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A local tennis star, who became the first Jerseyman to play at Wimbledon before his career was interrupted by an injury that saw his wrist swell to three times its normal size, has opened up about his personal goals and those he has for Jersey.
A former De La Salle pupil, Scott Clayton started playing tennis at a young age, making his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon in 2017 at only 23.
Unfortunately, the following year he suffered a wrist injury, leading him to have considerable pain. However, with funding support from Rathbones, he was able to try everything from massage to acupuncture and even shockwave therapy to get back into the swing of things.
And there are already positive signs.
Pictured: Scott (right) training with doubles partner Jamie Murray (left) earlier this year.
Having gone through what he described as "one of the toughest times of my career", the 25-year-old sportsman got back to doubles training earlier this year, before going on to win back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour titles for the very first time in Drumondville, Canada.
“Hopefully now I am done with the injury and good times will be around the corner soon. It’s always tough coming back from injury but I’ve been training well and the wrist feels stronger each day. Obviously in competition it’s different, but I’m optimistic that it will hold up," he explained.
His main goals now? "...To try and stay fit for the whole period, and if I can get my ranking back to around where it was by Wimbledon (100), then that will be brilliant, as I won't have any points to defend in the second half of the year."
For Express, Scott swapped his racket for a pen to discuss what five things he would change about Jersey...
As a very frequent traveller, especially in and around Europe, that extra leg of flying is always tough - especially the Gatwick to Heathrow bus journey.
Pictured: Sometimes, it's just a little too hard getting off the rock.
It would be great to open up some more flights to European destinations and a flight or two a day to Heathrow.
I think it’s no secret that house prices in Jersey are very expensive.
Pictured: Housing prices in Jersey are so high most people can't afford their own home.
Some of my peers looking to settle down in recent months have particularly struggled in finding a property that they can afford, let alone like.
Now this would be something! On a recent trip back to Jersey, I thoroughly enjoyed this year's harvest of Jersey Royals.
Pictured: Royals are so good Scott wants them all the time!
If only the climate would allow it!
I think 'competition' is a word that scares a lot of people. However, there is no reason why this can’t be seen as positive and good for children.
Pictured: Scott would like to see more sporting organised events.
I believe that if there were more events put on then children’s experience of sport on the island would be much more enjoyable.
We have some amazing charities in the island who do incredible work. I’ve been fortunate to experience some of the events which are put on.
Pictured: "The more charity events we can do as an island the better."
The help these charities give is invaluable, so the more charity events we can do as an island, the better.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not Bailiwick Express.
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