A group of Britain's most promising young players took to one of the show courts at Wimbledon during the Championship fortnight after smashing the opposition in a national tennis scholarship scheme.

Among them was 12-year-old Robbie Mathieson from Beckenham, one of only 16 talented young Ariel Players of the Future' given the rare opportunity of stepping onto the hallowed turf of No.1 Court to demonstrate some of his strokes.

Robbie, pictured left, said: "I think Wimbledon is a great place and it was an honour to set foot on the same court as all those great champions."

Keen to show off his own set of whites on court, Robbie, who has previously represented Great Britain under-12s, may one day find himself starring in Ariel's advertising campaign, which is currently fronted by Tim Henman.

July 9, 2002 10:30