French Open semi-finalist awaits Toby Samuel at Wimbledon after in-form Team Bath Tennis ace enjoys epic Eastbourne run
In-form Team Bath Tennis ace Toby Samuel will face French Open semi-finalist Jakub Menšík in the men’s singles first round when Wimbledon 2026 begins on Monday (29th).
It will be another opportunity for Samuel, coached by Ian MacDonald and Tiarnan Brady, to test himself against the world’s best after overcoming two players in the top 60 on the way to the semi-finals at the Lexus Eastbourne Open this week.
Czech Menšík, ranked 17 in the world, is seeded 15th in the men’s draw and, as well as his excellent run at Roland Garros, reached the third round at SW19 last year.
However, Samuel will go into his senior Wimbledon debut with confidence soaring after a stunning week on the grass courts of Eastbourne.
Awarded a ‘lucky loser’ place after a three-set defeat to Matteo Arnaldi – who also reached the French Open semi-finals – in the last qualifying round, Samuel made the most of his opportunity as he recorded a first-ever ATP Tour level win by defeating World number 54 Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-1 7-6(7).
He overcame another Argentinean opponent in the quarter-finals by winning 6-3 6-4 against Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, who famously defeated World number 1 Jannik Sinner at Roland Garros last month.
The Team Bath player then faced Belgium’s Zizou Bergs and served for a place in the final at a set and a break up but while the World number 38 recovered to win 4-6 7-6(5) 6-2, it was another excellent performance at the highest level from Samuel.
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Giles Hussey also reached the last 16 at Eastbourne having made his way through qualifying, earning straight-set wins over James Duckworth and Marco Trungelliti who are both ranked in the world’s top 100. The Team Bath player then defeated Arnaldi 6-4 6-2 in the first round of the main draw before going down 6-1 7-5 to France’s Quentin Halys.
Attention now turns to Wimbledon where former University of Bath Sporting Scholar Ben Jones will also be making his senior bow after being awarded a men’s doubles wildcard with partner Joshua Paris. The duo have a grass court title under their belt this summer after winning the ATP Lexus Birmingham Open.
Jones trained with Team Bath Tennis from 2018 to 2024, combining sport with studying Chemistry at undergraduate level and Management for his PhD. He represented GB Universities three times at the Master’U BNP Paribas world student tennis tournament in France, winning silver each time.
Team Bath Tennis player Esther Adeshina came through pre-qualifying to contest Wimbledon Qualifying for the first time. She recorded the biggest win of her career to date, beating World number 108 Moyuka Uchijima of Japan 6-1 3-6 7-5, before her superb run was ended in the second round by a 6-2 6-2 defeat to Harmony Tan.
“I’m happy with how the last couple of weeks have gone,” said Adeshina. “Coming through pre-qualifying and getting the opportunity to play here was really great. This experience has been amazing and I’m ready to go again and come back for more.”
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Find out more about the all-encompassing Team Bath Tennis programme by visiting teambath.com/tennis.
Toby Samuel picture credit: Getty Images for LTA
