Princess Kate’s conversations during Arthur Fery Wimbledon match | Tennis | Sport
Princess Kate’s conversations with Tim Henman have been shared. (Image: Getty)
The Princess of Wales showed off her humorous side and knowledge of tennis as her conversations with BBC star and ex-player Tim Henman were shared by Wimbledon. The conversations took place while they were both mic’d up watching Arthur Fery in action on Court 18 on Thursday.
Rising British tennis star Fery was in action against Otto Virtanen in the second round of the tournament. The 23-year-old came out victorious in four sets (5-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-3), and has since gone on to win his next two games to book a place in the quarter-final, where he will take on Flavio Cobolli on Wednesday.
While sitting next to Henman and the All England Lawn and Tennis Club Chair Debbie Jevans, their conversations were picked up by mics. Wimbledon have now shared them on social media as part of their regular ‘Overheard at Wimbledon’ series.
In the first conversation, Princess Catherine is heard saying: “Early on in the week, the court is so pristine.”
It then cuts to Henman talking about the evolution of the sport from when he was playing: “You know, when we look back, kind of late 90s, early 2000s, it was a bit of a serving competition.”
The Princess then showcased her knowledge of the sport, replying: “It was, yeah. You remember Sampras?” Referring to tennis legend Pete Sampras, who won the title seven times.
Henman then said: “Yeah, I do remember him,” smiling, having been beaten by the American six times during his career.
Princess Kate watched Arthur Fery in action at Wimbledon last week. (Image: Getty)
A conversation is then shown with Jevans, with Princess Catherine asking if they have to choose the voice for the automatic line calls that have recently been introduced. Jevans jokes: “Actually, that’s way above my pay grade. It’s some of the staff, so it actually feels authentic, it’s team members that actually do it.”
The Princess was then asked about her recent completion of the Three Peaks Challenge. “I did it in 24 hours, yeah,” she said. “That was the challenge anyway, but I think part of the journey was trying to enjoy the process.
“Like the training beforehand, but also making time during the walk to meet people and enjoy the journey rather than just quickly getting to the top.”
She added: “The weather was atrocious. I mean, everybody got soaked through, but it was a very sort of stoically British thing to do. You know, you’re soaking wet and everyone’s going ‘come on, we can do it.’”
When asked if there was a charity she did the challenge for, the Princess said: “Yes, so it was for The Royal Marsden Cancer charity. I have just been so blown away by all of the donations. Everyone’s been so generous. That’s what keeps you going, it’s when you know you’re doing it for a good cause, it keeps you going through the harder times.”
The hospital is the same one where she received treatment for cancer in 2024.
Attention then turned back to matters on the court. After a serve of 136 miles per hour, Princess Catherine turns to Henman and asks: “What was your top speed?”
Henman replies with: “146.” Catherine replies with: “Of course,” before he adds: “Kilometres per hour.”
The Princess was clearly enjoying the tennis, with mics picking up her comments on one point in particular. “Oh, lovely shot,” she said, before adding: “But he got there.”
After the point is won, she joins in with the applause from the crowd, saying: “Lovely! That is seriously good tennis. Lovely.”
Wimbledon continues today (Wednesday), as the quarter-finals come to a conclusion. British wildcard Fery is back in action after his remarkable run to the last eight. On Tuesday, both Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic booked their places in the semi-final on the men’s side, with Karolina Muchova and Coco Gauff doing the same on the Women’s side.
