Hi there! My name is Alan Gleeson. I am 20 years old and I’m a professional tennis player from Newcastle, Co. Wicklow. My goal is to achieve a professional ranking in the top 100 a feat yet to be achieved by an Irish tennis player.

I first picked up a tennis racket at the young age of 8! At junior level I had good success. I was ranked the number one player in Ireland in my age category at under-16s and under-18s. In 2010, I won the Irish Under-18 National Championships, which added to my other achievements:

– Irish Indoor Under-16 Champion
– Ulster Under U14, U16 & U18 Champion
– Irish National U16 Match-play Champion (Winter & Spring)

I’ve held an ITF world junior ranking of 780, despite my effort being interrupted by a serious wrist injury, and have represented Ireland 4 times at Under 16s and Under 18s level. I was one of the youngest ever Irish players to qualify for an ITF Pro Circuit event at 17.

Having made the decision to pursue a full time career in tennis all my effort has been focussed on a challenging but rewarding training regime in order to prepare me for the rigours of international competition.

I work with the assistance of Conor Niland and Colin O’Brien both of whom have achieved high rankings on the tour, Conor as high as 120 and Colin just retired recently having reached a career high of 600.

My programme comprises of technical and tactical training each day combined with strength, power, endurance and flexibility training each day during the week. My programme is designed specifically for my needs, in order to prepare me for the best chance to succeed on the tour. Over the past two years I’ve had to work very hard on my physical conditioning and working out a game style that best suits my capabilities and attributes. Now I’m ready to compete on a full time basis and that is my primary reason for becoming part of the Pledge Sports Campaign.

There is only one competitive ITF Pro Circuit event in Ireland every year and in order to have a reasonable chance of accumulating ranking points I need to compete in 25-30 tournaments annually. The average cost of competing in a single event is approximately €850.00. This is a conservative estimate. Expenses can vary each week depending on how well I do in a particular tournament or for how many consecutive weeks I am travelling. I am hoping to raise €10,000 which will cover a substantial amount of my travel expenses for the year.

There is a further dilemma in that there are no outdoor hard court and clay court facilities in Ireland similar to those used during ITF Pro Circuit competitions so I also have to schedule training weeks on the appropriate surfaces in advance of competition. This adds another 6-8 weeks onto my annual travelling schedule.

As you can see the costs of supporting this effort is substantial. Financial resources are vital and this is where I run into a stumbling block. I currently receive no financial backing from any source apart from my immediate family, who offer me incredible support and allow me to continue my pursuit. At present they fund all my training and travelling costs and have done so since I started to play tennis
However, we both know this current situation can’t last forever, and it weighs on me heavily to persistently take their financial support.

My long term goal is to play at the grand slam events such as Wimbledon and achieve a ranking inside the top 100 players in the world. However, now at the beginning of that journey and I would like to ask for your assistance to help me take the first step. If I’m not on the runway there’s no way my dream can take off! This opportunity I have been offered with Pledge Sports is my only viable way of sourcing enough finance to compete on the ITF Pro Circuit this year. Any support would be massively appreciated!

As a token of my appreciation all supporters will receive exclusive access to my personal website (this won’t be a public website) and the opportunity to win a signed Leinster rugby jersey (BOD’s last??) and the chance to be courtside at the French Open in Rolland Garros this summer!

 

Thank  you

Alan