We're the Wimbledon ball girls who took on the pros
Aashny (left) and Saran (right) are both ball girls at Wimbledon
- Published
Have you ever wanted to attend a huge event in person? Maybe you'd love to go to the Euros, or to see your favourite band.
But while it's fun to imagine being part of the crowd, two teenagers from Surrey have taken that idea to the next level by playing tennis against some pros on court at Wimbledon.
Aashny and Saran were working as ball girls at the time.
In a clip posted by the official Wimbledon social accounts, the girls can be seen facing Britain's Jamie Delgado and Juan Sebastián Cabal from Colombia.
Saran and Aashny have spoken to BBC Newsbeat about how they went from playing a supporting role to becoming part of the main event.
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The girls were working as ball girls during the Gentleman's Invitational Doubles games at the time.
The event features former professional tennis players and is less competitive than the ladies' and men's singles.
"They don't take it too seriously," says Aashny. "They like to have a joke about."
"They just turned round to us and were like, 'Do you wanna play?'
And of course the friends had to say yes.
The pair spent about five minutes swapping lobs with the pro players, with the crowd cheering every time they struck the ball.
The selection process
The Wimbledon Championships, established in 1877, is the oldest tennis competition in the world.
Held in south-west London every summer, more than 500,000 people attend each year, according to organisers.
Aashny and Saran, both 15, went through multiple stages to become ball girls.
They told BBC Newsbeat they were made aware of the opportunity when starting at their secondary school, which is partnered with Wimbledon.
"I've wanted to do this since I was in Year 7," says Aashny.
Many local schools have a connection with the tennis tournament and students can put themselves forward for the role of ball girl or ball boy.
When entering Year 10 in September 2023, they jumped at the chance.
"We started training and each week certain people would get through to the next round," says Aashny.
Then they got picked for the Wimbledon trial, where more people were eliminated.
"It's a long selection process," she says.
- Attribution
- Published3 July
- Attribution
- Published5 July
- Published3 July
Saran says the training is pretty tough.
"I was always really nervous to go in," she says. "But I think the work has paid off."
Aashny's been a huge tennis fan her whole life and tells us she loves seeing the players close-up.
"The first time I went onto Centre Court was really special," says Aashny.
"I get to see loads of players and be around this atmosphere for two weeks."
But Saran's a different story.
"I have no idea who they are," she says.
Although she went to Wimbledon with her dad a few years ago, she has to ask Aashny any tennis-related questions when they're working.
Ball boys and girls
Each year, there are about 250 ball boys and girls at Wimbledon
They're selected from about 1,000 entries each year
The average age is 15
Training begins in February and lasts until the middle of June, before the competition takes place in July
Once selected, they train four times a week
Most who get picked attend schools that are partnered with Wimbledon
Source: Wimbledon, external
Aashny said she felt lucky to be so close to the action, and if she hadn't been selected would only have been able to attend one or two matches.
Both friends agree, though, that being ball girls has been one of the best experiences of their lives.
Catch the women‘s and men’s finals of Wimbledon, external on the BBC this weekend.
