Darius Henderson: Ex-Sheffield United star's son is top GB tennis prospect
They didn't come much tougher on the football field than Darius Henderson.
And off it, the one time Sheffield United man illustrated his guts and resilience by becoming the first professional footballer to summit Mount Everest, despite having a fear of heights.
Now, some of his sporting skills and determined characteristics have emerged in his chip-off-the-block son, Hunter.
In his chosen sport of tennis, the nine-year-old is getting quite a name for himself.
He has just made his debut for Great Britain, playing against France at Nottingham Tennis Centre. He was a year younger than his squad teammates.
At the event, he was awarded ‘player of the day’ and ‘shot of the day’ awards.
Darius, a £2m signing for the Blades for whom he played 68 times, was a robust, dedicated footballer, and according to his fiancé Laura, Hunter possesses some of the same hallmarks.
"Hunter is certainly very competitive and physically advanced at this stage, largely down to the effort he puts in", she says.
"He is a fun, happy and thriving child, he’s extremely competitive and eats, sleeps and breathes tennis.
"He is currently ranked second in the UK for the 10u ranking age, with mainly 10-year-olds.
"He loves all sports, he loves tennis and all racket sports, football, basketball, swimming, etc."
The youngster, who has three older brothers and a kid sister, lives in Bawtry.
He started playing tennis at Doncaster Lawn Tennis Club at the age of three.
For a while, he attended a school in Finningley but it was decided to home-school him, allowing Hunter the ability to pursue his passion for tennis alongside his schoolwork.
Hunter has a grade one National tour on clay at the end of this month, followed by several National tour events, as well as the Lexus National championships at Nottingham.
His progress will have been boosted by his performances for GB.
He received the 'Shot of the Day' award for his sliding skills to reach the ball - he then played a backspin drop shot winner.
Laura said Hunter had been training at Graves Tennis Centre, under the NexGen Performance Academy, for three years.
"It has a track record for creating players, many of whom have also represented Great Britain and are highly ranked and performing at a high level.
"The academy offers a fantastic programme for aspiring tennis players from the age of four."
NexGen are currently looking for players aged 4-6 for the 'sprinting sponge programme', which is where Hunter started. His coach, Sam Salt is the founder of NexGen and was the 2024 LTA Performance Coach of the year.
*As a striker, Darius was a junior for Doncaster Rovers before playing for the likes of Reading, Gillingham, Watford, Millwall Nottingham Forest. He also played on loan for Brighton & Hove Albion and Swindon Town.
Now 43, he is a FIFA licenced agent.