PERSHORE High School year nine pupil Sam Rayner spent October half-term training at the Vilas Tennis Academy in Mallorca.
Sam trained under head coach Sergio Sabadello, the current coach of the Russian Davis Cup team, and his team of coaches.
Sam’s training camp lasted 11 days, during which he played 38 hours of tennis and did 9.5 hours of physical training. He had the chance to train with nationally ranked players from Denmark, India, Russia, Italy and Sweden, as well as local academy players.
Towards the end of the week, Sam took part in his first Tennis Europe event, entering a 48-strong qualifying draw. He played against a Slovenian U14 national player and competed well despite losing 6-1 6-0.
A Pershore High spokesman said: “The trip was a huge success as Sam did himself, Pershore Tennis Centre and his school proud with his tennis and his conduct on and off court.
“He worked extremely hard and forged some new tennis friendships with fellow players from around the world.
“He even had the opportunity to meet and train with Guillermo Vilas (former French, US and Australian Open champion in the late 70s) himself, which was a great memory to take away.
“Sam dreams of becoming a tennis professional. He trains as part of the Pershore Futures performance programme at Pershore Tennis Centre, training for 14 hours a week as well as competing regularly at weekends at county and regional level.”
