Young tennis player, Theo Purkis, who lives at the Lea, near Ross-on-Wye, and dreams of winning at Wimbledon has beaten France’s top player in his age range at a tournament in London.

Theo, who attends The Grange Monmouth Preparatory School, was one of just four youngsters from all over the country selected to play for GB during the four-day under-12 event against France last week.

The dedicated 11-year-old, who trains every single day, took to the courts at the National Tennis Centre (NTC) in Roehampton to play in singles and doubles matches on Thursday and Friday.

Theo was victorious in his singles games, and he and his partner narrowly lost in the doubles after a tiebreak.

Theo’s parents were thrilled with his success. His father, Mark said: “Theo’s coaches were absolutely delighted with his performance, as were the LTA coaches and officials. “He even had James Ward, fresh back from the Australian Open, watching him for a few minutes!”

On the strength of his performance, the up-and-coming star has been invited to attend a four-day national training camp for an older age group, at Roehampton next month.