Tennis ace Ellison is courting fame

This grade-one event is the most important event in the nine-and-under calendar and players had to qualify by earning points from their top three performances on the national tour.

Results from all the grade-two national tour events held over the summer were put into a leaderboard and the top 16 boys earned the right to play at West Hants.

The tournament was held on clay and comprised round-robin groups of four players with the top two in each group going forward into the main draw of eight.

Despite losing a very close first match, nine-year-old Ellison (above) – a member of Chichester Racquets & Fitness Club – kept focused and won his next two matches to make it to the quarter-finals.

Another close victory assisted his passage into the semis where his run came to an end when he lost to a Suffolk player. Ellison played some of his best tennis to win the third-fourth play-off.

This is his last season in the nine-and-under age group, or orange ball tennis, where the game is played on a smaller-than-standard court with a lower bouncing ball.

He now moves into the ten-and-under category and has already had some success at this level. He was third at the prestigious Devonshire Park grade-three event on the grass courts at Eastbourne, then won the Milford 74th open junior tournament in the New Forest.

Ellison has been with Chichester Racquets & Fitness Club since he was a toddler.