Coach of newly crowned Wimbledon champion is preparing for his own tournament
Barry Fulcher has already had a summer to remember after he sat in the coaches box to watch Julian Cash become a Wimbledon champion – and now he is ready for a big tournament of his own on England’s south coast.
The highlight of Fulcher’s coaching journey so far arrived on Wimbledon’s Centre Court earlier this month, as his long-time coaching association with Cash had its ultimate moment as he teamed up with Lloyd Glasspool to win the men’s doubles title in the biggest tournament of them all.
Cash, 28, and 31-year-old Glasspool beat Australian Rinky Hijikata and David Pel of the Netherlands 6-2 7-6(3) in the final at Wimbledon, as they became the first all-British pairing to win the title since Pat Hughes and Raymond Tuckey lifted the trophy in 1936.
It was a moment to savour for Fulcher, who admits the moment filled him with emotion.
“When you have been on a journey with a player as I have been with Julian since he was a teenager, it is very special when you have a moment like we had at Wimbledon,” Fulcher told Tennis365 in an exclusive interview.
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“It was the proudest moment to see someone grow, develop and evolve through their teenage years and then have a day like that at Wimbledon, it was phenomenal.
“So many start out with ambitions to one day win a title at Wimbledon. You speak to the kids and parents and many will have those same aspirations, but very few get to chance to realise them.
“When I first met Julian, he was 14 and he duffed me up in a practice set before I coached him, so to see him fulfil his ambition is so rewarding.
“He is a good human being. He has good solid values, a great family around him.
“Some people in tennis lose sight of those values. They live a certain life, they get treated very well and they forget about the values that got them there.
“Seeing the absolute elation on Julian’s face at the moment when they won was just brilliant to see. I’ve looked back on the replays of it since and you can just see what that moment meant to him.”
Now Fulcher is setting his sights on his next big target and while it may lack the glitz and glamour of Centre Court at Wimbledon, it means just as much to him as he looks to bring tennis, padel and pickleball players of all levels together on England’s south coast next week.
The Trilogy Festival is an inclusive event that offers a range of tailored individual and team events across the fastest-growing racket sports in the world, along with a host of masterclasses with the world’s best, educational workshops, community activities and exclusive UK first events.
Judy Murray, the mother of Grand Slam-winning greats Andy and Jamie, will be presenting the trophies to the winner at the end of the week, with Fulcher’s latest event a little different to the Progress Tour competitions he has put together in recent years.
Fulcher’s passion to give lower ranked tennis players who are struggling to earn a living inspired him to launch his Progress Tour, with the success of those events encouraging him to trying something a little different.
The Trilogy Festival will feature tennis, padel and pickleball and he is relishing the prospect of an event that will give opportunities for players to test themselves in all three racket sports.
“The landscape of the sport is very different to where it was pre-Covid, as the playing opportunities for players have increased over the last few years,” he added.
“That’s great, but it means the stress and strain of trying to find the budget to put on events with a higher prize money level is difficult. That’s always the challenge – having enough funding to support the level of tournament I want to deliver.
“I’m working through options at the moment that would allow us to take things to the next level, but the tournament in Hove is a little different to many I have put on.
“This is very much a community-based event bringing together different sports and putting on workshops and it should be an exciting event.
“We want to provide free opportunities for people to play and having companies like Novellus Finance, Neilson Holidays and Bright Ideas, our official charity partner, linked to this is a massive help. People can sign up for free and make an optional donation to the charity.
“It’s a little different from that as our Triogly event features tennis, padel and pickleball. We have standalone events for each sport and then a battle of the bats when you play all three, which should be exciting.”
Tennis is thriving at so many levels and heroes of the sport like Fulcher are eager to ensure it is not just the players at the top of the game who collect all the big prize money and the media spotlight.
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