A YOUNG tennis ace from Altrincham has won his first Under-18s competition at just 12-years-old.

Oliver Critchley, a pupil at The Manchester Grammar School, won three matches in the competition, including victories in the semi-final and final, both against 17-year-old boys, ranked higher than him.

His mother, Julie said: “Oliver played really well. His serve was the best I have ever seen and he was chasing down balls I thought he had no chance of getting. It was a very well deserved win.

“The referee of the tournament, who is a tennis coach, wrote to me after the competition to say: ‘Oliver was sensational yesterday, winning an Under-18’s tournament at 12-years-old. He was brilliant."

Director of sport at the Manchester Grammar School, Mark Walmsley, said: “To win an Under-18s tournament at just 12-years-old is a truly phenomenal achievement.

“We have always known how good Oliver is but to compete against, and beat, players who are five years older and more experienced than him shows what an exceptionally talented player he is, with a very bright future ahead of him.”

Oliver has been playing since he was just four-years-old. Last month, he was invited by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) to train alongside the very best young players in the North of England at the Bolton Arena, one of the LTA’s High Performance Centres which is recognised as one of the best in the country.

He ended his last under-12 season ranked as number one in Cheshire and in the top 50 in the UK and in August, he represented Lancashire in an Under 14 tournament in Wimbledon where he reached the last 16.