I won junior Wimbledon and London 2012 Olympic medal with Andy Murray, but retired at 28 and landed important new job
Laura Robson may only be 30, but she’s already packed a lot into her career both on and off the tennis court. When she won the Girl’s Singles title at Wimbledon in 2008 at just 14, she was tipped for greatness. Robson won the junior Wimbledon title in 2008 as a 14-year-oldNews Group Newspapers Ltd Big things were expected of Robson, before injuries hampered her careerNews Group Newspapers Ltd Robson won an Olympic silver medal in 2012 alongside mixed doubles partner Andy MurrayGETTY Four years later she was named as the WTA Newcomer of the Year after advancing into the fourth round of the US Open. She beat multiple Grand Slam champions Kim Clijsters and Li Na along the way, while also claiming an Olympic silver medal at the London 2012 games aged just 18. Robson and mixed doubles partner Andy Murray advanced through to the final, with the British pair coming up short against Belarusian duo Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi. The following year, Robson reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, but the Australian-born star then began to be crippled by injuries. Ultimately they were what wrecked her career and forced her to retire back in 2022. After requiring wrist surgery, the former British no.1 was also forced to undergo three hip operations. She missed the entire 2020 and 2021 seasons due to injury and Robson announced her immediate retirement from tennis at the age of 28. That did not mean she quit the sport for good, instead finding ways to thrive in the world of tennis without a racket in hand. She is a regular pundit for Eurosport on their Grand Slam coverage and also for the BBC at Wimbledon. In 2023, she was named tournament director at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham. Robson reached the fourth round of the US Open in 2012PA:Press Association GettyShe is now rubbing shoulders with Kate Middleton in her new role in tennis administration[/caption] She also landed herself a job at Wimbledon, where she is on the international player relations team. And now, Robson has been appointed Tournament Director of the new Women’s WTA 500 event at The Queen’s Club in London. She will be responsible for overseeing the return of women’s tour level tennis to London for the first time in 50 years. Robson said: “I’m delighted to be taking up this role next summer. It’s very exciting that women’s tennis is returning to the Queen’s Club for the first time in over 50 years. “It’s an iconic venue and has been voted Tournament of the Year by the men many times. I’m confident that the women’s event will be just as thrilling and I can’t wait to get started.” Her various roles have seen her rub shoulders with Kate Middleton, with Robson spotted sitting alongside the Princess of Wales at the All England Club. GettyShe was back playing at Wimbledon in July in the invitation doubles[/caption] The former tennis star has received rave reviews from players – with her main role being to keep them happy at events. But despite the pressure of working in tennis administration, Robson has told talkSPORT she is loving her new career. Discussing her role as a tournament director on the Hawksbee and Jacobs show, Robson told talkSPORT in 2023: “I think there are different ways at being a tournament director, but I really wanted to be involved in the behind-the-scenes aspect of it. “For me, I wanted to learn from the people that have run the events over the last few years, so we started back in January putting everything together. “And kind of checking in quite regularly to see what we needed to update and what could be better for the players. “But the week of [the tournament], you’re just trying to make the experience out on court the best as you can. Robson became tournament director at the Nottingham Open in 2023Getty The former Wimbledon junior champion still has a role to play in SW19X “And I’m also on the player relations team here at Wimbledon, which is very similar in a lot of ways because we take in all the feedback that we get over the course of the event and seeing if hopefully we can see some improvements for next year already. “But it’s a year-long thing that you just have to keep thinking about basically, it’s been very, very cool.” Robson continues to go from strength to strength after catching the eye as tournament director at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham. Chris Pollard, the LTA’s Managing Director, Commercial and Operations, said “Laura did a fantastic job at Nottingham and received a lot of plaudits from the players. We’re very pleased she will now be taking on this important role at Queens next year. “We have worked hard to ensure British players such as Laura and Jamie [Murray] can continue to use their knowledge and experience for the benefit of the game in this country, and it’s great news they will both be part of our experienced cohort of Tournament Directors.”
Laura Robson may only be 30, but she’s already packed a lot into her career both on and off the tennis court.
When she won the Girl’s Singles title at Wimbledon in 2008 at just 14, she was tipped for greatness.
Four years later she was named as the WTA Newcomer of the Year after advancing into the fourth round of the US Open.
She beat multiple Grand Slam champions Kim Clijsters and Li Na along the way, while also claiming an Olympic silver medal at the London 2012 games aged just 18.
Robson and mixed doubles partner Andy Murray advanced through to the final, with the British pair coming up short against Belarusian duo Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi.
The following year, Robson reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, but the Australian-born star then began to be crippled by injuries.
Ultimately they were what wrecked her career and forced her to retire back in 2022.
After requiring wrist surgery, the former British no.1 was also forced to undergo three hip operations.
She missed the entire 2020 and 2021 seasons due to injury and Robson announced her immediate retirement from tennis at the age of 28.
That did not mean she quit the sport for good, instead finding ways to thrive in the world of tennis without a racket in hand.
She is a regular pundit for Eurosport on their Grand Slam coverage and also for the BBC at Wimbledon.
In 2023, she was named tournament director at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham.
She also landed herself a job at Wimbledon, where she is on the international player relations team.
And now, Robson has been appointed Tournament Director of the new Women’s WTA 500 event at The Queen’s Club in London.
She will be responsible for overseeing the return of women’s tour level tennis to London for the first time in 50 years.
Robson said: “I’m delighted to be taking up this role next summer. It’s very exciting that women’s tennis is returning to the Queen’s Club for the first time in over 50 years.
“It’s an iconic venue and has been voted Tournament of the Year by the men many times. I’m confident that the women’s event will be just as thrilling and I can’t wait to get started.”
Her various roles have seen her rub shoulders with Kate Middleton, with Robson spotted sitting alongside the Princess of Wales at the All England Club.
The former tennis star has received rave reviews from players – with her main role being to keep them happy at events.
But despite the pressure of working in tennis administration, Robson has told talkSPORT she is loving her new career.
Discussing her role as a tournament director on the Hawksbee and Jacobs show, Robson told talkSPORT in 2023: “I think there are different ways at being a tournament director, but I really wanted to be involved in the behind-the-scenes aspect of it.
“For me, I wanted to learn from the people that have run the events over the last few years, so we started back in January putting everything together.
“And kind of checking in quite regularly to see what we needed to update and what could be better for the players.
“But the week of [the tournament], you’re just trying to make the experience out on court the best as you can.
“And I’m also on the player relations team here at Wimbledon, which is very similar in a lot of ways because we take in all the feedback that we get over the course of the event and seeing if hopefully we can see some improvements for next year already.
“But it’s a year-long thing that you just have to keep thinking about basically, it’s been very, very cool.”
Robson continues to go from strength to strength after catching the eye as tournament director at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham.
Chris Pollard, the LTA’s Managing Director, Commercial and Operations, said “Laura did a fantastic job at Nottingham and received a lot of plaudits from the players. We’re very pleased she will now be taking on this important role at Queens next year.
“We have worked hard to ensure British players such as Laura and Jamie [Murray] can continue to use their knowledge and experience for the benefit of the game in this country, and it’s great news they will both be part of our experienced cohort of Tournament Directors.”
