With the tennis season upon us, this week’s timely Leading Light is a gentleman who is on first name terms with Jamie and Andy Murray, Pat Cash and many others among the game’s top stars.
But despite moving around the elite world of tennis, he’s never lost his drive to bring the game to the masses.
Meet Aubrey Barrett, Founder and CEO of World Class Tennis Ltd.
Aubrey is an International Association of Tennis Professionals coach with over 30 years’ experience of coaching and developing tennis. He set up the first local authority Community Tennis Programme in the UK, at Hammersmith and Fulham. There, he increased court usage by 100%, something that became a blueprint for other local authorities.
This led to being appointed as the first Tennis Consultant/ Development officer for the Greater London Council. He developed a London- wide inner cities programme and coined the phrase “Tennis for All.”
Aubrey Barrett also set up a Tennis Traineeship at Arsenal Football Club as part of the Sport Council’s Football in the Community Programme, which helped Arsenal to win the best Football in the Community Programme in the country.
As an ATP coach he has worked with numerous Davis cup, WTA and ITF players from all over the world. He is a coach with the Lawn Tennis Association, the United States Professional Tennis Association, and is on the Professional Tennis Registry.
Aubrey gave us an interview in between flying backwards and forwards to Belgrade to work; including visits to the Novak Djokovic Club. He explained,
“As an ATP coach I have worked with players as part of a team and individually with the top five in the world. I helped Warren Jacques, ex- British Davis Cup coach, with players like Greg Rusedski. Some of the players I have coached and travelled with are; Alex Bogdanovic , Alan Mackin, Jamie Delgado, Connor Niland, and Marlene Weingartner. I was Davis Cup coach for Ireland- with a 100% record; we won our first match against the Basque Region.
As a coach on the circuit my players have trained with the best players in the world, such as Novak Djokovic , Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal. I have a lot of respect for these particular players as they are great role models for tennis as is Jamie Murray, the No. One Doubles player. Pat Cash has helped me with many projects over the years as well.
Background, childhood memories, early influences.
Aubrey Barrett was born in Bareilly, India, and grew up in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. His mother was born in Agra, his father in Dehradun. They brought him to London when he was eight.
“My early memories of India were of a wonderful childhood; being outdoors, running around playing sport, riding rickshaws, going for drives in the police jeep with Dad. Enjoying school, with its beautiful grounds; Le Martiniere College, Lucknow.
My early influences were my parents. Mum was Headmistress of Junior school and Dad was Superintendent of Police. They were both well regarded and respected.”
How the interest in tennis was sparked, and an early challenge.
The sport came upon Aubrey rather suddenly. “I did not know anything about tennis until I was 14, when a friend asked me to play at North Middlesex cricket and tennis club. That was it, I got the bug. I was a good sportsman; I played football, basketball, and athletics for my school, Finchley Catholic High School (Grammar).
I guess the early challenges growing up in London were about trying to mix education with sport,” Aubrey recalled.
Current ambition and challenges ahead.
Aubrey has a set of noble ambitions he has followed for most of his professional career. He told us, “I have recently set up a non profit organisation called World Class Tennis .org. Our aim is to build communities through tennis, and encourage cooperation, friendship, and quality training programmes that children and adults can participate in, to become the best they can be. Our first base is going to be in Belgrade at the Novak Djokovic Club.
My personal goal is to help develop players who want to be Number One in the world.
However, I want more people playing and enjoying the sport and playing for the love and enjoyment of the sport, first.”
What does he see as his greatest challenge on the road ahead?
“The challenges facing me in achieving my ambition are about finding good , honest people who have the same objectives as me and that know the difficulties, work, time and money that is needed to be the best in Tennis.”
