Wimbledon: Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski on ‘living under the radar’ as doubles players

Inevitably there is heightened attention on all British players during the Wimbledon fortnight, including those who don’t usually receive as much scrutiny as Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray.

Staying out of the spotlight suits Joe Salisbury, the world’s number one men’s doubles player, perfectly fine.

“I feel I’m under the radar and I like it,” Salisbury, the top seed at Wimbledon with American Rajeev Ram, told BBC Sport.

Salisbury was born down the road from the All England Club in Putney, growing up in south-west London and now living even closer to the famous courts which house the Championships.

But the 30-year-old is happy to still be able to wander around Wimbledon Village fairly freely, without the fear of being snapped doing his daily business.

That’s unlike Rafael Nadal, who was photographed struggling to work the self-service checkouts in the local Tesco during the 2017 tournament.

“It must feel very strange for the top singles guys and the top British guys around this period,” says Salisbury, who was flat-sharing with his sister in Peckham before finally moving into his own pad thanks to career earnings which are now almost £2.3m.

“You must feel like all eyes are on you, even if you’re walking around doing something normal. Everyone is following you and watching what you’re doing.

“I quite like I don’t get as much attention and don’t have to worry about it too much.”

Another top British player able to quietly get on with his life is 32-year-old Neal Skupski, despite being one half of the ATP Tour’s best-performing pair in 2022.

With his Dutch playing partner Wesley Koolhof, Skupski has won a tour-high five titles this season and the pair are seeded third in the Wimbledon men’s doubles, which start on Wednesday.

“Wimbledon is different to the other Slams, because there are a few more distractions,” Skupski, who is a Davis Cup team-mate of Salisbury, told BBC Sport.

“More people looking for tickets for Wimbledon and more media interviews than the other Grand Slams.

“But it is not too crazy and we can get on with our business like we always do.

“You can only take positives from a home Grand Slam, take on the energy which the fans give you and try to take the opportunities as they come.

“The fans will get behind us and I think Wes will be an adopted Brit for two weeks.”