Eleven-year-old William King is soaring up the national squash rankings after being crowned as Yorkshire’s best player in his age group.

The Bradford youngster has played in 13 ranking tournaments so far, winning five of them, and is currently ranked as the county’s No 1 player and fifth in the country for his age.

In February, he recorded his most impressive win to date in the Newcastle Open, when he beat the first and second seeds en route, adding to other recent victories in the Doncaster, Huddersfield, Halifax and Edgbaston opens.

William, a member of Heaton Tennis and Squash Club, has also tasted victory in team events, helping the Yorkshire junior squad to success in the Northern Cup in Cheshire earlier this year.

His mum Jane says she and husband Darren are over the moon at their son’s achievements in the game so far.

“It’s unbelievable – we’re extremely proud of him, He was three when he first picked up a squash racket, and at seven he was telling us he was going to be world No 1!

“His dad and his brother both play and he went to the squash club with them, and as soon as he saw it he was off.

“He loves playing for Yorkshire and he is so proud when he pulls on that Yorkshire shirt.

“He absolutely lives and breathes the game – not just playing it but all the players as well; he knows the top ten and who they’re all sponsored by off by heart.

"When he registered with the English Squash Association last December, he was ranked at No 17, and within two months he was fifth.

“We just cannot believe it – it hasn’t really sunk in yet but we’re so proud of him.”

William himself says that although he enjoys taking part in the sport, he derives most pleasure from winning.

“I like the atmosphere of it all, being part of a team and how competitive it is. The winning’s the good bit really! It’s very hard work and I train every day but it’s really good being successful.”

Jane, who works as a teaching assistant at the same Sandy Lane School that William attends, says that although her son’s involvement in the sport may be increasing in the near future, he has ambitions to match.

“He trains four days a week at the moment, which isn’t much of a problem as he’s still in primary school, but it might be when he goes to secondary school.

“We’re hoping he will start a sponsorship with Dunlop soon as well, which would be great.

“He wants to be world No 1 and he’d love it to become an Olympic sport as well.”

Despite his recent accomplishments, Jane says that she has had to spread the word about her son after William’s reticence to do so himself.

“The school only found out about it all three months ago. He doesn’t like to brag about it, he just likes to get on with it really, so I had to tell the school. He’s really sensible and he doesn’t like all the attention, he only likes to win!"

One victory that could be particularly significant on William’s road to success in the sport is defeating his dad for the first time; something that Jane expects to happen sooner rather than later.

“His dad’s worried about the day he beats him now! He thinks that won’t happen until he’s about 16 but I think it’s going to be a lot sooner than that.”