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Hackney to Wimbledon, via Laos

By Alix Miller
June 16, 2009 at 2:55 pm

As a bit of a tennis nut I was delighted to see Brit Andy Murray win the Aegon Championships at the weekend at Queen’s Club London. Can our boy wonder win Wimbledon though? I for one will be first in the interminable queue at the All England Club with my tent and flask of tea.

While sipping a Pimms between tennis matches of my own at the weekend I was also fascinated to read about our less well known British Ladies number 1, Anne Keothavong, in The Telegraph. The 25-year-old has broken into the top 50 for the first time. Many believe tennis is an elitist sport, the preserve of the middle and upper classes, but Anne is proof that you don’t need to come from a privileged background to succeed at it.

Anne grew up in Hackney, the daughter of refugees who settled in Britain after fleeing from Laos during the Vietnam war. Her father Somsak was an orphan and her mother, Vathana’s parents were both murdered.

After settling in Britain Somsak visited Wimbledon in 1978 and, seeing Chris Evert play, was inspired. He decided if he ever had a daughter, he would like her to try the sport.

Anne started playing with a wooden racket, aged seven, followed by a Wilson model, from Argos. Fast forward to June 2009 and she is about to play at Wimbledon…for the second time. Just goes to show, we all need to Look Beyond the Label .

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Tags: Laos, Refugee Week, refugees, Vietnam

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