Wimbledon hero Henry Searle welcomed into Wolves training

The 17-year-old from Wolverhampton, who supporters the club and was part of the academy as a child, recently became the first British winner of the boys' championship for 61 years.

Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui recorded a video message wishing Searle good luck ahead of the Wimbledon final and the teenager admitted it inspired him to victory.

Searle said: “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.”

Searle was given a tour of Compton before watching training and then being introduced to the players and staff, where he had the chance to show off his Wimbledon trophy.

Lopetegui said: “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.

“On behalf of everyone at Wolves, we wish Henry the very best for his career and will be following his progress with great interest.”

Searle started out at Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis and Squash Club as a youngster and has already picked up big trophies in his career, including the U16 LTA Junior National Championships last year.

He also caught national attention when he reached the quarter-finals of the recent French Open, before his Wimbledon triumph.

“The atmosphere there was amazing,” Searle added.

“It’s always incredible to play at Wimbledon and having all my family and friends there supporting me was great. It was amazing from the start of the week to the end of the week and the final, so hopefully there can be many more.

“I think there will be a few more celebrations before I take a little bit of time off court over the next few days, play a bit of golf, but I’m not too sure what comes next. We’ll see.

“Obviously, the ultimate goal is to be able to do what I did last week in the men’s tournament, but there is a long way to go yet.

“It’s going to take even more hard work than what I’ve been doing for the last 10 years to get to where I am now, but I’ll be working really hard with the coaching team and we’ll see what happens in the future.”