HOLCOMBE Brook sisters Olivia and Alexis Peet are on course to be among the top 30 tennis players in Great Britain by the time they are 16 and for a career each at the top of the game.

Thirteen-year-old Olivia and Alexis, aged 11, are both ranked Lancashire number ones for their respective age groups.

Woodhey High School pupil Olivia is also among the top 12 under-14-year-old players in the UK, having won the North of England championship in Preston in January, beating Cheshire girl Sally Atkinson, 6-3, 6-1. She also bagged the Liverpool u14s Open in February, beating Eleanor Scarf of Wales 6-3, 6-2 in the final.

Olivia currently trains at the LTA High Performance Centre at Bolton Arena five days a week along with Alexis, who is also among the top dozen players in the country for her age group. Both girls train for about 10 hours tennis and five hours specific physical training every week and both get funding towards the overall costs of the programme from the LTA and Bolton Arena.

According to father Chris, who is the LTA’s talent and performance manager for the north of England, the girls are aspiring to reach Team Aegon when they reach 16.

The LTA selects the top 30 contenders at that age who they believe have a chance of getting into the world’s top 100 as adults, and that is Peet and his wife Heather’s ultimate goal for their youngsters.

However, there is always the American college system as a back-up if they do not make the Aegon set up.

But the personal cost to the Peets as they compete against the country’s highest ranked rivals all over the UK continues to grow.

“We are getting help from the LTA, but it costs up to £8,000 per year each to maintain their schedule,” said Peet.

“It’s not unusual for young tennis players to be independently sponsored, and, of course, we would welcome any help in that direction, but in the meantime the girls are enjoying trying to get to the highest possible level.

“Funding one rising tennis player is a tall order, but two is very challenging.”

Anyone interested in helping the Peet girls with sponsorship should contact Chris Peet on 07957 958782.