A few years ago, Daniel Phillips had trouble getting a full sentence out in English.

His speech impediment meant he tripped over his words before he could finish.

Now he is learning German, French and Italian. He added Spanish to the list after enrolling in Rafa Nadal’s tennis academy in September.

His family credits the sport for helping him find his voice.

Daniel was three when he picked up a racket, pretending it was a sword, after watching Gladiator with his family.

“I said, ‘I want to be just like that’. I got up and got my tennis racket and I started hitting tennis balls,” the 12-year-old remembered.

“I’d be that kid hitting on the fence when everyone else is trying to play tennis. I just keep hitting and hitting.”

Struck by his insistence, his mother Sarah Fellows urged him to spend time with tennis coach Sam Maybury. “Uncle Sam” gave him lessons for free.

By the time Daniel was in primary three, the pair were waking at 5.30am every day to train at the Malabar courts.

“It was very challenging for me to get up in the morning, so Uncle Sam had to pull me out of bed,” he said. “He really saw the potential in me.”

At 7 he started travelling for tournaments, playing in New York, Florida, Colorado and Croatia and consistently making it to the finals.

As his confidence built on the courts, so did his speech.

The following year, he created a YouTube video saying he wanted to be the number one tennis player in the world.

At the time he had not a single trophy. Now he has more than 40 on his shelves and the video has more than 76,000 hits.

“Until the age of eight, I couldn’t speak a full sentence,” Daniel said. “It was at that point I said, I can do this.”

His parents decided to take him out of school so he could focus on his tennis after he was invited to play at Smrikva Bowl, an under-10s world tournament in Croatia.

His coach kept him up to date with most of his studies online; “a couple of godmothers” handled mathematics.

In March 2016, a chance meeting with a Bermudian with Spanish ties linked the family with Rafa Nadal’s academy in Mallorca. Within a week they were invited to an assessment.

Young players are judged not only on their skill, but their attitude both on and off the court.

Mr Maybury fundraised the $6,000 needed to get him there in June; Daniel was invited to become a student in July.

The competition has been great for his development.

“I want to be ahead of everybody else. I want to be the one that’s always recognised by the coaches. It’s competitive to see who gets the spotlight that day.

“I’m most broken down when I see that I’m this close. The most disappointing thing in tennis for me is when it’s five all, the pressure’s on, and then I lose. That’s the saddest moment for me.”

Most days however, he feels like he’s “living in a fantastic dream”.

“I’d been playing tennis all my life, but at that moment I just ignored all the people around me,” he said.

“This is a big opportunity. Right now, I’m trying to stay focused and not do anything to mess myself up.”

On a typical day, Daniel is in class until 2pm. He then plays three hours of tennis before exercising for 90 minutes.

His coaches include Toni Nadal, Rafa’s uncle and former coach. Daniel has also rubbed elbows with tennis greats Roger Federer, David Ferrer, John McEnroe, Carlos Moyá, Andy Murray and, of course, Rafa himself.

The “King of Clay’s” nutritionist has taken the young Bermudian off red meat, shellfish and eggs.

“All I eat is pasta,” he laughed. “At dinner, I ate pasta; at lunch, I ate pasta and at breakfast, I ate pasta.”

The greatest challenge has been learning to travel alone.

“Without my mum holding all my stuff, I need to lock my passport in my bag,” he said. “I’m nervous I’ll lose it.

He said he nearly lost the rest of the group on his way to the Canary Islands, but used his coolness on the court to see him through.

“I was getting my visa and looked up and said, ‘Where is everybody?’ I walked about five minutes and then I looked at my boarding pass, found the gate and there they were.”

Daniel has visited 12 countries and is representing Bermuda this week at Tennis Europe in Croatia.

“I’m so happy to thank everybody who’s supported me because that means so much to me here. I’m enjoying it. I’m definitely enjoying it.

He returns to the academy in September with a 25 per cent scholarship and “a consortium” of donations.

“Alison Swan for her 50th last year, donated all of her gifts to Daniel,” Ms Fellows said. “People I don’t even know. It’s been like that, one after another.”

•To support Daniel’s budding career visit: https://www.gofundme.com/pgo8g4