Essex tennis star who survived cancer wins wildcard for Wimbledon

A tennis player who overcame cancer as a toddler says he is keen to use his new higher profile to help others with the disease after a run to the quarter-finals at his breakout tournament.

Ryan Peniston, 26, from Southend enjoyed a memorable week at Queen’s Club and was rewarded for his efforts with a wild card for Wimbledon.

The breakthrough for the British number seven was all the more remarkable given his recovery from cancer as a child.

Peniston was diagnosed at the age of one with rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft-tissue cancer, which required surgery and chemotherapy before regular check-ups for years afterwards.

He reflected on his childhood experiences earlier in the week, after having knocked out world number 5 - and top seed - Casper Ruud 7-6 (4) 7-6 (2) in the first round of the tournament.

“It was definitely a difficult start to my life,” he added. “I don’t remember much. But for my parents and my brothers, I think it must have been a pretty, pretty tough time.

“But I had the amazing, amazing doctors and amazing nurses who helped me through that – and my family, huge, huge thanks to them.

“And yeah, standing here today, that was pretty good.”

After a 6-0 4-6 6-4 victory over Francisco Cerundolo in the next round, he admitted that the week at Queens had been the best of his life.

Although his dream was ended 4-6 6-3 6-3 in the quarter-finals by Filip Krajinovic, the result means he will go to SW19 on the crest of a wave, having already reached the last eight at tournaments in Surbiton and Nottingham.

“It has been really nice actually. I have had a lot of nice messages and support from people,” Peniston said.

“I took a little time yesterday just to relax and chill out. It is starting to sink in but it has been a really nice couple of days.

“Maybe one message that really stood out was Young Lives vs Cancer, they reposted my story and I really enjoyed that. That was nice.

“That is one of the big things I would like to do in my career, to spread awareness and do what I can to help people going through similar things.”

The run to the quarter-finals secured a £50,000 payday for Peniston, and his wildcard for Wimbledon - which he failed to qualify for in 2019 and 2021 - will net him at least the same amount again.

“It’s definitely a lot of money,” he said. “I was playing on the Futures Tours a couple of years ago and then the Challengers. So it’s definitely going to help my career a lot. I’m just going to reinvest it in myself."

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