TENNIS: William backed as a future star (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

TENNIS: William backed as a future star

5:00pm Thursday 4th February 2010

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Devizes tennis ace William Bissett has set his sights on emulating British hero Andy Murray after being marked out as a star of the future by the Lawn Tennis Association.

The 12-year-old has been handed a place on the British governing body’s AEGON FutureStars programme, which supports more than 400 of the country’s best young tennis players.

Bissett, who trains at Bath University as part of Team Bath’s Tennis Academy, is the number one U14 player in Wiltshire and currently ranked 51st in country.

The youngster’s family will receive funding from the LTA to aid his development and Bissett believes that his selection for the programme is another step towards his dream of reaching the heights of world tennis.

“I’m really excited that I’ve been picked and I just want to go forward,” he said.

“I want to be in the top ten in the world but I know I’ve got to work really hard and keep training.”

Bissett lives away from his family, who live in Poulshot, at boarding school and trains for four hours a day with the Team Bath coaching staff.

“We’ve got a great relationship with Monkton Combe (where William boards and goes to school),” said Barry Scollo, Team Bath’s director of Tennis.

“What we do with the LTA is try and make sure that William is prepared for a career in tennis.

“He’s strong and if he can develop his left-handed game then he’s got a long road ahead of him which could lead to a successful junior career and maybe even a senior one.”

The FutureStars programme has been backed by former British number one Greg Rusedski and current British women’s number one Elena Baltacha.

“Being selected for this programme will really help him,” said mum Liz, whose daughter Amelia is also an accomplished county player.

“We’re receiving around £1,000 in funding which will go towards the £8,000 a year we pay for him to train with Team Bath.

“He’s got great technique and he’s been rallying with kids that are U18s, which is great to see.

“His ambition is to be like Andy Murray but there’s a long way for him to go yet.”

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