Ilford junior tennis player Rittak Anand was put through his paces on Tuesday after taking part in the Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) national Talent ID Finals at the National Tennis Centre, Roehampton.

The nine-year-old was one of 100 youngsters from across the south invited to the session at the National Tennis Centre after successfully progressing through county and regional Talent ID days to make it into the final week.

Rittak showed off his skills in front of the LTA Talent ID team who were aiming to spot future performance players, who even at such an early age were displaying the right attributes that could enable them to make a real impact on the game.

The Gearies Junior School pupil, who trains at Redbridge Sports and Leisure Centre, said: “Talent ID day was brilliant and I definitely want to keep playing tennis and improving my game.

“I was really looking forward to coming here and I enjoyed all the drills and exercises we were given to do. Playing against all the other boys was fun as well.”

The day was overseen by LTA Head of Talent Management, Andrew Lewandowski, who was impressed by what he saw:

“Rittak has performed really well and shown lots of ability across a number of different tasks testing qualities including athletic ability, coordination, speed and agility and a real natural talent and love for the sport.

“With the level of LTA support available for junior players and the Talent ID network that simply didn’t exist five years ago, there has never been a better time for the LTA to identify and help develop talented players.”