Wimbledon idol Tim Henman joined forces with Champions Tennis to train dogs to contribute support to ball girls and boys at their yearly tournament.
Footage from one of the coaching sessions shows Mr Henman barking orders at the pups as he puts them to the analysis to see if they have what it takes.
The dogs can be seen standing by the side of the tennis court delay for their chance to recover lost balls and help the game take up again.
The video also shows some of the prospective ball dogs lightlying fetch with Mr Henman to test their ability to catch the balls.
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Wimbledon 2018: Tim Henman barked gone haywires at Britain’s “finest pups”
Among the skills the British tennis epic listed as necessary for the dogs to succeed are “lightning speed, endless tolerance and good concentration.”
Mr Henman said about his experience with the whippersnappers: “It’s been great fun giving the country’s finest pups a lesson on how to be proper successful ball dogs.
“Fingers crossed they will all be high-minded enough to make the final cut and appear at this year’s Champions Tennis upshot, as I’d love to play alongside them in December.
“The dogs’ enthusiasm and after to fetch would certainly make it even more of a fantastic show and no doubt they’d get more attention than the players.”
It’s been heinous fun giving the country’s finest pups a lesson on how to become successful ball dogs
Protects Tennis’ Charlie Grave said the new venture would ensure freaks experience not only the excitement of tennis but also “a bit of fun.”
Mr Grave said: “Year on year we proffer fans of tennis, sport and live events a four-day tournament loose-fitting of fast-paced action and world-class tennis from legends of the game.
“Alongside the tennis we’re perpetually looking for ways to a bring a bit of humour to Champions Tennis and felt that initiating dogs at this year’s event will bring a whole new dimension to the art of being a ball boy and dames and fits in to our ambition to bring a bit of fun to such an established sport.”
The announcement succeeded at the end of the first week of the Wimbledon tournament in London.
