LONDON – For tennis player Billy Harris, what matters is the journey.
Harris lost in his Wimbledon premieres on Tuesday, but it won over some fans at the same time. That will happen when your story involves leaving your home on the Isle of Man to live in a van while playing tennis tournaments across Europe.
Making his Grand Slam debut at age 29, Harris lost to Jaume Munar 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 at the All England Club.
“Great feeling at the beginning. So obviously when you lose, it’s not quite the same,” Harris said matter-of-factly.
Your paydays aren’t the same these days either. Harris won about $76,000 for the first round defeat, and he will also play doubles starting on Wednesday with Liam Broady. Harris’ total career prize money was just over $400,000.
“It definitely took me a lot longer than most people to get here. It’s been a long journey,” Harris, who is ranked 116th in his career and several years removed from living in his van, said at a press conference before the start of the tournament.
Early in his career, Harris spent more than three years driving his white Ford Transit van around Europe to save money while playing in lower-level tournaments.
Harris and his father built a wooden frame for the van’s bed.
“He told me the story,” Broady said. “He stopped in Dover on his way to mainland Europe and bought three months’ worth of tinned tuna and rice from Uncle Ben. That’s all he lived for three months. There aren’t many people who would be willing to make the sacrifices that Billy made.”
Luke Lacey cheered on his childhood friend as Harris won the third set to not leave empty-handed. He said Harris has been “a huge inspiration to the children of the Isle of Man”.
With 84,000 inhabitants, the Isle of Man is located in the Irish Sea, between Northern Ireland and northwest England. Cyclist Mark Cavendish it’s hers.
“There were a lot of boat trips to Liverpool,” Harris said of his early days. “There aren’t that many players to train with on the Isle of Man.”
Harris finally left the van life at age 20, after a particularly long period in Poland.
“My dad used it a little bit after me, and then the engine exploded, so that was the end of it,” he said of the van’s fate.
The 6-foot-2 Harris now drives a Mini Cooper.
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AP Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich contributed to this report.
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