STUDENT Emma Hancock will fulfil a life-long ambition this week as she mingles with some of the world’s top tennis players.

The 16-year-old, of Cheney Manor, has gone to the O2 Arena in London where she will be a ball girl at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

She will be sharing a court with the best players in the world, including Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

“It’s a dream come true and I’m looking forward to getting started,” said the St Joseph’s College pupil.

“It’s the biggest thing I’ve done in my life so far. I’m a bit nervous because I’ve never done anything in front of such a big crowd.

“We came down last week to have a look at the O2 because I’ve not been before and didn’t realise just how big it was.

“It’s a bit of a shame Andy Murray won’t be there because he is injured but Nadal, Federer and Djokovic are my favourite players.”

Emma, along with youngsters from all over the country, headed to the capital at the weekend for training before the action began yesterday afternoon.

They have been divided into seven teams and will rotate after each hour so she expects to be involved every day.

She said: “It gets very hot in the arena and you need to be concentrating at all times. You can’t leave players waiting on court when they’re playing.

“Stamina is very important along with speed. You also need good balance. It will be quite tough but also good fun.

“My parents are coming down for two of the days so they will get to see me in action.”

Emma won her place after getting through several qualifying rounds earlier this year against thousands of other hopefuls.

She had tried on a number of previous occasions to make it to the tournament but had just fallen short each time so, this week is the culmination of several years’ hard work.

“I’m really happy and proud to have finally made it because this is the last time I could have done it,” she said.

“It was quite a tough process so it was nice to get through. I’ve been looking forward to this week ever since so I’m really pleased it’s here.

“I play tennis twice a week for my club but I think this week will inspire me to play even more because I would really love to be a professional player.”