‘Yes Mum, you were right’ – A very personal story of why Wimbledon means so much

It was back in 1992 that the germ of an idea came to mind as I sat on Wimbledon’s Centre Court with my mother.

We had been fortunate to get tickets in the ballot to sit in the front row of the most iconic tennis stadium in the world on women’s semi-finals day, with the added bonus of rain the previous day ensuring we also caught the end of a men’s quarter-final between Andre Agassi and Boris Becker.

As a 17-year-old tennis fanatic, that Thursday line-up featuring Agassi, Becker, Steffi Graf, Gabriela Sabatini, Monica Seles and Martina Navratilova was the stuff of dreams.

Being there with my Mum made it all the most special, as she had paid for my tennis lessons when she didn’t have the money to fund such an expensive sport and also joined me on days when we had queued up to get into the grounds at the All England Club.

Getting Centre Court tickets was the dream and to have them for such a magical day fuelled my ambitions to come back time and again.

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It was during one of the women’s semi-finals that I caught a glimpse of the benches that were occupied by the world’s media, with the prospect of a job that allowed me to get a pass to attend Wimbledon instantly becoming my goal.

Landing one of the few jobs in journalism that would allow me to cover tennis seemed improbable to my parents, but the final month of that year changed my focus and encouraged me to chase that seemingly impossible dream.

On December 2nd 1992, my Mum passed away.

Just a few months after our magical day at Wimbledon, the most important person in my life was gone and the inspiration she left behind ensured I would do all I could to have tennis as a big part of my life.

“You will meet nice people in tennis,” she told me, as she found a way to fund my lessons and those words would have a hugely significant meaning a couple of decades later.

My own career as a journalist started in football, with the good fortune to land the contract to write the programmes for Wembley Stadium, sending me on a ride that allowed me to spend time with football greats such as Sir Alex Ferguson, David Beckham, Glenn Hoddle and Jose Mourinho.

Yet tennis was always my passion and by the time I was accredited for the Wimbledon press box for the first time in 2005, my tennis story had already given me my biggest win.

Those words from my mother suggesting I would meet good people in tennis became reality when I met the woman who would become my wife on a tennis court and she joined me on what was a rainy first day of the Championships 20 years ago.

The chance to stroll from one court to the next at Wimbledon with my press pass was a novelty that would neever wear off to this day, with the sparkling treatment the media are afforded by the brilliantly efficient media department at the All England Club ensuring these two weeks are the most enjoyable of any journalist’s year.

My Wimbledon memories include a special moment of my own on Centre Court in 2013, as I proposed to my wife on the grass in front of the scoreboard a few minutes before Serena Williams came out to play her fourth round match.

Kevin Palmer proposes to his wife on Centre Court in 2013

My future father-in-law and best friend joined us on Centre Court for a few minutes we will never forget, with the spot where I got the best ‘yes’ of all-time a yard or two away from where Andy Murray threw his cap down a few days later when he won the first of his two Wimbledon titles.

The sizeable crowd gave us a hearty cheer when I got the answer I wanted and I remember retiring to one of the many bars around Wimbledon, buying a beer and trying to comprehend the magnitude of one of the best moments of my life as my future wife returned to Court No.2 to watch some tennos.

Some 12 years on from that memorable day, it remains the ultimate privilege to get bleeped in through those gates at Wimbledon for these two weeks every year.

Walking past Henman Hill each morning is a ritual that is a delight and when you walk onto Centre Court for the first time each year, you know how lucky you are to be there.

I look around the Centre Court endlessly and pick out the seats I sat in with my Mum, knowing that she is looking down on me with pride that the dream we spoke about back in 1992 was not as fanciful as it seemed.

Kevin with his daughter Ana on the press balcony at Wimbledon

The legacy of the woman who could not stay with me for long enough to end the journey she started is represented by my little daughter Ana, who is winning tennis tournaments and developing a passion for the sport she could barely avoid, given the family she was born into.

Leaving Wimbledon for the last time each summer is a chore, as you always fear it may be your last chance to have the kind of access that is so special, but I’ll always be grateful for the memories that I will cherish from the last two decades.

So to my dear Mum… you were right. I did meet nice people in tennis and the values you put into me are now continuing with Ana.

This sport has given me so much and all I can say is thank you for making it such an important part of my life.

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