I gave up tennis at 23. Now I run Wimbledon

Standing in the plush, beige-carpeted male changing rooms of Centre Court, Wimbledon, the warning words of Debbie Jevans echo in my mind: “I’ve been playing quite a bit of tennis recently — just to practise for our game.”

Jevans, chair of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, which hosts the Wimbledon championships, is a former professional who once squared up against Virginia Wade at this venue. As for me, her opponent, I have a knock roughly once or twice a year and have never played competitively, or indeed ever received a formal lesson.

When I hit the court, feeling awkward in some borrowed kit to meet the strict all-white dress code, I’m relieved to find we’re playing indoor doubles, and that I’ve been