More Success for Robert

11 year old Exeter schoolboy Robert Leck, currently ranked number 1 in the UK in the 12-and-under category, triumphed in the AEGON Winter Grand Prix Masters event in Roehampton, London over the 5th – 7th February.

The invitation-only tournament is the pinnacle of the British winter tennis season and showcases the talent of some of the best young players in the country. Robert picked up the coverted AEGON Winter Masters Trophy in the 12-and-under category after prevailing against some determined opposition.

Robert’s latest victory comes off the back of a hard fought third place finish in another national ranking tournament in Manchester over 23rd and 24th January. Here Robert lost in a close match at the semi-final stage to the eventual tournament winner.

Robert has now been selected to be part of the Great Britain squad to play in the Open Super 12 tournament in Auray, France later this month and has also been selected to attend at a clay court International Training Camp and compete in the Nike Junior Tour Event at the Barcelona Total Tennis Academy from 24th March – Sunday 4th April alongside Britain’s other top juniors.

Robert, who first picked up a racket at the age of three, trains at the University of Exeter Sports Park where he receives dedicated coaching from Will McNally, the University’s Director of Tennis. McNally is a top-level Performance Coach and has been coaching top young players for over fifteen years. On Robert’s recent ascent up the national rankings McNally commented “I have been delighted with Robert’s progress of late. He is a dedicated and exceptionally hard-working athlete and fully deserves to be ranked number 1 nationally in the 12-and-under category. Junior tennis in Britain is extremely competitive and the challenge for us now is to continue Robert’s development and hold on to that number 1 ranking.”

The youngster has already represented Great Britain at junior international level, remaining unbeaten in a match against Belgium in December. Robert played fantastically throughout and won all of his matches in both the singles and doubles disciplines on his international debut.

A demanding training schedule sees Robert on court for at least 11 hours each week, with additional fitness sessions on top of this. While this may seem like a huge commitment for someone so young, McNally remains aware of the pressures on the young man, “Of course it’s important to remember that Robert is still very young. Many promising sportspeople burn out at an early age due to the commitment required to be the best. However, Robert loves playing the game and we will do our best to ensure that continues.”

Robert’s school, St. Peter’s School in Exeter, are very supportive of his sporting commitments and are understandably proud of their student’s achievements to date. The Exeter youngster dreams of playing at Wimbledon and his progress to date, thanks in part to quality coaching from McNally, suggests that the youngster is definitely heading in the right direction.