Raise Your Game: How did you get into tennis?

Josh Milton: When I was about five-years-old I got a racket for my birthday, and I started having the odd coaching session at Cardiff Tennis Club. I enjoyed it so I just continued from there.

RYG: You've come a long way since then! Tell me about some of your achievements.

JM: I've played at the Welsh Championships a number of times and I played it this year and won the under 16s boys and I won the under 18s.

My current ranking under 16 is number three in Britain, and under 18 I'm number nine. I was 16 in October, and quite a lot of the time I'm competing with people older than me. It's a good challenge.

RYG: What are you most proud of in your tennis career?

JM: I did an under 16 ETA [European Tennis Association, now Tennis Europe] in Denmark. Some of the best players in Europe were there and I won a tournament.

In December I was in Mexico and Costa Rica. I did a grade A ITF [International Tennis Federation] tournament and the number 3 in the world was there, so I picked up some good matches. You get to meet new people so it's a good experience.

RYG: You played doubles with Pat Cash and Henri Leconte last summer. What was that like?

JM: Me and another boy who trains here, Ed Jones, did an exhibition match in the Celtic Manor. We played doubles and it was good fun. I played with Pat Cash against Ed and Henri Leconte. Pat and I won! Some of the younger boys did some practise with them but we just did a match. They're still very good players.

RYG: Who do you look up to in the tennis world?

JM: Probably one of my favourite players is Andre Agassi. He's one of the most entertaining players. He's 36-years-old and he's still top five in the world. I've always liked his game style as well.

RYG: Would you like to play in Wimbledon?

JM: My ITF ranking is 273 [in January 2006]. I don't need to pick up many more points, and then hopefully I'll be able to play in Junior Wimbledon.

I think you need to be in the top 200, so I'm 73 places away, but you can pick that up quite quickly in one tournament. It's like a ranking system. When I was in Mexico I picked up 100 points. Everyone under 18 who plays ITF has a world ranking. Obviously the more matches you win, the higher you get, the more points you get.

I'm playing quite a lot of tournaments soon, so if I can pick up some good points I'll move up a lot. There's a cut off, I'm not sure where it is, where you get into the grand slams like Wimbledon and the US Open. You can be any age, as long as your ranking is good enough.

I did an under 14s tournament on Centre Court called Road to Wimbledon. There are over 4000 entrants. To start, you win your club tournament, then you go into your county finals and if you win those then you go to Wimbledon and play there for a week.

There are 64 boys and 64 girls and you play a series of matches to see how far you get. The finalists go to a tennis academy on an island just off Spain called La Manga. I got to the final, so I went away for a week - it was all paid for so it was nice!

RYG: How much training do you do?

JM: About 18 hours per week. I play virtually every day, though I do have the odd rest day. I do three to four hours of tennis, then an hour of fitness in the gym. Each session is different. I've got my GCSEs this year too. It's not going too badly. I did my mocks before I went away in December and I get my results back this week...

RYG: How do you manage to balance tennis with your school work?

JM: My programme is quite nice, the way it's spread out. I've got tennis from 2-4pm, and then 6-8pm, so I've got a gap in between where I can catch up with school work.

RYG: Is it really important to have the support of your school, parents and coaches?

JM: Definitely, because I play a lot of matches and you get some weekends when everything is going really well and others when I'm not playing so well, so it's helpful to have a lot of support.

RYG: What are your goals for the future?

JM: It all depends on how much I improve. I'd love to continue my tennis and become a professional player and get somewhere in the top 100.