Knocking a squash ball against a wall at the local leisure centre, nine-year-old Chris Simpson was unaware he had just started out on his journey to Wimbledon.
His school had taken its pupils to an open day at the centre and it was there that a coach suggested he should try his hand at tennis.
Ten years later and now aged 19, he has toured Europe, played in the junior Wimbledon tournament and is now studying at university in America to improve his game.
Chris had never considered playing tennis before that day but now he is working hard to be among the top 100 players in the world.
And he has praised the latest scheme in Derbyshire to get children to try tennis.
Youngsters who take up our offer of a free session at one of three county tennis clubs are also in with a chance of being called back for more free sessions.
It is being run by Serving Up Tennis, the tennis coaching provider at Derbyshire Tennis Centre and is for children aged five to 14.
Chris, of Littleover, said: "The scheme sounds a great way of getting people involved in the game who, like me, had not thought of it before."
"Even when I first started playing, it was leisure and a bit of fun. But then I played in my first tournament and it just went from there.
"I enjoyed everything I've done in the past ten years and I'm still working hard at the game. It'll be very hard to get into the men's singles top 100 but I'm trying to give it a go and I'd really like to do it."
Chris started began playing regularly at the Derbyshire Tennis Centre, in Ashe Place, Derby. A few months later, he played in his first tournament – the Derbyshire County Closed Festival, which features players from across the county competing in different age categories. He reached the finals in his group. Last year, he won the men's senior, the under-21 and the men's doubles.
After that first appearance, his family started taking him to tournaments outside the county and abroad, before he took up the sport full-time at the age of 16. Since then, he has competed in Spain, Portugal, Serbia and Turkey.
In 2009, Chris made his Wimbledon debut in the boys' singles and lost in the first round of qualifying. A year later, he reached the final qualifying round before losing to eventual finalist Benjamin Mitchell. A win would have put him in the boys' singles main draw.
In January this year, Chris's journey took him to the other side of the Atlantic to start a four-year sports management course at Louisiana State University.
He said: "Tennis is not always the first sport children tend to think of trying. For lads, it's usually football.
"But it is really enjoyable. When I first took it up, I'd be doing it three times a week but, as I played more, I'd be at tournaments every week trying to up my ranking.
"It was really interesting meeting new people and then, when I started training full time, I'd enjoy the international events and the travelling. Tennis has its ups and downs but it has been well worth pursuing."