A tennis ace supported by a Mansfield and Ashfield group over many years is due to play at Wimbledon on Thursday.

Freya Christie, of Hucknall, will take part in the women’s doubles with Alicia Barnett. For the third successive tournament they will come up against the top seeds, Su-Wei Hsieh and Elise Mertens.

The successful tennis professional was supported by the Armchair Club – a group of Mansfield and Ashfield businesspeople dedicated to helping rising sports stars – in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 when she was a British junior champion.

Freya has gone on to have a successful career in tennis, winning 22 doubles titles on the ITF Women’s Circuit. In singles, she reached five ITF finals.