A pair of promising teenage Buckinghamshire tennis players may be down and out of junior Wimbledon, but they are adamant this is just the start for them.

Jack Molloy, of Gerrards Cross, and Princes Risborough’s Barnaby Smith played boys’ doubles together at the All England Club, but suffered a 6-3 6-4 loss to the American-Colombian pairing of Sebastian Korda and Nicolas Mejia, in the first round.

Smith was also in singles action, winning one round before losing earlier on Wednesday 7-6 6-2 loss to tenth seed Oliver Crawford in the second.

And despite this being the 18-year-old’s first and last junior Wimbledon, he does not see it as a disappointment.

“I’ve really enjoyed my experience. I was quite nervous in my matches, but I feel it’s been a great experience,” he said.

“I’ve enjoyed it more and more as the week’s gone on, and it’s definitely been a positive experience, whereas for some people it can be a negative experience with the nerves, so that’s good for me.

“I think I probably played better in my second round singles match and didn’t win, but it was still positive.”

The pair, who grew up together, playing for Buckinghamshire and attending Reed’s School, will soon be representing Great Britain in the Summer Cup - a junior Davis Cup-style competition.

They would have hoped to have gone into the competition with a confidence boosting performance from Wimbledon, but Molloy was philosophical after the loss.

“It was a tough loss, it was a tough draw, they won last week at a Grade 1 and they’ve had a lot of success together,” said the 17-year-old.

“We didn’t play too bad a match but they just played well when it mattered, so it was a tough one.

“I played doubles last year. I felt a little bit more comfortable this year but I couldn’t really draw on any experience from last year as three games in I hurt my knee and played injured for the rest of the match.

“This year I guess I was a little more relaxed. I was looking forward to getting out on court so I enjoyed my experience out there.”

Once their summer tennis commitments are over the British pair will also be moving to America on tennis scholarships.

But their relationship does not stretch as far as heading to the same institutions, with Smith heading to Texas A&M University, while Molloy will attend the University of California, Berkeley.

“There have been a lot of people who have had positive experiences and I think I’ve always thought I would do it because turning pro straight away is really tough,” added Molloy.

“If you’re doing really well in college after two years then you can always try and go pro and come back at another time, but it’s always an option where you feel like it’s the right move - it was always on the cards for me.”