Tennis pro hopeful Costa Nita wins sports scholarship in the US

Costi, who has just completed his studies at Samworth Church Academy, is following in the footsteps of his sister, Tanna, who four years ago also went to America.

Nita, 18, has secured a place at The University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky on a sports scholarship.

He said: “I have looked at various universities that offer tennis programmes, but The University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky stood out to me because their head tennis coach, Chin Teck Tan, is renowned for coaching world class players.”

The teenager started playing aged about three or four.

He added: “I remember watching the final of Wimbledon on the TV and saying, ‘I’m going to win that’.”

Nita currently plays in Sheffield at both Graves Tennis and Leisure Centre and Abbeydale Tennis Club.

Paula-May Batson, tutor at Samworth Church Academy and said: “Costi is a determined young man.”