Amelia-Rose Symm, from Benfieldside, travels the length and breadth of the country training and competing, and recently won the British National Grass Court Championships.
The 10-year-old is now third in the country in her age category, and ahead of today’s (July 12) final between Amanda Anisimova and Iga Swiatek, has said her ultimate goal is winning on the grass of SW19.
“My dream in tennis is to definitely win a grand slam,” she told the Echo.
“The grand slam that I really want to win is Wimbledon because it is my home slam”.
As part of her training Amelia travels to Leeds once a week, while also training at her Shotley and Benfieldside tennis club and in Sunderland.
She triumphed at the under-11 Grade 1 National Grass Court Championships held in Essex at the Frinton-on-Sea Lawn Tennis Club at the end of May. The tournament is described by some in the game as Wimbledon for children, with past champions including some of the sport’s biggest names including Andy Murray, Heather Watson and Dan Evans.
Amelia, who cites world number one Aryna Sabalenka and Italian Jasmine Paolini as her idols, says her win is the proudest moment of her career so far.
For her dad Peter though, it is something entirely different. He said: “I’m a heart on the sleeve type of guy, she knows how I feel about her. Tennis or no tennis, this little pocket rocket never ceases to amaze me. When we think she can’t go again, and she does.
“I am just unbelievably proud of her”.
Amelia, who has two older siblings, Marc and Jessica, has been a member of her tennis club since she was four-years-old.
Peter continued : “It’s an incredible thing that she is doing, but given where we live, in Benfieldside, and the travelling we must do, she just makes me so proud.
“She gets up early morning, she gets the bus to Hexham Middle School which is about 45 minutes, and then we’ll pick her up and take her to training”.
But the travelling does not seem to phase the ten-year-old.
“I like the travelling, because it is kind of like an adventure with where we end up going,” she said.
“Sometimes though it is quite difficult with getting up really early and getting home quite late”.
Peter added: “It’s kudos to her, she is going to attend the Patrick Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in the South of France in September. That is a nice little reward for her, but equally, we’re conscious of keeping her feet on the ground.
“She is just a baby, it is a massive, long journey she is on, and the pride is there, but we are very real about the situation. We will take her as far as we possibly can. We’re just normal people, and some of the circles we’re mixing in, you’re like ‘oh my goodness’”.
The trip is something the tennis star is looking forward to, especially as she gets to stay on site within the resort as a guest of Dunlop.
Peter joked: “Her mam and dad will be left to fend for ourselves. We’ll probably end up sleeping on the streets.”