Tennis-mad Joanie Melady has decided her new prosthetic arm is ace after winning her first doubles tournament at the age of nine.
Joanie’s left arm did not fully develop before birth, meaning she struggled to throw the ball up to serve.
A team at British start-up company Koalaa set about engineering a solution.
Their designers came up with a new tool that could be attached on the end of a prosthetic limb and enable her to toss the ball.
The invention, which has been named after her, has already helped Joanie smash it on the courts.
Earlier this month she romped to victory in a doubles tournament at Halton Tennis Centre in Buckinghamshire. Joanie, from nearby Chinnor, Oxon, said: “I love playing tennis.
"I was really happy when Koalaa told me they were going to make a tool to help me throw the ball and that it would be named after me.”
Now she is aiming high, dreaming of having the same success as her idol, former UK No1 Emma Raducanu. She said: “I hope I can play like her one day.”
Joanie’s dad Alan said: “Joanie is a huge tennis fan. She began playing in the garden around age five and started lessons when she was six. Now she plays twice a week at a local club.
“Throwing the ball into the air to serve was an issue though and while she could do it, it was difficult and very frustrating for her.
“Her Koalaa prosthetic and new Joanie tool have made such a difference. To be part of the development process has been incredible. We can’t thank the Koalaa team enough.”
