Perthshire ace Marcus McLaren has earned himself a place at the University of Stirling on a prestigious tennis scholarship.
The 17-year-old from St Madoes, who is a Strathallan School student and has played a lot of his tennis at Perth club Kinnoull, said it was a dream come true.
Marcus, accomplished on the singles and doubles court, believes the last couple of years has seen a huge improvement in his game.
“I have worked hard at things I wasn’t confident in and put it into practice on court, getting better and better results at the men’s British Tour events and under-18 nationals,” he explained.
“It means a lot for me to get this chance to study at Stirling. I’ve wanted to go there ever since I started training five years ago. I can’t wait to join their performance programme.”
Marcus recently represented the North of Scotland in the men’s Winter County Cup, where he recorded a second win against a world-ranked opponent.
This followed on from a very successful period where Marcus won a Grade 2 British National Doubles title, made the final at an ITF in Loughborough and played regularly at British Tour main draw level.
“Ideally, I want to go on to play doubles at a good standard and hopefully make it professionally,” Marcus said.
Head of Tennis at Strathallan School, Tommy Ogilvie, praised the commitment and dedication shown by Marcus to earn this “fantastic” opportunity.
“I am so pleased for Marcus, and his family,” he told the PA.
“The sacrifices he has made and the support from his family have been so important in achieving this scholarship.
“It really is a fantastic opportunity for Marcus, to train upwards of 20 hours a week with some of the best players in the country and just being in and around that environment should give him a fantastic platform for the next stage of his development.
“Marcus has been at Strathallan for almost nine years now and we wish him well and good luck with everything to come, and I look forward to watching his tennis continue to thrive over the next few years.”
