RISING star Maisie Seedel has the desire to compete whenever she is on the court and could have a future career in professional tennis, writes Rob Stevens.

Seedel, 10, has won both the Under 10s singles and doubles titles (with Taylor Cooper) in the Buckinghamshire county closed competition. She also won at Under 9s level last year.

She has won in 14 of the 18 finals she has competed in this year. Her school, Farnham Common Juniors, are county champions and so is her old tennis club, Gerrards Cross.

Seedel has recently moved to train full-time with the Delgado and Lee tennis academy with her new coach, Tom Smith. The club is based in Bisham Abbey near Marlow and Great Britain stars Johanna Konta and Dan Evans both train their as well as rising star Emily Appleton.

Seedel trains 10 hours a week after school and is hoping to train full-time with Delgado and Lee next September when she starts high school. She is fiercely competitive and committed to her sport and has dreams of Wimbledon and the US Open.

Her parents Jodie and Matthew (a former football at Windsor & Eton) Seedel commented: "We're extremely proud of Maisie's determination and commitment to her sport. She shows a true passion and fire on the court that you simply can't teach.

"We will support her to fulfil her dreams as best we can. We are aware of the long and hard road ahead, for anyone in the sport, but we're behind her 100 per-cent. She's a little fighter for sure."

Johnny Delgado is a Living Tennis Director at the Delgado & Lee Pro Tennis Academy. He said: "One of the many things we look for when looking at young players is, do they display the passion and fighting spirit needed to give their all every time during training and competition.

"Maisie has that desire to fight and compete whenever she’s on court. When she’s in a competitive situation, be that in practice or at a tournament, that’s when she really comes alive.

"The challenge now is to channel that and give her the technical, tactical and physical foundations to allow her the best chance to take her closer to her ultimate ambitions.

"She has the goal to reach the highest level she can. It’s now about utilising those attributes so that she can reach her potential when it matters, hopefully in a professional career further down the line."