Last week Olivia Brown from Heapey reached the semi-finals of an 18 and under tournament in Worthing which will surely help her bid to break into senior ranks.

The Bolton High School pupil is currently ranked eighth nationally in the 16 and under rankings but she is bidding to break into the top 20 from 22nd spot in the 18 and under category.

Dad Peter said: "She has been working hard during the summer on her tennis and was still doing it around the time of her exams.

"This event was preparation for the national finals, which start on August 18 in Birmingham and she wants to do well in that 18 and under event so she can move up."

If the young star manages to break into the top 20 at 18 and under level she will qualify for two categories of funding from the Lawn Tennis Association.

Olivia is hopeful of getting the grades to return to do A-levels at Bolton High School and dad Peter admits she wants to keep progressing in the sport.

He said: "She wants to do her A-levels so can do a degree in fine art and I think she will have some more time to work on her training.

"The next stage and goal she has is to break into the top 10 of the British rankings of 18 and under and to get into the top 50 of open age players. It will be difficult as she will be competing against top professionals.

"She has also said she wants to join the Woman Tennis Association (WTA) tournaments but we are keen to take it one step at a time."

Olivia has competed in a few tournaments during the summer and one of the highlights was winning an 18 and under competition in Huddersfield.