Alice Keddie

Read on to find out more on Alice and her Tennis career:

Q How did you first become involved in your sport? My brother, Calum who is 3 ½ years older than me started playing at our local tennis club (Kinnoull, Perth). When I was about eight I started going along on a Saturday morning and joined in the group sessions.

Q How old were you when you started and what is your first memory of your sport? I started playing tennis when I was about eight years old at the local tennis club. After about 6 months I started to do local tournaments which I loved and had quite a lot of success at. My mum and Dad could see I had some potential and that I loved to compete (and win!) so they took me to the nearest performance coach, Mark Walker who was based at David Lloyds in Dundee.

Q What are your best results so far (please list any records held)? I am currently ranked within the top 60 in Europe Under 14’s and I have had a few good performances over the past few months to achieve finalist tennis Europe event in Wrexham and semi finalist tennis Europe event in Czech Republic. I am still 12 so I will be working on improving this ranking!

Q What has been the highlight of your career? Winning the Under 12’s Grade 1 National British Clay Court Championships in both singles and doubles last year was very special.

Q Do you have time for other sports or hobbies? At school I play hockey, badminton, squash and take part in athletics. When available I will play for my school but I also like to play these sports for fun and as a way of socialising with my friends.

Q What support do you get in training (national governing body programme, family, coach, sponsorship etc)? I am still coached by Mark but my training is based at the National tennis centre at Stirling and Craiglockhart tennis centre, Edinburgh. My physical programme is supported by the Tayside and Fife Institute of Sport where I train at Stirling and I am supported educationally by St.Georges school in Edinburgh.

Q Which athlete, past or present, do you admire? And why? I like Jankovic because like me she loves competing but more recently I have started to like Safina because she has been working really hard with her new coach to make improvements to her game.

Q Could you make a career out of your sport or can you combine it with another profession? Yes! It is great travelling to all the different places and competing against different styles of players. It would also be challenging to play on all 3 surfaces. Plus the prize money would come in handy!