Tennis ace Ben making net gains
POCKET dynamo Ben Walsh is aiming for the top after winning the Lawn Tennis Association’s NorthWest regional finals at eight and under level.
A gifted young academic at Greenbank Preparatory School in Cheadle Hulme, Ben, who is still less than 4ft 6ins tall, said: “I want to be the best in the world; sorry, actually, I meant the best ever.”
Ben started playing just two years ago at the David Lloyd Tennis Academy in Cheadle and was soon singled out as naturally talented and since then has been developing under the wing of national award winning coach Amanda Twigg.
She said: “He’s very hard-working, wants to improve and is one of the best young tacticians I have worked with.”
In the last two years, while playing and practising for at least 10 hours each and every week, Ben has won a succession of junior LTA and regional tournaments and is now one of the favourites for the national LTA title to be played at David Lloyd complex at Wimbledon early in December.
Father Terence Walsh, who is a solicitor based in Cheadle Hulme and a Trustee at Greenbank School, said: “Already he has had to give up other sports to be able to concentrate on tennis, but that’s fine as he absolutely loves the sport and lives and breathes tennis. If all goes to plan I think we will be trying to find the right tennis scholarships in America when the time is right.”
Greenbank Preparatory School Headmistress Janet Lowe said: “Ben is a very intelligent boy who is extremely polite, diligent and hard-working in class, but when he gets on to a tennis court he is transformed into this whirling winning machine. He’s fantastic to watch and we all hope we will be watching him for years to come.” Ben added: “Andy Murray is my favourite tennis player; all the young players think’s he’s just the best.”