Ryan Peniston: who is tennis player excelling at Queen’s, ranking, will he play Wimbledon 2022?

Here is all you need to know about Ryan Peniston - the tennis star that has knocked Casper Ruud out of the Queen’s Club Championships and reached the quarter-finals.
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Ryan Peniston kicked off his ATP Tour main draw debut with a surprise 7-6 (7-4). 7-6 (7-2) victory over Norwegian top seed, Casper Ruud.

Ruud previously reached a career high ranking of five after he was beaten by Rafael Nadal in the French Open final earlier this month, but his Queen’s campaign has come to an abrupt end.

Meanwhile, Peniston spoke of his joy after the victory, saying: “I can’t really believe it, it feels like a dream.

“I didn’t get much sleep last night thinking about the match. It doesn’t feel real.”

Since his incredible upset win over Rudd, the 26-year old has gone on to beat Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo and set up a quarter-final clash with Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic.

Here is everything you need to know about the British wildcard...

Who is Ryan Peniston?

Ryan Peniston is a 26-year-old tennis player from Essex.

He is ranked 180th in the world - a whopping 175 places below Ruud who he conqured in his opening match at Queen’s this year.

What makes Peniston’s rise even more impressive is that he survived rhabdomyosarcoma - a soft tissue cancer - and had to have surgery and chemotherapy as a teenager.

Following his win over Ruud, Peniston spoke of his cancer and said he hoped his family would be ‘very proud’ of his journey.

“It was definitely a difficult start to my life,” said the left hander.

“I don’t remember much but from my parents and my brothers I think it must have been a pretty tough time.

“I hope I made them proud and I am sure it will be a little bit emotional for them, for me as well.”

Career highlights

At only 13 years old, Peniston made the move to Nice, France to train at ISP Tennis Academy before going to college at 18.

The Brit graduated from the University of Memphis tennis program and was also part of the GB University Team that won the nation’s first ever team gold medal at Master’U Championships.

During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Peniston participated in the ‘Battle of the Brits’ tournament and lost on final set tie-breaks to Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie.

In 2021, he was given a wildcard into the singles and doubles main draws of the Nottingham Open, before receiving another wildcard for the 2021 Queen’s Club Championships doubles main draws, playing alongside Liam Broady.

On the same day that Peniston secured his win over Ruud, he was also given a wildcard to Wimbledon.

Ryan Peniston vs Filip Krajinovic - when is quarter final and how to watch

Ryan Peniston vs Filip Krajinovic will be the third of four quarter-final matches in the men’s singles being played at Qeen’s on Friday, June 17.

The match is due to start at 2:40pm BST and will be live on BBC 2 and the BBC Iplayer.

The other quarter final matches in the men’s singles competition are Fokina vs de Zandschulp (12pm), Paul vs Berrettini (1:20pm) and Ruusuvuori vs Čilić (4pm).

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