Ex-Imperial 1st Seed, Junior Wimbledon Champion with 10 years of beginner and performance-level teaching experience. Looking to inspire new and existing players

Find out more about Ethan

• What age did you start playing sport? Tell us about this time or moment in your life.

  I began my lifelong tennis journey at the age of 6 years old, inspired by the one-handed wizard Roger Federer. It's been one of the best decisions of my life, as it's given me so many transferrable skills in other racket sports and team sports. Tennis has also helped me with my confidence and decision-making; I would not be where I am without it.
  I found myself doing well in the competitive scene, winning County Championships, and eventually a Junior Wimbledon Doubles Title, but I realised I was interested in something else. I love to teach and share knowledge with others, and I found myself coaching from the age of 14. I find it so rewarding to get the most out of people's attributes and skills and so I look to give back.

• What are your favourite sports; those that you practice at a high level, a simple hobby, and a sport that you'd still like to discover?

  Besides tennis and all racket sports, I enjoy trying out pretty much every sport. My main area has been tennis, but the skills, balance, and mindset have been translatable into lots of other sports. I've played for teams in cricket, rugby, football, and swimming, but my interests aren't limited to just those. I'd still love to try some gymnastics or sports that require flexibility, as I know I'm not great at doing the splits!

• What gives you the motivation and passion to pursue your sport?

  My main driver for motivating me to do well is how well I can teach something. It's the saying "You don't know how good you are at something until you teach it to someone else." Tennis is such a difficult and different sport, and so breaking down something into small, digestible parts, has always been engaging and thought-provoking for me. Seeing others succeed and grow is a factor that drives me to do better.

• Do you have a sporting achievement that you're particularly proud of?

  I would have to say my first major title at Junior Wimbledon when I was 14, where I won the Doubles on Grass and got to the quarter-finals in the Singles, was such a surreal moment for me. I had my first ever interview in front of cameras and met Tim Henman, which completely blew me away at the time. I wouldn't look at the interview as it was extremely embarrassing!

• How have your achievements and challenges made you a better sportsperson?

  All individual sports teach you a lot about yourself. It requires so much mental strength, as well as physical, and so it's taught me how to control emotions, build up confidence, and believe in yourself. I was always quite a quiet kid when I was younger, and it really brought me out of my shell.

• If you had to go for a jog with a famous athlete, who would you choose? And what questions would you ask them?

  This is an interesting one! I would easily say Roger Federer, but I would have to say Dimitrov. Maybe it's something about their style or the way they carry themselves about the court, but I would love to breakdown his mentality on how he stays so calm and collected. His sheer control on his one-handed shots and flexibility is nothing short of in-human, so those would be areas I would ask.

• How do you help people stay motivated?

  Motivation comes from self-determination and finding something that works for you. I've always found that breaking large ideas or improvements, such as improving a backhand, requires much more thought into digestible chunks. It could be from the backswing dropping too low, or your foot positioning not allowing enough rotation. It's different for everyone, and so setting realistic goals is the way forward (with the help of others to motivate you).

• What makes you a Superprof in sports?

  My work outside of tennis is around user-centricity; working with people and running workshops to really understand their needs. It's not something I just take into the tennis world, but something I practice on a daily and so it's something I am constantly working on. This may be my coaching method, how I communicate, everything and anything.