Bradford’s Serena Nash is the new British No 1 in the 16 and under girls’ rankings.

The Immanuel College pupil, who has been No 2 for a couple of months, is benefiting from plenty of hard work and an improved diet.

Her mum Janet explained: “It is difficult for Serena balancing her tennis with her schoolwork – she is studying for her GCSEs – and she was tired all the time.

“She was having paninis for lunch but her fitness coach Sean Scantlebury suggested that she cut out fats and sugars, so now I take her fresh pasta for her school lunch every day, and she has more energy.”

Serena receives £3,000 a year as an Lawn Tennis Association Aegon Future-Stars Matrix-B rated player and has also got £500 from Bradford Council’s Sport Aid but, other than that, support for Serena is a real family affair.

Janet said: “My husband Jason provides the money, I provide the transport and Serena’s uncle Leroy Wright coaches her at Harrogate and Batley under the Liv Tennis banner, while Calvin Betton also coaches her at Batley, and his dad Barry strings all Serena’s rackets.”

Serena has helped Yorkshire win the 18 and under girls’ Junior Cup last year and this year, not dropping a set this time around as their No 1, but she has also found time to play in International Tennis Federation junior tournaments in Holland, Greece, Denmark and Belgium last year, as well as at Nottingham and Liverpool, helping her achieve a junior world ranking of 815.

Serena has also won a Grade Two LTA tournament in Bath and is due to play a Grade One event in London.

Accompanying her on her European trips were Calvin and Janet, who added: “Serena plans to stay on for her A-Levels and after that she hopes to go full-time with her tennis.”