When Ryan Peniston was one, he faced an immense challenge for which no family wishes.
The Briton was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer found in children, forcing him to have surgery to remove a tumour before undergoing an extensive period of chemotherapy in London. Now the 27-year-old Peniston, who has been cancer-free since his toddler years, wants to impact families who are walking that same difficult path.
Since last summer, Peniston has been an ambassador for the charity organisation Young Lives vs. Cancer.
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“They help kids and their families that are going through cancer and all the troubles that it brings, the costs, the hardships,” Peniston said. “They do some great work and I’m just happy to be a part of it and to try and spread awareness and help in any way.
“It’s hugely important to me, mainly because of my history, I had cancer myself as a young child. So I definitely relate to what the families are going through and what the kids are going through. I want to try and inspire the kids if I can and just help show them that it’s possible to get better and still live out your dreams.”
On a much smaller scale than battling cancer, Peniston recently enjoyed a significant milestone on court. The Essex native captured his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title last week at the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger presented by MBuilds, where he defeated #NextGenATP Swiss Leandro Riedi in the championship match.
Despite falling short in his previous three Challenger finals, Peniston stayed focussed in a deciding set against Riedi to lift the trophy.
“It’s an amazing feeling. It’s something I’ve worked towards for a while now,” Peniston said. “And to come away with the title feels great.
“It came into my head that I’ve made three finals before and I obviously didn’t want to lose another final. And then you think about, ‘What if I never win one?’ But I managed to keep thinking positive, keep talking positive to myself, and I managed to get over the line in the end.”
At World No. 208 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, the former University of Memphis standout will next look to maintain his form at the Cassis Challenger, which runs from 4-10 September.