NEWPORT student Olivia Scarfi has been a promising junior tennis player for many years, but now she's ranked number one in Britain.

Olivia's rise to prominence has been so impressive that she even has a good chance of a wildcard for this summer's Wimbledon, where a dream meeting with one of the Williams sisters or Maria Sharapova could become a reality.

The 17-year-old pupil of Basseleg School is studying for her A-levels this summer, where she will be gunning for top marks in French, PE and sociology, but on the court she has already passed every test she has faced with flying colours.

Olivia has already represented Wales a number of times at both junior and senior level and her efforts have given her top spot in the official LTA rankings at under-18 level.

Already the 47th best player in Britain, it seems that the Stow Park Tennis Club member is destined for a bright future.

Olivia's top moment of 2006 to date came when she beat Lucia Jimenez Almedros in a top women's ranking tournament in Sunderland; her opponent was ranked 360 in the world.

She also triumphed at the Ariel National under-18 Grand Prix Masters, a tournament she had to qualify for.

Olivia swept to the final without dropping a single set and overcame top English prospect Georgie Stoop, who trains full-time at the world famous Queen's club.

Despite her obvious talents, Olivia has not been tempted to concentrate on tennis full-time and she is planning to go to university in America, she is set for a scholarship at a top tennis/academic university.

Reflecting on her amazing success, Olivia said: "I would love to play professional tennis and want to be the best I can be, I would love to play at Wimbledon for example.

"I started playing aged seven and it has been great for me to gain an insight into the women's tour in the last few months.

"I am scheduled to play six women's tour events in this country in the coming weeks and may play for Great Britain in the summer cup, so it is certainly an exciting time." Olivia is also keen to ensure she still lives a normal life, even with potential tennis stardom on the horizon.

Olivia said: "I definitely want to continue combining tennis with education, my teachers help me loads and I realise how important A-levels are to my future."

"I also like to do the normal things people my age get up to, I have a good social life with my friends from school and have a busy few months coming up with plenty of 18th birthday parties!"

Olivia is a member at Stow Park but trains in Gloucestershire with her coach Pete Russell, who she has been playing with for three years.

"Pete is a great coach and he gets me focused on short-term and long-terms goals, he has been fantastic in helping me develop," Olivia said.