The street lamps of Ashby-de-la-Zouch flicker throughout the night, and under their gaze rests a small town in northern England. South Street runs through the center of it, weaving through townhouses and shops. A fence separates it from the Ashby Castle Lawn Tennis Club, lightly illuminated by the lemon drops that float amid the foggy night sky.
Against that fence leans a little girl, clutching her mother's palm, unknowingly amidst one of her last moments of normalcy.
“I was literally walking past the courts... and wanted to have a go,” Talia Neilson-Gatenby said. “Then it went from there.”
The Florida women’s tennis freshman hails from the European tennis scene, where girls enter the grasp of the sport at a young age and aren’t released for decades. Neilson-Gatenby was seven years old when the grated fence branded her flushed cheek in the autumn air. While she couldn’t have predicted how that moment would change her future, she quickly vaulted herself into competition.
Soon after picking up a racket, Neilson-Gatenby found herself playing once a week, and then once a day as she became entranced by her new pastime. Within months, regional clubs were scouting her, and before she turned 8, the English native had committed to one — her first official step towards a professional tennis career.
Neilson-Gatenby cites her first tennis coach as a primary figure in jump-starting her interest in pursuing the sport.
“[He] was a big factor,” she said. “He made my whole appearance... who I am.”
Tennis prospects face a challenging situation. Once scouts identify their talent, clubs rapidly begin training them, putting the rest of their youth on the back burner. For Neilson-Gatenby, that meant her schedule became hard to manage.
She danced between three clubs throughout her youth, ultimately spending most of her time training at Loughborough National Tennis Academy. During her stint in each location, she completed rigorous practice regimens, as most prospects do, making her ability to live the typical life of an 8- to 18-year-old challenging.
“[I was doing] tennis in the morning, fitness and more tennis around the school day,” she said. “It was tough to fit in normal life around that… It was pretty hectic.”
Routines like these are surprisingly normal for international tennis prospects. According to the National Health Institute, professional tennis players usually begin playing around 5 years old, with many competing at the junior level by 16. With pressure mounting to succeed quickly, players cut other parts of their lives to commit more time to tennis. Sometimes, that comes in the form of academics.
While it’s worth noting that Neilson-Gatenby was a strong student before she arrived at UF, her school life was anything but conventional. Early on in her training, she reverted to a home-school/virtual setting, shifting away from the average academic experience youth receive.
“It was affected. It was tough to keep up,” the 19-year-old said. “I think [I] did miss a lot... It was tough to maintain.”
Part of the challenges she faced in maintaining normalcy was constant travel. After joining the Loughborough NTA, Neilson-Gatenby was constantly on the move. As part of her preparations to compete in the junior championship field, she visited Spain, Croatia and Germany, among other European countries, for tournaments.
The pinnacle of her travels came in her debut in the Junior Wimbledon Championship in 2022. Facing Slovakian junior Nina Vargova, Neilson-Gatenby stepped to the line for a final serve to win her first-round matchup in straight sets. As always, she looked over at her parents in the stands.
While Neilson-Gatenby’s childhood, like other pro tennis prospects, differed from most other kids her age, one piece remained the same: her family. She shared that many other players she trained with had parents who forced them into the game and guided their training, but that wasn’t the case for her.
“It was more of an off-court relationship. It never got forced,” Neilson-Gatenby said. “It was never a coaching parent thing. So I think for me, my parents, that was really important that we kept that separate... I had more of a voice.”
Amidst the long hours and grueling work that shaped the professional tennis stars that many see today, Neilson-Gatenby had a strong foundation — a product of her parents. She noted how different her relationship with them is from the dynamic of other players and their families, which she thinks helped forge her into the player she is.
While the extensive training shaped her playing style, her calmness and maturity remain a testament to her parents. Their unparalleled support but lack of tennis knowledge, she said, allowed them to instill life skills like determination and temper management in their daughter.
“They're such good role models for me off the court — going on to the court that really helped me be really relaxed,” … Neilson-Gatenby said. “No pressure, no expectations, just going into it to have fun.”
Her parents’ teachings have been on display this fall. In Neilson-Gatenby’s largest collegiate tournament to date, the ITA All-American Championship on Sept. 21-26, the freshman leveled Ohio State senior Shelly Bereznyak 6-0, 6-0 in the opening round. She rarely allowed the senior to score consecutive points and never appeared rattled by the stage.
Neilson-Gatenby credits her seamless jump into Fall college play to the decade of preparation she went through, but her teammates see something more profound. The freshman’s commitment to practicing and willingness to sacrifice the other pieces of her life are telling in their minds, they said.
“She’s so dedicated on the court,” said Nikola Daubnerova, Neilson-Gatenby's roommate and fellow UF freshman. “Her mental side is a big advantage she has against her other opponents.”
Daubnerova knows this better than anyone else. In 2022, the pair faced off in the European Championship at the JB1 Klosters in Switzerland. While Daubnerova and her partner took the doubles contest, one thing stuck in her mind.
“I could not return her serve,” Daubnerova said, raving about Neilson-Gatenby’s steady nature.
Teammates and competition aren’t the only ones who recognize her skill. According to UF associate head coach Jeremy Bayon, players who begin training to become professionals at a young age often show the dedication necessary to adjust to the tempo and environment of collegiate tennis. In his opinion, Neilson-Gatenby’s characteristics are just another example of the international tennis system at work.
“She’s a fierce competitor... Extremely tough mentally,” Bayon said. “She has the tools and ambition to become a professional player.”
Neilson-Gatenby doesn’t hesitate to say she wants to become a professional tennis player. After all, she spent her entire childhood building up to that goal. But her extensive training and experience on the dais of junior tennis are about to benefit UF along the way.
The 19-year-old is just working on staying in the moment, though. Until now, Neilson-Gatenby has spent her life sprinting around from tournament to tournament and practice to practice. At Florida, she’s taking every second in.
Neilson-Gatenby likes to take long walks with Daubnerova, watch Gators football and play games. The freshman has served her time training and is gaining some sanity. She also likes to write in her journal every day, which she says helps her be joyful for her opportunities, no matter the route it takes to get to them.
The Great Britain native will most likely next see the court for the Florida Invitational on Jan. 11-12. She says she feels prepared but recognizes that Spring college tennis differs from anything she’s faced.
“I think college has a lot more grit to it,” Neilson-Gatenby said. “It's not always about who the best tennis player actually is, and it's more about who wants it the most.”
That might play to her advantage. After years of training, the early-morning flights to tournaments and the days spent on the court rather than on the playground, it’s hard to argue “who wants it the most.” That would be Talia Neilson-Gatenby.
Contact Noah White at nwhite@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @noahwhite1782
Noah White is a sophomore majoring in journalism and public relations and The Alligator's Women's Tennis Reporter. In his free time, Noah writes some more and plays soccer and volleyball. He also knows more about Liberty League women's soccer than you do.
