CASTLE Court tennis star Toby Samuel won all three of his matches for Great Britain Under-12s in their Winter Cup qualifier in Estonia.

Toby won his doubles match against Belarus 6-1, 6-2 but his two team-mates lost their singles games as Great Britain lost 2-1.

Defeat knocked the Great Britain trio out of the main group stage which was won by France.

In their other match, Great Britain beat fellow losers Denmark 3-0.

Toby, who is ranked number one in Great Britain at under-11 level, also spent the first week of the new year competing at a Tennis Europe under-12 tournament in Paris.

Year 7 pupil Toby is part of a thriving tennis academy at Castle Court School in Wimborne.

Tennis is part of the school’s sports curriculum for all children from two to 13, and those pupils who show talent in these lessons are invited to attend the early morning coaching sessions at Virgin Active in Poole.

Other Castle Court pupils who have risen to national prominence are Alex Knox-Jones (Year 6) and Mollie Edge (Year 5). Towards the end of last year, Alex was invited to attend an under-11 national training camp at the Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) national tennis centre at Roehampton.

As a result of his performance, Alex is hoping to be chosen to participate in the Aegon Future Stars programme which will see him playing against other talented players across Europe.

Mollie, meanwhile, ended 2013 by coming fifth in a national tournament held in Manchester. As a result, she has been invited to attend three regional development train-ing camps.

Many other Castle Court academy players are excelling at county level, including Dylan Fennell and James Sclater.