Tim Henman is a British tennis icon (Image: Getty)
Tim Henman was the standout British tennis star of the late-1990s and early-2000s. He flew the flag for the nation as its No. 1 player from 1999 to 2005, reaching a career-high world ranking of No. 4 between July 2002 and October 2004.
Despite his achievements, ’s later success added to the perception of as a perennial nearly-man, having reached ’s semi-final four times and never reached a Grand Slam final, let alone won one.
Still, the 50-year-old is one of the most recognised names in English tennis, synonymous with SW19 thanks to his commentary on the and the .
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Ultra-private home
In 2004, Tim and his wife of 25 years, Lucy Heald, moved into a stunning manor house located in Aston Tirrold, a sleepy village parish close to Didcot, south Oxfordshire. The breathtaking 17th-century property is and sits on five acres of land, boasting an outdoor pool, stables, and paddocks.
It also has an outhouse which the family used as a guest lodge, perhaps when friends and family came to stay, as well as gorgeous gardens, a never-ending lawn and, unsurprisingly, a tennis court a mere few steps away from the main house.
The main house has eight bedrooms, with the interiors kept traditional with large Persian rugs and patterned wallpapers. There were also several reception rooms and a drawing room for the Henmans to relax in.
However, the mansion was put on the market for £6.5million in 2022, indicating that the family were planning to move. The listing suggested the property was once again on the market last year and sold for a lower price of £4.5m. It’s not clear whether Henman has since moved out of the property, though the family also has a home in Barnes, where Henman stays while working during .
Tim Henman has three daughters with his wife Lucy (Image: Getty)
Rarely-seen children
Tim and Lucy are parents to three daughters – Rose Elizabeth, 22, Olivia Susan, 20, and Grace, 17. They initially raised their daughters in Barnes, southwest London. Henman announced after the birth of their youngest: “We had our third child, Grace, who weighed eight pounds 11 ounces on Friday, September 14 2007. We both feel blessed that we have been lucky enough to have three beautiful children and we couldn’t be happier.”
The trio have been out of the public limelight since their days accompanying Henman at his tennis matches, though they are known to be animal lovers. “We’ve got horses, dogs and cats, so you could call it a zoo,” Henman once revealed.
Tim has also been vocal about encouraging his daughters to lead a healthy lifestyle. He once said: “They’re all very active. They play a little bit of tennis but also lots of other sports – hockey, netball and gymnastics. I think it’s very easy for kids to spend too much time on their computers and PlayStations but we definitely encourage our girls to get out, play sports and lead a really active lifestyle.”
Raducanu relationship
Tim Henman is a huge supporter of Emma Raducanu (Image: Emma Raducanu @YouTube)
Since ’s sensational rise in 2021, when she won the US Open as an 18-year-old qualifier, Henman has provided constant support for the British tennis star. In fact, he acted as her behind-the-scenes mentor at the tournament, recalling her “impressive intensity” in training and later saying: “The way she was playing, the way she was behaving, the way she was performing, you were wondering ‘is this destiny?’”
Raducanu herself labelled Henman an inspiration and highlighted his importance in helping her treat matches “one point at a time”. He was gushing in his praise of the youngster at Flushing Meadows, saying: “She won 10 matches without dropping a set. It’s an absolute joke… it’s unbelievable. She is going to win more of these, she is that good. This is not some flash-in-the-pan fairytale.”
Raducanu has unfortunately been plagued by injuries since that fairytale in New York, which has stalled her career. Yet Henman continues to sing the 22-year-old’s praises, insisting she was moving in the right direction even after her defeat to Sofia Kenin in the first round of the US Open last year, which left her in tears.
He said confidently: “It’s certainly not the last we’ll see of Raducanu. Fingers-crossed she’s going to have many more opportunities here at the US Open in the future. It’s all a rebuilding process as she comes back from the surgeries. When she has played, she has played very well.”
Henman was Raducanu’s mentor ahead of her US Open win (Image: Getty)
Henman also praised her for skipping qualifiers in 2024, while the youngster was still getting back into the swing of tennis, and came to her defence once more, stating: “There’s almost an obsession over her schedule or coach. She’s 21 and she’s got a lot of opportunities ahead of her. She just needs to focus on the process.”
Henman set the world No. 61 a target for 2025 at the end of last year, believing she has what it takes to break back into the world’s top-30 this season if she improves her conditioning. “I think the challenge for Raducanu is around physical resilience,” he told the Sky Sports Tennis podcast.
“Raducanu has had a decent year, going from sort of 300 into the top 60 but, when you look at the amount of tennis she’s played, she hasn’t played a great deal,” he continued. “If she builds up that resilience, every time she steps on the court, she was playing good tennis. Therefore, top 50, top 30 in 2025, I think is completely realistic.”