UNIVERSITY of Stirling tennis ace Maia Lumsden may have only just started out on the professional circuit but she already has her eyes on taking on the best.

The 18-year-old left the junior ranks behind at the start of this year and admits she has to pinch herself when she thinks about getting paid to play tennis.

But despite being only a few weeks into her pro career, Lumsden has already enjoyed some encouraging results, including reaching the final of the $10,000 Glasgow indoor hard court event at the beginning of February.

She would eventually lose out to Germany’s Anna Zaja in front of her own fans, but the University of Stirling student has since followed that up with a semi-final appearance in Sunderland.

And with British tennis having enjoyed increased success in recent months with a Davis Cup triumph and then Jamie Murray and Johanna Konta both joining British number one Andy Murray in progressing into the latter stages at the Australian Open, Lumsden intends to repay the faith show in her too.

Lumsden said: “I’ve had a lot of people supporting me, all my friends and family have been there throughout.

“I just came out of the juniors last year and I’ve been playing in several pro tournaments lately so it’s been a good few weeks.

“I made my first final in my hometown, so that made it extra special. I had a good crowd behind me so it was nice to be on court there. 

“My aim is to just keep on improving my ranking and get up the ladder as quickly as possible so I can start playing in the bigger tournaments.”

Lumsden was speaking at the Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport workshop at the Loughborough University campus, where more than 20 of the country’s brightest athletes were in attendance.

They were offered education seminars on issues such as nutrition, time management and interview techniques, and given mentoring by former Olympic cyclist Bryan Steel, ex-England rugby union player David Flatman, and London 2012 Olympian Adam Gemili.

And Gemili believes he saw plenty of potential in the likes of Lumsden and her fellow Academy of Sport athletes.

Gemili said: “I feel really privileged to be here speaking to these guys, trying to inspire them by sharing my story, and hopefully I can help them progress to the next level.

“The Academy of Sport does such great things for these young athletes. Jade Jones is the best example – she was on this programme and went on to win Olympic gold at London 2012.

“I’ve been talking about performance lifestyle and the transition from being a junior athlete to a senior one. Things like how much you sleep, eat, and what you do away from your chosen sport plays a massive part in being the best, so I want to share my wisdom.

“Hopefully some of these guys here today will go on to be the best in their field, and here they are learning skills that they will keep with them for their entire careers, which is brilliant.”

Maia Lumsden attended the Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport workshop, mentored by Land Rover Ambassador David Flatman and Sportsaid Patron Bryan Steel. For more information visit sportsaid.org.uk.