Jan Choinski is grateful for the red carpet that has been rolled out for him by British tennis

Jan Choinski is undoubtedly a hard-working professional, although it says something about the continuing problems in British tennis that the red carpet has been rolled out for him.

The German-raised son of a British ballet dancer will be among the least known of the wildcard recipients when Wimbledon starts on Monday, having switched nationality four-and-a-half years ago.

This summer has seen the first real dividend pay out for the world No 167, in the form of privileged entries to both the Cinch Championships and the big fortnight, guaranteeing him minimum earnings of nearly £70,000.

A joint citizen since birth, he is the latest in a long line to have taken advantage of his British passport.

Choinski, who faces Serbian Dusan Lajovic in the opening round, spelt out how welcoming the British game has been as he laid out his family history, including his mother’s upbringing in Southampton. 

Choinski (right) is a dual-citizen of both Germany and Great Britian and has laid out his family history ahead of the All England Championship

‘The whole family side of hers is fully British, so I had my citizenship since birth,’ he said in fluent but accented English.

‘I’ve never actually lived in the UK because my mum was a professional ballet dancer. She went to the Royal Ballet School here in London and danced at the Royal Ballet for two years before she switched to a theatre in Germany, where she ended up meeting my dad. He’s a professional dancer too, but he’s from Poland.

‘They met in Germany and ended up staying there. So I was born and raised in Germany and I was representing Germany at the start of my career.

Choinski will take on Dusan Lajovic of Serbia (pictured) in the opening round of Wimbledon

Choinski said ‘he couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunities the LTA has given him’ to play in the tournament

‘At the end of 2018 I was at IMG (their academy in Florida) where I got to meet all the British team, Leon Smith (Davis Cup captain) and all the players.

‘And we got on really well, we’ve been practising a lot, and I said, “Look, I’ve got British citizenship since birth”, and they said I’ll get as much support as they can offer and I said “OK, let’s give it a go.”

Having cut his ranking from 248 this year and being British number six, there can be few qualms he has earned his slot when benchmarked against other GB players.

‘I haven’t played that much on grass but I couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunities from the LTA and as well from this tournament being able to play in the main draw,’ he said.