SWINDON junior tennis player Niamh Townsend travelled to London recently to take part in the Lawn Tennis Association’s national Talent ID Finals at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton.

The 11-year-old was amongst 60 youngsters from across the country invited to the session, after successfully progressing through county and regional Talent ID days to make the final week.

Niamh, who trains at Wiltshire Tennis Academy, showed off her skills in front of the LTA Talent ID team, who are aiming to spot future performance players who, even at an early age, display the attributes that could enable them to make a real impact on the game.

The St Leonard’s Primary School Pupil said: “The day has been great, I’ve really enjoyed it. We learnt some new skills which I’m hoping I can go away and practice at my club. Playing matches at the end of the day against all the good players was good, too.”

The day was overseen by LTA head of talent management, Andrew Lewandowski, who was impressed by what he saw.

“Niamh has performed really well and shown lots of ability across a number of different tasks designed to test athletic ability, coordination, speed and agility, as well as a real natural talent and love for the sport,” he said.

“It was fantastic to see so many enthusiastic and talented players give it their all. The LTA is committed to developing and supporting talent, and we now have the systems in place to give players like Niamh the best possible chance of reaching their potential so I look forward to seeing her progress.”