Grand Slam-winning wheelchair tennis player and Season Ticket Holder Andy Lapthorne is our newest columnist...
For those of you that don’t know, I am British No1 and former World No1 wheelchair tennis player Andy Lapthorne. I’m a West Ham Season Ticket Holder and follow the Club Over Land and Sea.
So why West Ham? Family is the answer. My Dad Niall is a lifelong West Ham fan and Season Ticket Holder. My old man’s side of the family are all east London/Essex area so the Club has always had massive support within our family.
The reason I wanted to start this column is because the two most important things in my life since I was around ten years old have been tennis, which I’ve gone on to have a career in, and West Ham United. I remember being a young boy growing up dreaming of one day playing for the Club, seeing my heroes like Paolo Di Canio, Joe Cole and many others inspired me to want to play sport.
Once I got to an age when I realised and understood my disability would stop me from chasing that initial dream I started to search for a sport that could feed my competitiveness but also become a new dream. I tried many sports but luckily stumbled across wheelchair tennis and the rest, as they say, is history. I have won three Paralympic medals, 18 Grand Slam titles and been ranked the World No1… It’s not walking out as West Ham captain in an FA Cup final, but I guess it’s a close second!
The Club and myself have both had busy summers. Graham Potter has been busy building what we hope will be a successful squad and the players have arrived back from a busy trip to the United States which will give them the best chance to start the season fast.
As for myself, we’ve just finished playing in back-to-back Grand Slams – one in Paris at Roland Garros and one at home of course being Wimbledon. I didn’t manage to win either this time but did start the year strongly with a win down under at the Aussie Open and I was lucky enough to have Tomáš Souček come to watch and support me at Wimbledon which was very kind of him. I now have a few weeks left at home before heading off to New York City for the last Grand Slam of the year, the US Open.
Saturday is the first Premier League game on the start of a new journey with Graham starting a first full season as Head Coach of the Club, and I wish him all the luck in the world.
I hope that my column can bring a unique viewpoint to fellow West Ham fans from someone that throughout the season will be at many games home and away but will also be travelling the world following the tennis world tour. I’ll be sharing the highs and lows of West Ham’s wins and losses as well as the highs and lows of my wins and losses on the tennis tour.
Finally, my thoughts on the season ahead. I was excited to see the Academy players getting their chance to shine over in the States and I’m hoping we see them again during the Premier League season. We’ve always been a fanbase excited by homegrown talent and I think we will see lots over the coming years. Having spent time at the Academy with Kenny Brown recently and seen how well some of the younger age groups are progressing, we really have an Academy we can all be proud of. I hope that this season we can give the cups a good go and also aim for a top-half finish in the Premier League.
We head up to Sunderland and an exciting start to a new Premier League season this weekend. I look forward to sharing the journey of the next nine months with you all.
Come on you Irons!
Lappo
