Editor’s note: 10sBalls thanks Noah Rubin for giving us permission to repost these great stories.
“I didn’t know the path I was going to take. My parents sacrificed everything, financially, for me to play and there just wasn’t enough left. I thought this would force me to play college tennis when all I wanted to do was go pro. There were even thoughts of not playing tennis anymore and just studying.
“During the last tournament, that my parents could afford, I decided to play a future instead of a junior event. I qualified for two futures and made quarterfinals of one, and semifinals of the other. From this success, and wowing the people back home, I got enough support to play five more weeks of futures around Africa. During this trip I won two futures, which proved to myself and others that I could compete and beat players 300 in the world and better. From this success came a management contract, which supported my travel and a great team around me.
“Regardless of how well it went at first, I was still grinding futures with the occasional challenger, for two to three years. I was unable to fully able to break through.
“It all took a turn when my father passed away. It was a complete shock and out of nowhere. It was a mind opener for me and changed my world. He was always so proud and into my tennis, sending me messages each day. Early 2018, I was playing these futures in Portugal. I got the news of my father the day before my match. I was just lying in bed, crying all day. I had no idea if I was going to play and everyone around me was ready and willing to jump on a flight back home immediately. I decided that I was going to stay and play for him. I ended up winning back to back weeks. His dream was to watch me play all the Grand Slams, which he never got to do, but I am now completing that dream, and more, for him. I remember after the first title, extremely emotional giving the acceptance speech, saying that I played for him and that I knew he was watching.”
— Lloyd Harris (@lloydharris24)
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