What Wimbledon Boys’ champion Henry Searle said after meeting Wolves squad

Wimbledon Boys’ champion Henry Searle celebrated his historic victory by meeting the Wolverhampton Wanderers squad on Thursday (July 20).

The 17-year-old from Wolverhampton beat fifth seed Yaroslav Demin 6-4 6-4 on Court One to emulate Stanley Matthews, son of the famous footballer, who won the London tournament 61 years ago.

He is Britain’s first junior champion since Laura Robson won the girls’ event in 2008 and ensured more home success at this year’s tournament after Neal Skupski won the men’s doubles on Saturday. Searle, is also a big Wolves supporter and Julen Lopetegui and his squad welcomed the young champion to their training ground on Thursday.

The former Wolves Academy player became the first British winner of the boys’ championship in more than 60 years as he raced to the title without dropping a set.

Searle was invited watch Wolves’ men’s first-team in training on Tuesday as head coach Julen Lopetegui put his players through their paces as part of their pre-season preparations for the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.

What did Searle say about meeting the players?

Searle told wolves.co.uk. “It was pretty inspiring. To see that I’ve been recognised by someone like Julen was a big push before the final.

“I’ve been a Wolves supporter ever since I was a little kid. I’ve always tried to get to as many games as possible and watch as many home games as I can when I’m back. I love the Molineux.

“It’s been pretty cool and pretty exciting to come here and meet a few of the players and watch them train. I played as a left-winger in the academy when I was younger, but I was a little bit better at tennis than I was at football at the time of choosing between the two, but I think I’ve made the right decision!

“But it was great to come and see all these guys training and hopefully I can come back soon.”

Wolves boss Lopetegui added: “We were really pleased to welcome Henry and his family to one of our training sessions at Compton following his incredible win at Wimbledon.

“We watched the final together as a group on Sunday afternoon and we were delighted that he won the junior boys’ title. Everyone at the club and across Wolverhampton are very proud of his achievement. Henry is part of the pack, so it was an honour for us as staff and players that we had a chance to celebrate his success with him and his family, as he joined us this week with the trophy.