Island tennis ace Billy Harris and childhood friend Freya Christie reunited on the court in style as they competed in Wimbledon’s mixed doubles on the All England Club’s famous grass courts on Saturday.

Harris, 31, and Christie, 28, have known each other since the earliest days of their tennis careers, but only started playing together on the morning of their match.

They lost an agonisingly tight encounter to two-time Wimbledon champions Neal Skupski and Desirae Krawczyk 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (5-7) 6-4, but enjoyed reviving their friendship.

‘The first time me and Bill played together was on the practice courts ahead of the game, so we did really well,’ said Christie.

‘We’ve known each other since we literally picked up a tennis racket at seven years old, so it’s great going all the way to Wimbledon together.

‘It’s nice to have the families see us playing and being on court together. You can’t ask for anything better.

‘As a Brit, competing at Wimbledon is what we love. It’s just a great energy and after winning the second set, the energy was really high and everyone was loving it.

‘It’s honestly the best feeling to play in front of friends, family and the British crowd. It was nice to have a Nottinghamshire fan base there as well.’

Both have only ever reached the first round in their previous mixed doubles entries at Wimbledon, with Harris having made the men’s doubles and singles second rounds in 2025.

And while they could not better that record a year on, they came back from 4-1 down in the second set to force a third against one of the most experienced pairs in the draw.

Their opponents have twice won the mixed doubles competition together previously, while Liverpool’s Skupski has also won the men’s doubles in 2023.

‘It was obviously a tight match,’ reflected Harris. ‘We did well to get the second set, I broke and we played some good tennis in that.

‘And then it was just a matter of one or two points in the third set. We pushed them and we did well to keep it tight the whole way through.

‘Anyone could have got over the finish line first, so I thought we did well.’

Earlier in the week, Harris had gone up against world No.22 Karen Khachanov in the first round of the men’s singles competition at Wimbledon.

The British number seven produced a battling performance against the two-time quarter-final and Olympic silver medallist, claiming a set to temporarily level proceedings at SW19.

But several missed break opportunities proved crucial for the Castletown and Albany LTC life member, and he ultimately lost 6-5, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 to an opponent ranked 133 places higher than him in the world.

For the latest updates on the British summer grass court season, visit the LTA website, lta.org.uk

LAURA HOWARD/SPORTSBEAT

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