Simon Hatt is one of the world's best wheelchair tennis players and a successful businessman to boot. I caught up with Simon at the El Casco Tennis Club and later at his lovely home in Marbella to hear this remarkable young man's story.Born in London in 1964, growing up Simon was always a keen sportsman. Once in a chair, Simon was undeterred and took up basketball. It was basketball that gave him his first taste of fame and by his early twenties he was already playing at an international level. Just missing out on the 1988 Korea Paralympics, Simon decided to try his hand at tennis. Once again with sheer determination, Simon went on to become one of the UK's most treasured players competing in tournaments all over the world.

A truly proud moment for Simon was when he first competed in the Paralympics representing Great Britain in Barcelona in 1992. Simon also played for England at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 where him and his doubles partner reached the semi-finals. Simon still competes regularly and his tennis takes him all over the globe. Last winter he played in no less than three Australian grand slam tournaments and recently won a tournament in Uruguay, South America. Simon spends around twenty weeks of the year travelling to competitions.

So why did Simon decide to set up home in Marbella, especially as his tennis has taken him to some of the world's premier destinations? "I came to the Costa del Sol around ten years ago to train during the winter months and just fell in love with it. The fantastic climate enables me to train year round on outdoor courts and off court the area also offers a much better quality of life." Simon explained that he feels the Spanish people in general are much more accepting of disabled people and he never feels that his wheelchair is an issue whereas in many Northern European countries, people tend not to see past his chair and can be uncomfortable.

Being the best in your field requires hard work and determination and Simon has bags of both as well as being extremely friendly and personable. Simon's coach puts him through his paces at training sessions every day and before major tournaments often twice a day. Simon's "playing" chair is an amazing piece of machinery. Sponsored by RGK - a wheelchair manufacturer, this space age looking wheelchair has been custom built for Simon and is made from titanium. It certainly seemed to handle well as I watched Simon spin from side to side, often making rapid 360° turns, he rarely missed a shot. Simon is also sponsored by No Fear who provide clothing and Dunlop Slazenger who provide him with his rackets. He receives funding from the National Lottery Fund in the UK as well as the British National Tennis Association.

For most of us, a premier tennis career would be enough, not so for Simon Hatt. Travelling back from Australia several years ago, Simon visited Java in Indonesia and brought back with him batik throws and table cloths which he sold through a friend's shop. He had thought for some time that it would be great to combine his travelling for tennis with a business of some sort and the importation of Indonesian goods was the answer. He returned to the East and came back with more, this time expanding his range to include rattan home wares such as table mats and magazine racks. Securing a pitch at the popular Puerto Banús market, Simon's business has gone from strength to strength. So much so in fact that Simon has now opened his first shop, Casa Natura, in the poligono of Marbella selling his popular home wares and beautiful hand crafted furniture. With his own premises, selling at several markets and also wholesaling, Simon now employs a team of local people.

After first renting, Simon bought his house in Marbella four years ago. As a disabled person, finding a house which would be suitable was the main consideration - lots of stairs are out to begin with, the width of door frames and accessible parking all needed to be considered. Simon found his dream home though and very little needed altering to accommodate Simon's needs - simply a ramp to enable entry to the property and the widening of a couple of doors and this Englishman's castle was fit for a king. Since buying the house, Simon has added a swimming pool and extended the property to enlarge both bedrooms and add an en suite bathroom to the spare bedroom. The house is now worth more than four times the original purchase price!

The future for Simon? More tennis tournaments which will culminate in his participation in the next Paralympics in Athens, 2004, and the continued expansion of the Casa Natura empire. Exciting plans are afoot for a personalised service where clients will be able to view purchases over the Internet while Simon is actually in Indonesia buying thus ensuring the client gets exactly what they are looking for. There seems to be no end to Simon's talents and his courage and determination is an inspiration to us all.

Casa Natura is located in the Poligono Industrial in Marbella and Simon also
works closely with the Interealty After Sales Division.