Background and career
Timothy Henry Henman (born 6 September 1974) is a British former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 4 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) during the early 2000s. Henman won 15 career ATP Tour titles (eleven in singles and four in doubles), including a Masters event at the 2003 Paris Masters. A serve-and-volley player, he was the first British man to reach the singles semifinals of Wimbledon since Roger Taylor in the 1970s. Henman reached six major semifinals, and earned a 40–14 win-loss record with the Great Britain Davis Cup team. Henman started playing tennis before the age of three, and began systematic training in the Slater Squad at eleven. After suffering a serious injury, he began touring internationally as a junior with some success. He rose quickly up the ATP rankings, and in 1996 reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. For most of his career, Henman was considered a grass court specialist, reaching four Wimbledon semifinals between 1998 and 2002. He also achieved considerable success on hard courts early in his career. He became comfortable on clay only later in his career, when in 2004 he reached the semifinals of the French Open. Henman retired from professional tennis in late 2007, but remained active on the ATP Champions Tour (a tour for former professional tennis players).
Henman was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, as the youngest of a family of three boys. Henman's father Anthony, a solicitor, was accomplished at various sports, including tennis, hockey and squash. His mother Jane, a dress designer, played Junior Wimbledon and introduced Tim and his elder brothers, Michael and Richard, to tennis as soon as they could walk on the family's grass tennis court. His great-grandfather played at Wimbledon. His maternal grandfather, Henry Billington, played at Wimbledon between 1948 and 1951, and he represented Britain in the Davis Cup in 1948, 1950 and 1951. In 1901 his maternal great-grandmother, Ellen Stanwell-Brown, was reputedly the first woman to serve overarm at Wimbledon. His maternal grandmother, Susan Billington, appeared regularly at Wimbledon in the 1950s, playing mixed doubles on Centre Court with her husband Henry, reaching the third round of the ladies' doubles in 1951, 1955 and 1956. Henman grew up in Weston-on-the-Green, Oxfordshire, a village between Oxford and Bicester with a population of around 500. At home, the family had a grass tennis court in their back garden. Henman began playing tennis before the age of three with a shortened squash racket. At this stage, he was already teaching himself how to serve and volley. At an early stage in his life, Henman decided if he did not succeed in tennis, he would become a golfer instead. Henman attended the Longbridge School for boys between the ages of five and seven, and was enrolled in the private Dragon School in Oxford from seven to 11. He excelled in all sports but was always best at tennis. But Henman was small for his age, a factor which would bode against him in the future. In 1985, he was appointed the school's captain of tennis and led the school's tennis team to win 21 out of 27 matches. He remains to this day the only pupil who has won both the school's junior and senior tennis tournaments in the same year. From the age of eight until his introduction to the Slater Squad, Henman received coaching from the David Lloyd Tennis Centre, where he was given personal lessons by former professional player Onny Parun from New Zealand. In retrospect, Parun stated that Henman's greatest strength "had always been his head." David Lloyd noticed the same mental toughness and was impressed. He left the Dragon School after he attained a scholarship for Reed's School in Cobham, Surrey. Henman received the scholarship after a physical test: to run until you dropped. Henman, along with Marc Moreso and David Loosemore, did not drop, and was given a scholarship. At this point in his life, Lloyd persuaded Henman's parents to allow him to pursue a tennis career. In retrospect, Lloyd notes, Henman's parents understood what many don't: "you can always go back to higher education at 22 or 23 but that that is far too late to start a serious tennis career." Henman was picked up by the Slater Squad, a group funded by financier Jim Slater, at the age of 11. The main goal of the Slater Squad was to pick and coach young players from the ages of nine or ten, instead of 11 and 12 as the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) did. The original intake for the squad was eight players between the ages of eight and 11. In addition to Tim, the squad consisted of Jamie Delgado, Gary Le Pla, Paul Jessop, James Bailey, Adrian Blackman, James Davidson and Marc Moreso. In the squad, Henman worked on tennis three hours a day: two hours playing tennis and receiving advice from Donald Watt, and the last hour on gymnastics and learning about the game. In contrast to popular belief, Henman was not considered the best of the bunch, and Sue Barker, the British 1976 French Open Women's champion, judged that there was "nothing particularly special in his game in those days". She said, however, that while Henman did not have the natural skills of a tennis player, he was "a hard worker". None of his fellow players in the Slater Squad saw Henman as a potential British number one, with most believing Marc Moreso to be the group's brightest hope. Not long after becoming a member of the Slater Squad, Henman was diagnosed with osteochondritis, a bone disease. He was unable to play tennis for six months, and it was two years before he could return to tournaments. Luckily for Henman, Slater kept funding him while he was recuperating, because of insistence from Lloyd who believed in Henman's tennis abilities. At Reed's School he passed ten GCSE exams, but failed chemistry. Outside of school, he worked in Anji's emporium in order to save money for a new racquet. As Henman notes in retrospect, "I passed the others with a few As, a few Bs and a few Cs. It was nothing dazzling by any means, but I got by." At the age of 16, Henman told his mother that it was impossible for him to retain his good grades while keeping up in the tennis world. In 1990 he dropped out of school altogether and focused on becoming a singles player, though Lloyd and the leadership of the Slater Squad had confidence in him as a doubles player, not singles. On the statistics that were available to them, Henman had managed to win five doubles tournaments but only two singles tournaments. But Henman disagreed with the Slater Squad leadership and began playing for the LTA in 1991. At the age of 17, Henman toured South America for eight weeks.
On 11 December 1999, Henman married his longtime girlfriend, TV producer Lucy Heald, in Hampshire. They have three daughters, Rose Elizabeth (born 19 October 2002), Olivia Susan (born 15 December 2004), and Grace (born 14 September 2007). Having lived in Barnes, southwest London, the family moved in 2003 to a Grade II listed property in Aston Tirrold, south Oxfordshire. Henman occasionally smoked cigarettes during his tennis career. He is a supporter of Oxford United. His father died on 3 May 2024 from blood cancer.
Henman had an inauspicious first tour year in 1991. He won the first round in the New South Wales Championship against Andrew Turner, 6–1, 6–3, but lost in the second round to Corrado Borroni 5–7, 1–6. He was defeated by Australian Michael Hill in the first round of the 1991 Australian Open junior class, 7–5, 3–6, 5–7. At the National the same year, Henman reached the third round, but was defeated 6–1, 6–2 by Andrew Richardson. His performance in doubles matches was markedly better. Henman reached the quarter-finals in the New South Wales Championship with Richardson, and won the Midland Bank Junior Championship in doubles with Jamie Delgado, an associate from the Slater Squad days. 1992 began well, with Henman reaching the finals in Nottingham after defeating Delgado in straight sets in the semi-final. But Henman was defeated in the final by top-seed Mark Schofield, and in the junior French Open by Björn Jacob in three sets, 6–7, 6–1, 9–7. He was defeated in the first round of the Wimbledon junior by Mexican clay specialist Enrique Abaroa in straight sets; 6–2, 6–1. However, things improved dramatically from then on, and in the National Junior Championships he reached the semi-finals without dropping a single set. In the semi-finals Henman met Schofield, and defeated him in four sets; 2–6, 6–3, 7–6, 6–2. Henman met Nick Baglin in the final, and won the match 3–6, 7–5, 6–4, 6–4. In 1992 he turned 18, and Henman began his tennis career in the senior satellite tournaments.
From July 1992 to July 1993, Henman grew six inches to six feet one, and went from seven stones to nine stones in weight. This would prove important for his career, as he acknowledged: "As a junior I had pretty good technique. Now I've got the strength and reach, and on the serve that has helped tremendously." Henman was ranked 774th in the world at the beginning of 1993, but by July he had come close to the top 600. In July, Henman received a wildcard to participate in the ATP Challenger tournament in Bristol, England. In the first round, he defeated Colombian Miguel Tobón, ranked 257th, in straight sets, 6–0, 6–3. In the second round he met the Frenchman Éric Winogradsky and defeated him also in straight sets, 7–6, 6–3. Henman was defeated in the quarter-final by British player Chris Bailey, 6–2, 6–1. By November Henman's rank had increased to 415th. Henman's next tournament was the Volkswagen National Championships in Telford, England; he reached the quarter-final but lost to top-ranked British male player Jeremy Bates, 7–5, 7–6. As 1993 drew to a close, Henman played one last tournament in Israel, which he won. He started the 1994 season with the four-legged Indian satellite circuit; there he won 18 singles matches in a row. Henman was fairly successful at the British Satellite Masters in Croydon, and by the end of the tournament he was ranked 222nd in the world. Encouraged by his success in the satellite circuit, Henman tried his luck at the ATP tour. Henman travelled to the Far East with Bates, and qualified for his first ATP tournament in April, at the Japan Tennis Championship. In his first round he defeated Kelly Jones, 6–2, 6–3, in the second round he defeated Darren Cahill, 6–2, 7–5 and in the third round Henman was defeated by Pete Sampras, 6–1, 6–2. From this performance Henman increased his ranking to 184th. His success in the Japan Open was followed by a failure to qualify at the Hong Kong Open. Because of this failure, he ended the Far East tour by entering a number of satellite tournaments. Henman entered the Nagoya Open, and defeated eighth seed Eyal Ran in the first round, but lost in the second round to Gouichi Motomura. At the Manila Open, another satellite tournament, Henman reached the final but was defeated by fifth seed Michael Tebbutt, 2–6, 2–6. After Manila he returned to Europe. In his first Grand Slam bid, Henman failed to qualify in the 1994 French Open, losing the first qualifier round to Australian Wayne Arthurs. His next tournament was the Annenheim Open in Austria, where he lost in the first round to Canadian Sébastien Lareau in straight sets, 6–3, 6–2. However, not all was bad, and Henman, ranked 161st at the time, received a wildcard to qualify for the Stella Artois Championship. In the first round Henman defeated Swedish Peter Lundgren, 7–5, 7–6, but in the second round he succumbed to the eventual champion American Todd Martin, 6–4, 6–4. Henman received a wildcard for the Manchester Open, where he lost in the first round to American Alex O'Brien, and the Wimbledon Championship, the first Grand Slam he had ever played (he failed to qualify to Wimbledon in 1993). At Wimbledon, Henman lost in the first round to German David Prinosil in four sets, 6–4, 3–6, 2–6, 2–6. His early defeat in Wimbledon forced Henman into short period of obscurity in the satellite circuit. Henman reached the semi-finals at the Bristol Open and the fourth round at the Winnetka Open (in Illinois). By September 1994, Henman was ranked 146th, and in the same month he returned to the Far East. His first tournament in the Far East was the Seoul Open. Henman lost in the second round to Korean Kim Nam-hoon, who was ranked outside the top 700. At the Singapore Challenger, Henman reached the quarterfinals and lost to fellow Brit Chris Wilkinson. He was forced to retire in the third set against Wilkinson when he fell and received a blow to his leg. When he returned to England not long after the tournament, it was revealed that Henman had broken his ankle in three places and would not play another tournament until February 1995. In fact, he was not fully recovered until May. While injured, his ranking went from 146th to 272nd in the world. The grass season in 1995 proved successful for Henman; he reached the semi-finals at the Annenheim Open, later at the Queen's Club Championships he reached the second round after defeating German Martin Sinner, and in Nottingham he reached the quarter-finals, his first quarter-final in the ATP tour. His success in these tournaments increased his ranking from 272nd to 219th. He won his first match in a Grand Slam event at the Wimbledon Championship over Kenyan Paul Wekesa in straight sets, 7–6, 6–0, 6–4. However, Henman's winning streak did not last long, and in the second round he met Sampras, and was defeated 6–2, 6–3, 7–6. Two days later he partnered Jeremy Bates in the first round of the doubles at Wimbledon but the pair became the first players in the Open era to be defaulted at Wimbledon after Henman accidentally hit a ballgirl on the side of head with a ball, having lashed out with his racket in frustration after losing a point to a net cord in the fourth set tie-break of their match against Jeff Tarango and Henrik Holm. Because he hit the ball in anger, the referee Alan Mills ruled that this was an automatic disqualification for unsportsmanlike conduct. Henman was very apologetic about the incident, presenting the girl with a bunch of flowers. The rest of the grass season was fairly successful for Henman, he appeared at the Manchester Open and reached the semi-final at the Newcastle Open. At the end of the grass season, Henman's rank had risen to 150th in the world. After the grass season, Henman headed for the United States. He participated in the RCA Championships and defeated 16th seed Frenchman Cédric Pioline, the 1993 US Open finalist, in straight sets. He lost the following round, but was later able to qualify for the US Open. In the first round, Henman defeated Spanish Juan Albert Viloca in four sets, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2. In the second round, Henman was defeated by American Jared Palmer in four sets, 4–6, 7–6, 3–6, 1–6. Henman's 1995 end-of-year ranking was 95.
Henman climbed up the rankings quickly. In 1994, he was among the top 200 players in the world; by 1995, among the top 100; and by 1996, he had made it into the top 30 and won a medal at the Atlanta Olympics. He was the UK's highest-ranked player that year, and won the Most Improved Player trophy at the ATP awards. He was subsequently elected to the ATP Tour Player Council and went on to win his first championship in January 1997. In March of that year, he underwent surgery on his elbow which kept him out of action for two months. Henman came to the attention of the wider tennis world in 1996 when he came from match point down, saving two successive match points with aces when serving at 3–5 and 15/40, and then breaking his opponent's serve twice in a row to win the final set 7–5 and beat reigning French Open champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the first round at Wimbledon, going on to reach the quarter finals before losing to Todd Martin. A few weeks later he was to reach the men's doubles final at the 1996 Summer Olympics in partnership with Neil Broad, losing to No. 1 seeds Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde to receive the silver medal. By the time he reached the last 16 at the US Open later in the year, he was firmly established as a top player. He won his first ATP Tour title in January 1997, beating Carlos Moyá at the Sydney International event. He was seeded 14th at Wimbledon, and again reached the quarter-final, defeating reigning champion and 4th seed Richard Krajicek in the fourth round before falling to 1991 champion Michael Stich. In 1998 he went one better, reaching the semi-final for the first time, by which time he was ranked as one of the top 10 ATP players. Henman came close to reaching the final on a number of occasions, losing in the semi-finals to the eventual champion in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002. The first two of those semi-final losses were to Pete Sampras; in 2001 he lost to Goran Ivanišević, a former two-time finalist; in 2002 he lost to Lleyton Hewitt, ranked number one in the world at the time. In 2000 Henman reached the fourth round at Wimbledon; and in 1996, 1997, 2003 and 2004 he lost in the quarter-finals. One of the tournaments in which he has been most successful is Queen's Club. He reached the final in 1999, where he lost to Pete Sampras, and went on to reach the final again in 2001 and 2002, where both times he lost to Lleyton Hewitt. Based on that success he was expected, at least within England, to be the first man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win a major for Britain – which in the end he never managed, Wimbledon 2001 being the closest that he ever came to reaching a final.
