Young tennis talent Daniel Phillips has been given a generous boost for his quest to further his sports career after a $5,000 donation from the Bermuda Marathon Derby.

Eleven-year-old Daniel, the island’s top under-12 player, is raising money to attend the Rafa Nadal tennis academy in Spain — a key step in building his skills to play for the island.

“I would like to say thank you to everyone that has supported me,” said Daniel after accepting his cheque from Gina Tucker, president of the organisation.

“It is an honour for me to represent Bermuda — I am going to give it my best.”

He will live and train at the world-renowned academy in Majorca this month.

Dr Tucker said the group liked to assist “any organisation or person that’s trying to do something significant at the grass roots”.

The funds were raised over the May 24 races. Dr Tucker said the group was particularly keen to assist young people.

“After we heard about Daniel we decided he would be awesome for us to support,” she said. “We believe that he can be a pro, and we hope that others will see it fit to support Daniel.”