Eight-year-old Liam O’Brien may have only taken up tennis at Strathgryffe Tennis and Squash Club two-and-a-half years ago, but the youngster has already taken the circuit by storm.

Hailing from Houston, Liam attends eight hours of coaching each week at his local club which has aided his rise to the very top.

Despite still being eligible for the under-eight category, Liam is currently number one in Scotland in the nine and under rankings even though he is playing against older opponents on a regular basis.

Only last week he won the Scottish regional qualifier which gives him direct entry to the UK National tennis tournament in Sunderland this Sunday. Last week’s boy’s Scottish Regional Qualifier was run alongside the gent’s final for the Aegon GB Pro Series Glasgow tournament, and Liam was delighted to be a part of the award ceremony as he received his medal alongside gents finalists Niels Desein and Ruben Bemelmans.

Last week’s success is only the latest in a long line of medals for Liam.

During his short period in the sport he has managed to win the Strathgryffe Club Championships three times, won his first grade three regional tournament at Waverley, Edinburgh last year and also bagged victory in the Scottish regional qualifier of the Powder Byrne UK national tennis tour last campaign.

Liam’s mum, Joanne, said: “He has a very determined, competitive nature, but also plays with a sporting attitude and always shows his opponents respect.

“His family are extremely proud of him and love watching him play.” Liam looks-up to fellow leftie Rafael Nadal and hopes to emulate the Spaniard’s dominance of the clay courts as his career progresses, and with the amount of training he is currently putting in, it shouldn’t be too long before he is challenging the big hitters on the adult circuit, give or take a few years!