Meet the unknown British tennis ace who’s faced Alcaraz AND Djokovic at Wimbledon this year without playing a match (and says Novak will win the final)
- Adam Jones, 25, from the Wirral, has faced Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic
- He is a professional ‘hitter’ and has spent three weeks preparing tennis players
It is the dream of most tennis fans to play a match against a world-class player at Wimbledon.
But there is one British player who has faced not one but two tennis professionals in this year’s tournament without playing a single match.
Adam Jones, 25, from the Wirral, Merseyside, has faced both Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic ahead of the final on Sunday – and he predicts Djokovic will win.
He is a professional ‘hitter’ and has spent three weeks preparing the players in what is tennis’s version of sparring in boxing.
Mr Jones, who began playing tennis when his mother, Debra, took him to a local club, said he was proud to say he has ‘played with the best players in the world’ and lasted three weeks at Wimbledon ‘even though he didn’t play a match’.
Adam Jones (right), 25, from the Wirral, Merseyside, has faced both Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic (left) ahead of the final on Sunday – and he predicts Djokovic will win.
He is a professional ‘hitter’ and has spent three weeks preparing the players in what is tennis’s version of sparring in boxing. Pictured: Mr Jones (right) with Carlos Alcaraz (left)
He told The Times: ‘Every kid dreams of being at Wimbledon. I’m lucky that I have given a lot of good hits and so the players have said “can I have Adam again”.
‘For every ball you are saying to yourself “don’t miss”. My job is to place the ball exactly where they want it.’
At Wimbledon, players can request a hitter to help them practice for up to a week before the tournament begins – with matches lasting between 40 minutes and an hour.
Mr Jones said he was proud when his mother, who works in a pharmacy, and his father, a retired engineer, saw him hit against some of his heroes.
He said: ‘I got them into the practice courts and my mum saw me hit with Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Elena Rybakina, Stan Wawrinka, all my heroes really.’
Asked about who he thought would win this year’s tournament, he said Djokovic because he has the ‘experience’ to be in a Wimbledon final.
Mr Jones said he was proud when his mother, who works in a pharmacy, and his father, a retired engineer, saw him hit against some of his heroes. Pictured: Mr Jones with Rafael Nadal (right)
He told The Times: ‘Djokovic is so focused and it can be a bit intimidating, but he is No 2 in the world for a reason.
‘With Djokovic the biggest thing I have witnessed is when he misses a couple of serves, he will breathe, and I assume he is visualising what he can do better, and then he makes the exact serve he wanted to make. He will not stop until he has nailed it down.
‘I have done a lot of sessions with Alcaraz. He’s a normal, really nice kid and always says hello even when I’m just walking the grounds.
‘What I’ve learnt is players like Alcaraz leave no stone unturned. They are in the gym, they are doing physio. They are not eating any rubbish.’
As Wimbledon’s finalists compete for the £2.35million prize money, Mr Jones will be playing in the ITF World Tennis Tour competition in Roehampton, London, for a £19,000 prize.
