Tim's greatest strength was always his mind.

Tim later received a scholarship to Reed's School in Cobham, Surrey. This scholarship was given after a tough physical test. At this time, his coach, David Lloyd, convinced Tim's parents to let him focus on a tennis career. Lloyd believed that you could always go back to school later, but a serious tennis career needed to start young.

Joining the Slater Squad

At age 11, Tim joined the Slater Squad. This group was funded by a financier named Jim Slater. The goal was to coach young players from a younger age than the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) usually did. Tim worked on tennis for three hours a day with the squad. He spent two hours playing and getting advice, and one hour on gymnastics and learning about the game.

At first, Tim was not seen as the best player in the squad. Many thought another player, Marc Moreso, was more promising. However, Tim was known for being a very hard worker. Soon after joining, Tim was diagnosed with osteochondritis, a bone disease. He couldn't play tennis for six months, and it took two years to fully recover. Luckily, Slater continued to fund him because David Lloyd believed in his talent.

At 16, Tim decided to leave school to focus entirely on becoming a singles tennis player. Even though some coaches thought he would be better at doubles, Tim wanted to play singles. In 1991, he started playing for the LTA. At 17, he toured South America for eight weeks, gaining valuable experience.

Personal Life

On December 11, 1999, Tim Henman married Lucy Heald, a TV producer. They have three daughters: Rose Elizabeth (born 2002), Olivia Susan (born 2004), and Grace (born 2007). In 2003, the family moved to Aston Tirrold in Oxfordshire. Tim is a supporter of Oxford United, a football club.

His father passed away on May 3, 2024.

Tim Henman's Tennis Journey

Junior Tennis Career

In 1991, Tim's first year on tour, he didn't do very well in singles matches. He won his first round at the New South Wales Championship but lost in the second. He was also defeated early in the 1991 Australian Open junior class. However, his doubles matches were much better. He reached the quarterfinals in New South Wales and won the Midland Bank Junior Championship in doubles with Jamie Delgado.

1992 started better for Tim. He reached the finals in Nottingham but lost to the top seed. He was also defeated in the junior French Open and Wimbledon. But things improved greatly after that. At the National Junior Championships, he reached the semifinals without losing a single set. He then won the final match. In 1992, at age 18, Tim began his professional tennis career in senior tournaments.

Professional Tennis Career

Early Years (1993–1995)

From 1992 to 1993, Tim grew taller and gained weight. This was very important for his game. He said, "As a junior I had pretty good technique. Now I've got the strength and reach, and on the serve that has helped tremendously."

In 1993, Tim's ranking quickly improved. He started the year ranked 774th in the world and by November, he was 415th. He even reached the quarterfinals of a Challenger tournament in Bristol. He also won a tournament in Israel at the end of the year.

In 1994, Tim had a great start, winning 18 singles matches in a row in India. He then played in his first ATP tournament in Japan. He won two matches before losing to the famous player Pete Sampras. This helped his ranking rise to 184th. He tried to qualify for the 1994 French Open but didn't make it. At Wimbledon, his first Grand Slam, he lost in the first round. Later that year, he broke his ankle and couldn't play until February 1995. His ranking dropped during this time.

In 1995, Tim started to recover and had a successful grass season. He reached his first ATP tour quarter-final in Nottingham. At Wimbledon, he won his first Grand Slam match ever. However, he then lost to Pete Sampras in the second round. In a doubles match at Wimbledon, he accidentally hit a ballgirl with a ball out of frustration. This led to him and his partner being disqualified. He was very sorry and gave the girl flowers. By the end of 1995, Tim's ranking was 95th in the world.

Breaking Through (1996–2000)

Tim Henman's ranking rose very quickly. In 1994, he was in the top 200, then top 100 in 1995, and by 1996, he was in the top 30. He won a silver medal at the Atlanta Olympics in men's doubles with Neil Broad. He was the UK's highest-ranked player that year and won the "Most Improved Player" award from the ATP.

In 1996, Tim became well-known when he beat the French Open champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the first round at Wimbledon. He saved two match points with aces before winning the final set. He went on to reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon that year. By the time he reached the last 16 at the US Open, he was a top player.

He won his first ATP Tour title in January 1997 in Sydney, beating Carlos Moyá. At Wimbledon that year, he was seeded 14th and reached the quarterfinals again. In 1998, he did even better, reaching the semifinals for the first time. By then, he was ranked in the top 10 ATP players.

Tim came very close to reaching the Wimbledon final many times. He lost in the semifinals in 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2002. In 1998 and 1999, he lost to Pete Sampras. In 2001, he lost to Goran Ivanišević, and in 2002, to the world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt. He was expected to be the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win a major title, but he never quite managed it. His powerful and quick reaction at the net became known as the "Henman fist."

Career Peak (2001–2004)

Tim started 2001 ranked tenth in the world. He won the Copenhagen Open in February. At the Australian Open, he reached the fourth round.

During the grass season, he reached the final of the Queen's Club Championships, but lost to Lleyton Hewitt. Many thought Tim had a good chance to win Wimbledon that year. He easily won his first three rounds. In the quarterfinals, he beat a young Roger Federer in a tough four-set match. In the semifinals, he played against Goran Ivanišević in a match that lasted three days because of rain delays. Tim came close to winning, but Ivanišević eventually won in five sets, ending Tim's dream of reaching the Wimbledon final.

Later in 2001, Tim won the Swiss Indoors tournament, beating Roger Federer in straight sets.

In 2002, Tim reached the fourth round at the Australian Open and the semifinals at Wimbledon for the last time. He lost to Lleyton Hewitt, who went on to win the tournament. He was also a runner-up in three other ATP finals that year. In 2003, Tim did not play in the Australian Open. He reached the third round at the French Open and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. He won two ATP finals in 2003, including his only victory at an ATP Masters tour event, the Paris Masters.

2004 was Tim's last very successful year. He reached the semifinals of both the French Open and the US Open. He also reached the finals of the Indian Wells tournament, where he lost to world No. 1 Roger Federer. This was the last time Tim played in the Tennis Masters Cup, a tournament for the world's top eight players. After 2004, Tim did not reach beyond the third round in any Grand Slams until his retirement in 2007.

Later Years and Retirement (2005–2007)

In 2005, Tim's performance began to decline. At the Australian Open, he lost in the third round. He reached the quarterfinals at Indian Wells and the Miami Masters, losing to Roger Federer in Miami. On clay courts, he struggled, losing in the second round of the French Open. At Wimbledon, he lost in the second round. His hard court season was also difficult. At the US Open, he lost in the first round. His last match of 2005 was a loss to Britain's rising star, Andy Murray.

In 2006, Tim continued to face challenges. He lost in the first round of the Australian Open. He reached the semifinals at the Zagreb Open and the quarterfinals at the Dubai Open, where he lost to Rafael Nadal. He ended an eight-match losing streak against Lleyton Hewitt in Miami but then lost in the next round. On clay, he lost early in several tournaments. At the Queen's Club Championships, he reached the semifinals. At Wimbledon, he was unseeded for the first time in years and lost to Roger Federer in the second round. He reached his first final since 2004 at the AIG Open in Tokyo, but lost to Roger Federer again.

Tim Henman in 2007, the year he retired.

Tim's 2007 season was affected by injuries. He had to withdraw from the Australian Open due to a hamstring injury. He lost in the first round of several tournaments, including the French Open. At Wimbledon, he lost in the second round. He played three more tournaments before retiring. In his last Grand Slam appearance at the US Open, he won his first match but lost in the second round to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Retirement and Life After Tennis

Tim Henman announced on August 23, 2007, that he would retire from tennis after the US Open and Britain's Davis Cup match against Croatia.

He won his first-round match at the US Open, which many thought would be his last Grand Slam match. However, he lost his actual final match in the next round on August 31, 2007, to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Tim played his very last match in the Davis Cup against Croatia on September 22, 2007. He played a doubles match with Jamie Murray on Court 1 at Wimbledon. They won the match, which gave Great Britain an unbeatable 3–0 lead and helped them return to the World Group. After the match, Tim told the crowd how much he would miss playing in front of such fans.

After retiring, Tim became part of the commentary team for the BBC's coverage of the 2008 Wimbledon Championships and has been there ever since. In May 2009, he took part in a test event for the new Centre Court roof at Wimbledon. He played mixed doubles with Kim Clijsters against Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.

Tim is now a member of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) board, which helps run Wimbledon. He also created his own foundation, The Tim Henman Foundation, to help disadvantaged children.

Equipment

Tim Henman wore clothing made by Adidas and used Adidas Equipment Barricade shoes. He played with Slazenger Pro Braided racquets.

Images for kids

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  Henman playing a backhand at Wimbledon, 2004

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  In 2006, Henman won 31, and lost 20 matches in total.

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  Tim Henman playing at Wimbledon, 2005

See also

In Spanish: Tim Henman para niños