SportsAid

Posted on 13 Feb 2008

Five young aspiring female tennis players aged between nine and sixteen travelled to Paris to experience a world-class tennis event first-hand. Gaz de France, in partnership with SportsAid and the LTA, organised a two day “red-carpet” trip to give these highly-rated individuals a chance to watch the likes of Amélie Mauresmo and Daniela Hantuchova at the Gaz de France Open. The girls were also given a full tour of Paris by boat.

Besides the financial support, Gaz de France, through their well-established expertise of tennis, are keen to help these athletes reach the very top of the game.

The feedback has been extremely positive all around. Alex Herd’s dad said: “Alexandra really enjoyed herself over the whole of the two days. To be able to see the professional players up so close and to watch them play was a real treat for both of us. We both enjoyed every minute of the trip and are very grateful for everything. I truly believe that this has given Alex a real boost and she will kick on from this and hopefully do good things this year. As for the financial help, I cannot tell you how much it will help towards her training and it will be put to very good use. On behalf of Alex, myself and my wife we would like to thank everybody for an excellent trip which we will be forever grateful for”.

Meet the team:

Alex Herd: Alex picked up her first racket at the age of three. She is now ten and trains in Manchester 4 days a week twice a day with her coach and fitness advisor, excluding tournaments at weekends. She has impressed the selectors with her abilities and determination. She is a left hander but plays tennis right-handed. Her favourite shot is the forehand.

Mirabelle Njoze: At 10, Mirabelle has already made a name for herself in the tennis world. In fact, she has already triumphed in National as well as European U10 and U12 tournaments. Her physicality and her powerful ground strokes make her a very exciting prospect for the future.

Jazzmin Plews: Jazmin is coached by her dad at the National Tennis Centre in South London. The youngest representative of the group is already an extremely determined and driven individual. Her ambition for this year is to qualify for the Ariel Grand Prix masters and ultimately, become World No1.

Maia Lumsden: Maia is currently ranked Scottish No1 and British No2 in the U10 age group. She is based in Scotland but her tennis career has already taken her to France and Croatia where she reached the semi Finals of the OUATT Kids Cup events.

Laura Slater: Laura, 16 from Surrey now trains full-time at Bisham Abbey. She has represented Great Britain at junior level on many occasions. She is currently away in South America playing ranking tournaments. Her ambition this year is to break into the top 100 Junior ITF world rankings and qualify for Wimbledon. “