The thwock thwock of tennis ball on racket echoes around Rouken Glen. They come from a practice session under a watery sun in the south of Glasgow. They are the shots, though, that have been heard around the world.
Aidan Moody, at 21, has played in two Australian Opens, has served and volleyed at Wimbledon, represented Team GB and is heading to a world finals in Kazakhstan next week.
His coach, Gary Smith, once helped Andy Murray on his rise to the very top and also played at elite level, representing his country.
They are bound together by a tennis story that is profoundly inspiring. Both have faced challenges, indeed still do. Both have found tennis to be a healing balm.
Moody was diagnosed with autism at four. He found tennis at his primary school. It has led him towards a new, fulfilling life. He competes in the learning disability category. This is part of the Australian Open schedule. ‘We play on the courts of the Open during the tournament. In front of the crowds, in front of the cameras,’ he says after practice ends for the day.
Now in the top ten in the world, he has qualified for the Australian Open twice. He was put out in the quarter-finals last year and in the semis this year. He finished runner-up in the doubles on both occasions.
Aidan Moody has played in two Australian Opens in their learning disability category
Moody has been playing the sport since primary school and is in the top ten for his category
Meeting tennis icon Andy Murray at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton was a highlight
‘The Australian Open is the only major that has a learning disability category at the moment,’ says Smith. ‘But I believe the other majors will follow.’
Moody has, though, played twice in competitions at Wimbledon but not under the banner or at the same time as the prestigious tournament.
He is now preparing for the LD Virtus world tennis championships in Kazakhstan from May 3-11. He will travel with other members of Team GB.
It has already been a spectacular journey. ‘This is my third time representing Team GB,’ says Moody. ‘It is an honour to represent your country and I am very proud to pull on the jersey with the flag.’
He enjoys travelling to and playing in tournaments in Britain and abroad. ‘It’s always a good atmosphere with different players from around the world.’
It has led to a meeting with Andy Murray, his hero. ‘He was coming off court after a session at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton and he looked tired. But he gave me a chance to take a photograph and wished me good luck. He’s my idol and I look up to him. To be in the NTC is great, but to meet Andy…’
Moody and his father, Stephen, a mortgage adviser, have already banked special memories. This year at the Australian Open they met and chatted to Jim Courier, who is now a commentator but is also a grand slam winner. Ben Shelton, the American player, also stopped for a chat in the tunnels that link courts in Melbourne.
Young Moody has been enthused by all this but he has a focus. ‘My ambition is probably building up my world ranking,’ he says. ‘I am in the top 10 and I want to go further — top five, top three. See where it goes.’
Moody will represent Team GB at the LD Virtus world tennis championships in Kazakhstan
Moody is coached by Gary Smith, brother of Team GB’s former Davis Cup captain Leon Smith
He has been coached by Smith for six years. Moody was introduced to tennis when Giffnock tennis club did an outreach programme at Our Lady of the Missions primary school in Thornliebank.
‘I was just nine then but I enjoyed it so much,’ says Aidan. ‘I fell in love with the sport and joined Giffnock.’
He benefited from coaching there and also attended a dedicated session every week with Glasgow Disability Tennis.
His link with Smith began after his previous coach moved away from Giffnock. The Smith brothers have serious form in coaching. Leon captained Team GB to a Davis Cup victory and also coached Murray as a teenager with Gary helping out. Leon is head of men’s tennis at the LTA. Toby is now national manager for players aged 16 and under at Tennis Scotland.
Gary has been with the best. He regularly hit with Murray and has coached 11 players who have played in majors at junior and elite level. However, he has also had to deal with a brain injury inflicted in a mugging 20 years ago.
Now 44, he has to manage his time and efforts. ‘The mugging changed how much I could play,’ he says. ‘I initially came back from that but for periods I could not go on. I didn’t have PTSD because I had no memory of my incident. I know it could have cost me my life but I moved on mentally very quickly.
‘Physically it took me a good while to get up and about. But then I won a few tournaments here and there.’
However, he adds: ‘The damage to the brain grew into something over the years and it became problematic. Doing continuous session after session without a break was taking its toll. I was getting more tired. I had to take periods of time off coaching. That was difficult.’
Gary Smith was a player of great promise but a mugging incident 20 years ago changed his life
The collaboration with Moody, though, has been invigorating. ‘It is a new challenge,’ says Smith. ‘He was entrusted to me when his previous coach moved from Giffnock. I was more than happy to take him on. We got on well very straight away. It’s all about creating relationships with players.
‘We were just working away before any notion of grand slams came on the horizon. I didn’t want to know the details of his disability. For me, he was just another player and every player has things he or she must work on. I have coached a lot of players and I find it easier with him, to be honest.
‘He is constantly improving. There is a boom in LD sport and he is ready to profit for that. He has achieved success early on. In my experience, he is also a better person as well as a better tennis player.’
Smith points out that the other grand slam tournaments at Wimbledon, Flushing Meadows and Roland Garros are like to follow Australia’s lead in including LD tennis.
‘This is going to grow and Aidan at 21 is living it now. He will be one of the pioneers of this sport,’ he says.
Stephen Moody watches the practice from the sidelines. He has travelled the world with his son.
‘When we go to Australia, I take it as part of my annual leave and obviously we have to fund it,’ he says. He has been repaid in experience. ‘It is wonderful to walk about the Australian Open with the credentials lanyard on and bumping into the greats. Andy Murray was wonderful with Aidan too at the NTC.’
Smith and Moody have formed a strong bond and hope to benefit from a boom in LD tennis
The greatest reward, of course, is to witness his son finding satisfaction and even joy. ‘Tennis has been simply brilliant for him,’ he says. ‘He had great pals at primary school but at high school he was pretty much isolated and not through anybody’s fault. Tennis has helped him cope with all of that and he now has a good group of friends locally as well as the many friends he has met through tennis. He loves travelling with Team GB. He is the youngest but it’s a welcoming environment.’
Aidan’s mother, Amanda, a teacher, says: ‘Tennis has had a huge impact on him. He was extremely quiet at school. He didn’t have a lot of confidence. Tennis has been a bit of a lifeline for him. It has given him a platform to succeed. He has found something he is good at, he has found something he has a passion for. That really helped his confidence and self-esteem.’
This all unfolds in front of one’s eyes at Rouken Glen. Moody plays with focus, determination and undiluted passion. His demeanour when he leaves court is quiet but there is that hint of satisfaction that glows after a productive session.
Most wonderfully, though, there is the sense of a young man taking on the world despite his problems. It is humbling to realise that having learning difficulties does not mean one can’t teach the rest of us a lesson.
