A MALVERN woman will get a close-up view of some of the world’s elite tennis players when she leads out the sports’ superstars at Wimbledon.

Jane Poynder, a member of Manor Park Tennis Club, will be working at the famous venue as a master of ceremonies from Monday.

The role will see her accompanying the likes of Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Venus Williams to the prestigious venues’ various courts over the next fortnight.

Poynder was first invited to do the role in 1995 after becoming a number of the All-England Club, and she is the first woman to be a master of ceremonies at SW19.

She also followed in her mother Jean’s footsteps by competing at Wimbledon — at both junior and senior level.

She will be sharing the escourting duties with colleague Dan Bloxham, head coach at the All-England Club.

The pair had an early taste of Centre Court this year when they escorted Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi and Tim Henman onto the new-look arena, complete with a roof, last month.

The Devon native now works as head coach at Manor Park Club in Albert Road. Poynder, who played county tennis for Worcestershire for 25 years, said: “My two weeks at the championships seem a far cry from my more normal life as head tennis coach at Manor Park Club and as coach education tutor for the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).

“During the championships our job is really to ensure that the players reach either the Centre Court or Court One at precisely the correct time.

“Sometimes this can be quite a challenge.

“Every year there is something new that happens at Wimbledon and undoubedly this year will be no exception.

“No longer will there be rain delays on the Centre Court but this in itself could well pose challenges for the referee if it is raining everywhere else.”