Chris was first appointed Professional at Petworth in June 1988, after being trained from September 1982 by the late Brian Church at Cambridge, and then by Peter Dawes at Seacourt (Hayling Island), where he was Assistant Professional.

Chris’s time at Petworth included magnificent tournament achievements during which time he became variously Open Singles Champion of Australia, France, the USA, and Great Britain, one of only 3 or 4 players to have achieved that. He was also Professional Singles Champion of Great Britain and the USA, and on top of that amazing haul, he
accumulated 14 Open Doubles titles across the world. He was in the mix for the challenge on the world open singles title on numerous occasions between 1995 and 2005, and he was ranked world no 2 to Rob Fahey for that period.

He is a dedicated teaching Professional who sets a high standard of technique and etiquette amongst his 250 or so members, and he is enthusiastic for their success at all levels of play. During his time at Petworth, court usage regularly exceeds 90% throughout the year.

Whilst at Petworth, Chris has trained as Assistant Professionals Adam Phillips (1990/92), Fergus Jenkins (1993/94), Martin Jones (1994/96), Mark Coghlan (1996/98), Nick Garnett (1998/2000), Tom Durack (from 2000), and most recently Lee Andrews (2004/5).

In July 2005, Chris decided to change direction after a very long stint at Petworth, and he joined a company which ran courses for European youngsters who wanted to come to England to learn how to play English sports.  His place at Petworth was taken by Holyport’s Professional, Nick Wood. In March 2008, Wood was invited to become Head Professional at The Royal Tennis Court, and Chris quickly moved to fill his old position.

In his second period of office, now as head Professional, Chris is no longer pursuing a career as a top level competition player. His main role at Petworth is the day to day management of the club, overseeing the maintaining and indeed improvement of the general playing standard of the membership, managing improvements to the fabric of the court and its ancillary facilities, and continuing to coach Tom Durack (the club’s
tournament professional) to assist him to reach a top ten ranking.

Another important role is to develop a strong and vibrant youth sector by inviting local schools to attend regular coaching sessions. This new club policy is already seeing excellent results with several promising young players already coming through.

The combination of Chris’s experience and Tom’s potential as a top player for the future presents members at PHTC with a well balanced team at the helm. It is our intention that PHTC members and visitors from all round the world will always receive a warm welcome and enjoy playing on one of the best courts in the world.