Billy Harris’ tennis journey takes him from the Isle of Man to living in a van in Europe to Wimbledon

LONDON (AP) — For tennis player Billy Harris, it’s all about the journey.

Harris lost his Wimbledon debut on Tuesday, but he won some fans in the process. That’s bound to happen when your backstory involves leaving your home on the Isle of Man to live in a van while playing tennis tournaments across Europe.

Harris made his Grand Slam debut at the age of 29, losing to Jaume Munar 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 at the All England Club.

“Great feeling at the beginning. But when you lose, it’s not quite the same, of course,” Harris said matter-of-factly.

His paydays aren’t quite the same these days, either. Harris earned about $76,000 for his first-round loss, and he also plays doubles, starting on Wednesday with Liam Broady. Harris’ career total before that was just over $400,000.

“It’s definitely taken me longer than most people to get here. It’s been a long journey,” Harris, who is ranked a career-high at No. 116 and hasn’t lived on the bus for several years, said at a news conference before the tournament began.

Earlier in his career, Harris spent more than three years driving his white Ford Transit van around Europe to save money while playing in lower-level tournaments.

Harris and his father built a wooden frame for a bed in the bus.

“He told me the story,” Broady said. “He stopped in Dover on the way to mainland Europe and got three months’ worth of canned tuna and Uncle Ben’s rice. That was all he could live on for three months. There aren’t many people who would have been prepared to make the sacrifices that Billy made.”

Luke Lacey cheered on his childhood friend as Harris won the third set and didn’t leave empty-handed. He said Harris is “a huge inspiration to kids on the Isle of Man.”

The Isle of Man has a population of 84,000 and is located in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and North West England. Cyclist Mark Cavendish comes from there.

“It was a lot of boat trips to Liverpool,” Harris said of his early days. “There aren’t that many players to train with on the Isle of Man.”

Harris retired from camper life in his early twenties after an exceptionally long stint in Poland.

“My dad used it for a while, but then the engine blew up and that was the end of it,” he said of the van’s fate.

The 1.93-meter-tall Harris now drives a Mini Cooper.

___

AP Tennis reporter Howard Fendrich contributed to this report.

___

AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis