Rachel’s Tennis Journey from the QCF Community Club to the Middlesex County Tennis Squad

Rachel’s love for tennis began at the age of six, when she joined a group lesson run by Kate Maurici and Clare Knowles through The Queen’s Club Foundation.  This was a free weekly lesson at Bishop’s Park to encourage participation amongst girls in the sport in the local community. Their warm encouragement and engaging, child-friendly coaching introduced Rachel to the sport in the most inspiring way, sparking a lasting passion that has continued to grow over the past four years. We remain incredibly grateful to Kate, Clare, and The Queen’s Club Foundation for providing such a positive and nurturing start to her tennis journey. Through the Foundation, Rachel enjoyed free weekly classes as well as family festival competitive opportunities and inspirational opportunities to visit the Club.

Building on that foundation, Rachel’s progress has been shaped by consistent, focused training and dedicated parental support, helping her develop the skills, resilience, and competitive edge needed to excel in tournaments. A key figure in Rachel’s development has been her primary coach, Rob East, who has led Rachel’s QCF matchplay sessions for the past couple of years.   Rob has not only been an excellent coach, but he has also provided a supportive and motivating structure that Rachel genuinely enjoys. It was during group training sessions at The Queen’s Club that we first observed Rob’s outstanding coaching style with children, which prompted us to engage him further to guide Rachel’s development outside of her weekly lessons. She has enjoyed regular private lessons with Rob to help her to reach her potential.

Rob East said "Rachel was first introduced to tennis through the community outreach work of the Queen's Club Foundation ( QCF ) . The QCF has taken on the LTA initiative to bring more girls into the sport via many outreach parks and school sessions . As a coach working for the foundation it’s has been very rewarding seeing how through fun and well structured sessions, so many girls of various backgrounds have been introduced to the sport, and all the positive benefits it can bring like fun, fitness, and improved mental wellbeing. I hope she continues to progress and deepen her love of the sport".

Rachel was selected this year for the Middlesex County Squad as of October 2025 at the age of 10, offering monthly high-level performance coaching and training opportunities as well as being accepted onto the Rising Stars high-performance yellow ball group at Duke Meadows in November 2025. This involves twice-weekly, three-hour group sessions as part of the club’s RPDC framework, a recognised pathway for ambitious young players aiming for national-level competition.

Rachel is enthusiastic about continuing her development and eagerly anticipates embracing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in her tennis career.