A YOUNG Worcester tennis player has left for Spain to help fulfil her ambition of being a world star.

Jazzamay Drew, 12, will follow in the footsteps of the likes of Steffi Graf, Boris Becker and Anna Kournikova by training with German coach Klaus Hofsass at his academy in the hills above Marbella.

She is to be coached with some of the best young players from all over Europe after hitting a top 20 ranking in Britain with a string of tournament victories.

Although Drew will be one of the youngest girls there, she is determined to take her chance of making it in a sport which is desperately lacking British female aces.

She has left Worcester's Alice Ottley School, where she was awarded a senior school sports scholarship, and will embark on a distance learning programme.

Drew said: "It is the only way I will get the time I need for my tennis. I know there can be no-one more excited than me with the thought of moving to Spain to take up this great opportunity.

"Also there is no-one more sad at the thought of not seeing my brother and parents every day. But I am prepared to do this because my passion is to become a great professional tennis player."

Drew has won at the 16 Counties tournament, the National Ariel Indoor Series, the Sutton Coldfield Open and the County Closed competition, all for under 12s this year.

She has also taken the Smyth Cup for under 18s as well as plates at the National Ariel Grand Prix, the Sutton Coldfield Open for under 14s and the National Summer Clay Series.The youngster has travelled to Birmingham four or five times a week to play and train at the Edgbaston Priory club and to the LTA academy in Bath but is now Spain-bound.

Her father Stephen said: "Jazzamay will go for an initial six weeks to see how she settles and if she is comfortable there.

"She has just been to the national under 12s tournament in Bournemouth and won a couple of matches to make the last 16.

"She was knocked out by the number two seed who has been training full-time since she was 10 while Jazzamay hasn't had the chance to do that yet. At the moment, she's number 17 in the country in her age group."

Anyone interested in helping out with sponsorship can contact Stephen Drew on 07810-264060.