TWO Rainford Tennis Club players will be competing on the grass courts of Wimbledon next month after reaching the finals of a national competition.

Lenine Ireme, 14, and 11-year-old Maisie Lavelle earned their place at the prestigious venue after winning the Lancashire County Finals of the HSBC Road to Wimbledon The 14s and under event is held in heats across the country culminating in the national finals, held at the All England Club, Wimbledon on 11-16 August.

Maisie has played tennis at the club for the past six years, with Lenine joining Rainford at the start of the year.

They both won through a local qualifying tournament in Wigan before they reached the County Finals, which were held at South Ribble Tennis & Fitness Centre, near Preston.

Their reward is now the opportunity to compete in a week-long competition on the famous grass courts of SW19.

There they will play in round robin qualifying groups with the top two from each going through to main draw and the bottom two from each group going into a consolation draw. There will then be doubles.

Both players are looking forward to the opportunity of playing at this prestigious event for at least four days.

Coach Dave Hillier said: "We would like to congratulate both Lenine and Maisie on their achievements.

"This once in a lifetime experience is a reward for all their hard work, not just in this competition but in all the years they have been playing tennis.

“It is a huge achievement for Rainford Tennis Club. To my knowledge, it is the first time any players from Rainford will be competing at the All England Club."

If you or your child would like to start to learn to play tennis then Rainford Tennis Club run weekly sessions for adults and juniors of all standards.

They are also running Junior Tennis Camps between 28 July-1 August and 4-8 August from 9am-2pm. For information, please visit www.RainfordTennis.com