Freya Christie swaps court for console

Freya Christie has been taking her mind off tennis at the UK Pro Series Classic Week in her favourite way possible - online gaming.
Freya Christie is competing at St. George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club.Freya Christie is competing at St. George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club.
Freya Christie is competing at St. George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club.

The Hucknall star is competing at St. George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club along with 11 other leading female players, suffering defeat in her opening match against Harriet Dart but bouncing back against Eden Silva on Tuesday with a thrilling tie-break triumph.

The unique round robin format fosters an intensive environment in Weybridge and Christie’s loved swapping courts for consoles to take herself away from competition.

“There’s a lot of tennis here, so I watch Netflix and play PlayStation to take my mind off tennis!” Christie, 22, said.

“I’ve finished a drama and thriller sort of series on Netflix - but I can’t remember what it’s called! - and I just bought Red Dead Redemption on PlayStation!

“I’ve been playing that and Spider-Man, so that takes me away from tennis for a bit!

“It’s great because once you’re done here that means you can take your mind off things, go away from the club and get ready for the next day.

“I was playing before on the Nintendo Switch with Maia Lumsden, so we also have a few competitive battles on Mario Kart which can get quite interesting!”

24 leading players are duelling it out in the widely-billed Premier League of tennis at Weybridge, with British No.15 Christie competing against a glittering array of talent including Harriet Dart and Jodie Burrage in the women’s draw and James Ward and Liam Broady in the men’s.

The innovative format was devised by Andy Murray’s coach, Jamie Delgado, with players on Classic Week being split into two boxes of six ahead of finals weekend on August 15th and 16th.

Christie’s been singing the praises of the fast-paced system in Surrey and reckons the quick turnaround between matches gives players the perfect opportunity to bounce back after defeat.

“It’s amazing for us as tennis players - normally, as soon we lose a match we’re out, so to be able to have seven matches guaranteed is great,” she added.

“It’s great to work on things and it’s great to just put the past behind you and get back on the match court.

“My preparation’s been really good and I’m fully match fit so I’m looking forward to the rest of this week.”

PLEASE LEAVE IN FINAL PAR - 12 of the UK’s top women and men have qualified through the UK Pro Series for the UK Pro Classic - www.ukproseries.com. The final 3 days of competition will have national free to air coverage: Freeview Channel 64, Sky Channel 422, Virgin Media Channel 553, TalkTalkTV Channel 64, BT TV Channel 64 and on download app