18 August 2011 | Tennis Victoria

She might only be 11, but Peta Valos hopes to one day be the best female tennis player in the world.

Despite only picking up a racquet three years ago, Peta is now ranked No. 7 in Australia and No.2 in Victoria for her birth year.

“I want to be No.1 in the world,” said Valos of her vision for the future.

Peta decided to start playing tennis after regularly watching her sister Katerina play.

“She used to come along and watch Katerina from the sidelines,” said Angela Valos, Peta’s mother.

“From that she developed an interest and it helped spur her on.”

Peta describes herself as an aggressive baseliner whose favourite shot is her forehand. A member of Tennis Victoria’s State Academy, she currently trains 4-5 times a week, plays A Grade 1 club tennis for Essendon Tennis Club and Grade 5 Pennant for Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club.

About a year ago Peta made the choice to give up other extracurricular activities such as singing and dancing to focus her energy solely on tennis.

“She made a choice at a point in time to go with tennis. She seeks enjoyment out of it more than anything else,” said Angela.

“She enjoys it a lot, has a great attitude and is very mature beyond her years in how she presents on the court and how she deals with difficult situations.”

“We enjoy watching her strive physically and we support her wholeheartedly in every aspect of what she wants to do.”

Recently, Peta made the finals of the 12/u singles at the CORE Frankston Junior Masters and won the 12/u doubles at the same event with Jessica Zaviacic.

Emily Arnott, Tennis Victoria’s Player Development Coordinator said Peta brings a fantastic attitude to training every week.

“She works hard to develop her game with her private coach and with the State Academy Victoria to achieve her goals. She has a very bright future in the sport.”