LITTLE Samantha Welch has won an adult tennis tournament - at the age of 11!

Samantha is now officially recognised as the youngest winner of the Cunningham Trophy, a silver shield which is fiercely fought for every year by tennis teams throughout Preston and South Ribble.

The trophy - donated by ex-PNE fullback Willie Cunningham as a "thank-you" to all the people who bought trophies from his store after he retired from the game - is almost as big as pint-sized Samantha, who plays for St Theresa's Tennis Club in the senior side.

Her team beat Wrea Green 5-4 in a closely contested final.

Her dad, Phillip, said: "She is the youngest ever player to reach and win the trophy since its inception in the 1960s. She has done very well to beat off the seniors."

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