The countdown began, chanted by spectators lining the court. It was 3.44pm on a sunny afternoon at the AELTC Community Sports Ground in Raynes Park, south-west London, and Robyn Moore’s watch revealed she had reached the monumental total of 199,950 tennis shots. An hour earlier, the 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash had joined her on court and helped edge her tally towards 200,000. Now only 50 more whacks across the net were required to mark the culmination of a heroic challenge.
Moore, 43, who suffers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, had spent 240 hours on court over the 30 days of June 2019, hitting a tennis ball the equivalent of 5,000,000 metres – a figure which reflects the number of people aged 16 to 65 who live with mental health problems.
Five, four, THREE, TWO, ONE… Moore ran to the side of the court, sunk to her knees and hugged her toddler nephew tightly as family, friends and well-wishers welled up and applauded her achievement. Balloons in gold, silver, purple and green spelt out BP19 200,000. The Breakpoint Tour, in association with the charity Bright Ideas for Tennis, had reached a triumphant conclusion.
“I’ve had lots of blisters. I’ve got a bit of a shoulder injury. I’m exhausted, but I’ve had the right people around me to lift me all the way,” Moore smiled through tears. “It’s an honour to play here. Hitting with Pat Cash was a once-in-a-lifetime dream, but the real highlight has been uniting 47 venues for one purpose.”
Supported by the AELTC, Breakpoint 2019 is a charity fundraiser which aims to raise awareness of mental health in the UK and to promote the benefits of activity to disability groups. It seeks to raise funds that will help deliver free tennis sessions, particularly to those living with mental health issues, PTSD and learning difficulties, and to ex-service personnel amputees. A report commissioned by the Tennis Foundation in 2017 stated: “Twenty per cent of people in the UK are diagnosed with a disability. Of those who have taken up tennis, 80 per cent feel happier, healthier and less isolated.”
Moore’s personal story inspired the challenge. In 2016 she was diagnosed with PTSD. “I suffered flashbacks, felt isolated, and just wanted to give up. Then, on the advice of a fantastic psychologist, I took up tennis. Tennis helped steer me away from the constant battle in my head, and more importantly, I realised that I didn’t feel so alone anymore. At this point, I knew that so much more could be done to help people very much like myself.”
Breakpoint 2019 has been a tough physical and mental challenge, but Moore believed in the life-changing impact it could have for all those who will benefit. Averaging one shot every four seconds, she has played tennis for a minimum of eight hours a day on courts at parks, clubs and schools from Fort Matilda in Scotland to Penarth in Wales, from Bristol to Boston, Cambridge to Cranleigh. Each club staged events and donated proceedings to BP19. The Wimbledon Foundation is making a donation of £5,000 and provided prizes for the activities around Sunday’s event. The tour also included pre-Wimbledon grass court events such as Queens (on a court next to Andy Murray) and The Boodles in Manchester, where she was supported by 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek.
“Robyn is incredibly resilient and determined, but when I first met her she was not so confident at all. It’s been a pleasure watching her grow,” said Danny Sapsford, charity manager of Bright Ideas for Tennis. There have been standout moments such as Robyn playing with Goran Ivanisevic at the Royal Albert Hall to kick off the challenge, but the real highlights, Sapsford said, have come through hearing on the road of the benefits tennis brings people. “Like someone at a mental wellbeing session admitting that his hour of tennis a week is the only time he ever leaves the house…”
For further information or to donate, please visit brightideasfortennis.com
