Chiswick Riverside’s Sienna Calvert triumphed in Virgin Active’s ‘Search for a Tennis Ace’ competition.
The eight-year-old impressed the judges, LTA’s head of performance Simon Jones, the junior tennis coaching academy head coach David Felgate and Virgin Active’s Simon Pearson.
Calvert was put through her paces by the tough judging panel in a series of exercises that tested their agility, hand eye co-ordination, rallying and racquet skills and all round athleticism.
Calvert has secured a racquet deal with Wilson as well as a three-year membership of Virgin Active. She has also received centre court tickets for Wimbledon and a chance to meet Women’s Tennis Association 11th seed player, Karolina Pliskova.
Her mother, Lisa Calvert, said: “We are thrilled for Sienna as she was so excited at being chosen to represent Virgin Active Riverside in this event. All of her hard work with her fantastic coaches has clearly helped her develop into a promising tennis player and athlete.”
Jones was also impressed by Calvert’s ability and believes she has potential to develop.
He said: “Sienna demonstrated a really high skill level and excellent sportsmanship which was great to see.
“It was really inspiring to see so much talent in the room and I hope that the experience has inspired all the competitors to continue working hard on their tennis.”
Virgin Active’s ‘Search for a Tennis Ace’ competition was developed in partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).
The competition is in its second year and is part of an ongoing commitment from Virgin Active to select two children a year (one boy and one girl) for the next three years to develop and nurture.
The competition is part of the health club’s wider Active Aces coaching programme which is now available in all Virgin Active Health and Racquet clubs in the UK.
For further information on Active Aces and to find your nearest club, visit www.virginactive.co.uk.
