Acle tennis star Olivia Nicholls prepares for Wimbledon doubles first round

Olivia Nicholls during a training session for schoolchildren at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham in June

A tennis player, from Norfolk, said the local tournaments she played growing up prepared her well for Wimbledon.

Olivia Nicholls, from Acle, near Great Yarmouth, said youth events in Cromer, Framlingham and Felixstowe "made it possible to play well on grass".

She and doubles partner Alicia Barnett were due to play Russian duo Veronika Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova in the first round on Friday.

"There's no denying, it's going to be a big test and a tough match," she said.

The 28-year-old first played Wimbledon in 2022 and said this year "will be different - it already has a different feel".

"When it's your first time playing Wimbledon you don't know what to expect, there's a few nerves," she told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"It was an incredible experience, whereas this year we feel like we belong here, we want to perform and do well."

Olivia Nicholls during the Billie Jean King Cup qualifier match between Great Britain and France in April

The pair have played four Grand Slam tournaments in the last 12 months and "got some wins under our belts - and good results," she said.

In her Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) profile, Nicholls cites "spending the summer holidays going from one grass tournament to the next with her best friend and their brothers" as a favourite memory.

"I grew up playing the whole of the summer holidays on grass, so I'd play both the junior and the senior event at Cromer and other events in Suffolk - in Felixstowe, Framlingham, places like that," she said.

"All of those tournaments I used to play made it possible for me to play well on grass."

She was introduced to the game by her mother at Acle Tennis Club and gained coaching and support during her Sports Science studies at Loughborough University.

Olivia Nicholls and Alicia Barnett during the Women's Doubles first round match of the 2023 French Open in May

Nicholls and Barnett are the British number one in womens' doubles and are ranked 72 in the world.

"We've had good results on grass, we've beaten some top 30 teams already, so we know that if we put out best out there we give ourselves a very good chance of winning," she added.

She said the morning of the match will include a good warm up, a stretching and mobility routine, practice - and a coffee.

"I've got family and friends coming up," she said, "but we only get two extra tickets on the match day, so some of my cousins will be in the Wimbledon queue nice and early."

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