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Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
From San Diego to Wimbledon: meet Britain's college hotshot Oliver Tarvet
Two weeks ago, 21-year-old Oliver Tarvet concluded his third and penultimate year at the University of San Diego, basking in the sunshine on America's west coast. 'Excited for one more,' he posted on Instagram, at that stage unaware of the green-floored opportunity ahead. Fast-forward a fortnight, to Friday, and Tarvet will be one of 128 players to take his place in the men's singles draw for Wimbledon. Not half bad. 'This seemed so far away when I was a little kid,' said Tarvet, from St Albans, whose world ranking of 719 makes him the British No 33. 'Now it's a reality, it's obviously a great feeling. Winning on Monday [round one] was something I didn't expect, but I just kept on surprising myself this week.' Advertisement Given an unexpected wild card for qualifying, Tarvet made a mockery of the numbers and – as the second-lowest ranked player in the draw – became the first British man in eight years to qualify for Wimbledon. Needless to say, he'll be the lowest-ranked player next week, by an astonishing 236 places. Tarvet's impressive four-set victory, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, over Belgian player Alexander Blockx, ranked 579 places higher, in the final round on Thursday was met with jubilation in the unique setting of the 770-capacity Court 1, at the Bank of England Sports Centre in Roehampton; an old-school, makeshift venue which acts as the traditional gateway to the big dance at the All England Club, three miles down the road. Tarvet had supremely passed his first two tests this week in straight sets, stunning world No 126 Terence Atmane in round one. Yet Thursday's final round presented something different from London's recent heatwave. With grey clouds overhead, the scene was decidedly gloomy but fortuitously, the Briton is well accustomed to swirly conditions. Advertisement 'Luckily, I play in wind because we're right by the coast, we get that coastal breeze,' he says of his time at San Diego, where he is majoring in Communications, with a minor in Marketing. 'This is a bit more swirly, a bit more unpredictable. In San Diego, it's a bit more consistent. 'A lot of it is about being scrappy. There's going to be bad bounces, but I did a good job just accepting it and making the most of it.' The first two sets were split, immediately placing Tarvet into new territory in his first best-of-five set match. Yet after a mid-match downpour, forcing the players off court for 45 minutes, Tarvet played lights out on his return, storming to the third set and a double-break lead in the decider. The wind picked up as he served out the match, but with an ace crisply sweeping the chalk on match point, the college star chucked his racket up in the air in unparalleled euphoria. He would later tell of 'mad' reactions on his college WhatsApp group – and a £66,000 first-round prize, on paper, awaits him next week, yet he will only be able to pick up $10,000 (£7,279) worth of that prize, given his status as a college athlete. Oliver Tarvet, the British No 33, has qualified for the main draw at Wimbledon (Getty Images) Tarvet celebrates his four-set win in Roehampton by throwing his racket into the air (Kieran Jackson/The Independent) 'After the rain delay, I did a really good job coming out with really good energy,' he added. 'It's really special. It was my first best-of-five match and it's something I knew I was ready for. I just need that same confidence going into next week.' Advertisement Tarvey is the latest in a line of British players who are utilising the ultra-competitive US college system as a means of launching a professional career. Cameron Norrie and, just last year, Jacob Fearnley have all impressed stateside before steamrolling into the world's top-100, largely as a result of eye-catching results on the grass. Could Tarvet be next in line? 'It's incredible, college definitely teaches you to be loud and competitive,' Tarvey says, of an environment he has clearly thrived in. He won the singles and doubles at the ITA All-American Championships in September, the first man since 2015 to hold both trophies. Hamish Stewart missed out on a Wimbledon spot at the final hurdle (Getty Images) 'Even if you're top-10 in the world, college is such a great option. I was a little bit immature when I was 18, I was not ready to be independent of for the loneliness of the tour. It's a really good option to help you mature and develop your game. Advertisement 'In college tennis, usually the more competitive team wins. You have 10 guys screaming your name, it's tough not to play well and enjoy the moment. Generally, I play my best when I'm more energetic.' Yet while Tarvey will be keeping a firm eye on Friday morning's draw, compatriot Hamish Stewart agonisingly missed out on a Wimbledon spot after a four-set defeat. The 25-year-old, from Strathblane in Scotland, who came through pre-qualifying last week as well, was very much in the contest at 4-4 in the fourth set, albeit a set down, but did not win a point after the rain delay, with the world No 550 losing seven points on the bounce to Switzerland's Leandro Riedi. Emily Appleton, the only British woman in the last round of qualifying, fought back to take the second set in her match against Veronika Erjavec, but won just seven points thereafter as the Slovenian progressed in three sets, 6-2, 2-6, 6-0.
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Revealed: The bizarre reason British No 719 WON'T be able to claim £66,000 prize money after qualifying for main Wimbledon draw
This is the bizarre reason that a British tennis player ranked number 719 in the world cannot claim his £66,000 prize money after qualifying for Wimbledon on Thursday. Oliver Tarvet, 21, recorded the biggest win of his career as he edged past Belgian world number 144 Alexander Blockx, 6-3 3-6 6-2 6-1, in the final round of qualifying on Thursday. His win means there will be 23 British players, 13 men and 10 women, in the singles draw when Wimbledon begins on 30 June, which is the most since 1984. However, Tarvet, who hails from St Albans, Hertfordshire, will not be able to take home the majority of his £66,000 prize money. But that has not deterred the Brit after he managed to qualify for his home Grand Slam for the first time. Speaking after his match, he said: 'There's a lot of emotions, but the main one is just happiness. Ever since I was a little kid, it's been my dream.' It marked the Brit's biggest win of his career as he won a best-of-five set match for the first time He cannot claim most of his prize money as he currently plays on the US collegiate circuit and has one year remaining of his degree at the University of San Diego - and most college sports in the United States are amateur. This is not the first time such an incident has occurred after a player had managed to qualify for the main draw at SW19. Last year, Australian Maya Joint, who beat Emma Raducanu at Eastbourne earlier this week, forfeited more than $200,000 (£145,000) in prize money, after reaching the second round of the US Open while she was an amateur at the University of Texas. Student athletes can claim up to $10,000 (£7,300) per year from any prize money, which they can use to put towards expenses and entrance fees. Tarvet joked that he could subsequently afford to fly his coach home via private jet despite not being allowed to claim all of his prize money. He added: 'It's a little bit awkward because I've got to find a lot of expenses and I really want to come back to University of San Diego to complete my fourth year. 'What they've done for me is just incredible and I'm so grateful. I want to spend my fourth year there and really leave my mark on US history. 'I can claim up to $10,000 so I might be flying my coach on a private jet at home.'
The Sun
11 hours ago
- Sport
- The Sun
British world No719 qualifies for Wimbledon but is BANNED from claiming £66,000 prize money
OLIVER TARVET has been banned from claiming his full prize money after qualifying for Wimbledon despite being ranked world No. 719. The British underdog caused a huge upset when he trumped world No.144 Alexander Blockx 6-3 3-6 6-2 6-1 in the final qualifying round. 1 Tarvet, 21, completed the astonishing victory even though it was his first best-of-five sets match. He has become the 23rd British player to qualify for the tournament in the singles draw. The tennis ace should have been in line for an eye-watering £66,000 in prize money for reaching Wimbledon's first round. However, he will miss out on the majority of the cash due to his status as a student-athlete in the US. Tarvet studies at the University of San Diego in the US and has one more year to go before graduating. But due to this, he is only allowed to claim £7,300 every year from prize money. That money is used to pay for entrance fees and other expenses. Tarvet has joked that he will be spending what he is able to pocket on his travel to SW19. JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS He said: "It's a little bit awkward because I've got to find a lot of expenses and I really want to come back to the University of San Diego to complete my fourth year. "What they've done for me is just incredible and I'm so grateful. I want to spend my fourth year there and really leave my mark on US history. 'You are the worst umpire I've seen' - Wimbledon star forces umpire to call SUPERVISOR after refusing to accept warning "I can claim up to $10,000, so I might be flying my coach on a private jet at home." Tarvet has enjoyed an impressive run to reach Wimbledon, beating top-250 players Terence Atmane and Alexis Galarneau in qualifying rounds. He added: "There's a lot of emotions, but the main one is just happiness. "Ever since I was a little kid, it's been my dream." It could become even more painful for Tarvet if he were to pull off a miracle and win the tournament with £3million on offer to the champion. Tarvet is not the only player to have come up against this issue in tennis. In 2024, Australian star Maya Joint had to give up £145,000 in prize money. This was when she had reached the US Open second round while as an amateur studying at the University of Texas. British hopes at Wimbledon Here is a list of all the Brits and their world rankings in the main single's draw of WImbledon... Men's singles Jack Draper, No. 4 Jacob Fearnley, No. 51 Cameron Norries, No. 61 Billy Harris, No. 103 Jay Clarke, No. 199 Oliver Crawford, No. 252 Dan Evans, No. 170 Arthur Fery, No. 465 George Loffhagen, No. 302 Johannus Monday, No. 236 Jack Pinnington Jones, No. 282 Henry Searle, No. 409 Oliver Tarvet, No. 719 Women's singles Emma Raducanu, No. 38 Katie Boulter, No. 41 Sonay Kartal, No. 49 Jodie Burrage, No. 164 Harriet Dart, No. 124 Fran Jones, No. 125 Hannah Klugman, No. 577 Mika Stojsavljevic, No. 802 Heather Watson, No. 148 Mimi Xu, No. 318
