Warrnambool's Isaac Brian taking strides towards his tennis goal

The 13-year-old was sidelined for three months after tearing a muscle in his hip but has been back on court for the past month.

The South West Academy of Sport athlete recently capped off his return from the injury with a victory at a junior development tournament in Geelong.

"It felt alright and played two really good matches, started off a bit shaky but it was fine in the end and I came out on top to get the win," he said.

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"It was a good tournament to come back to after pulling a muscle in my leg.

"It shows that I can get there and if I keep pushing I will be able to get there again. I haven't been playing a lot lately because of the injury so it is good to come back with a win and hope I can keep it up for."

Brian, an year seven Emmanuel College student, tried to stay active during his recovery.

"I tried to not sit down as much and try to make sure it wasn't getting stiff everyday," he said.

"I was walking, moving around and doing all kinds of things to help improve it. Later on I was able to do some ball work movement. At the start I was not able to run around."

With the injury behind him, Brian can now focus on his goals.

"I hope to go far in tournaments and hopefully become a tennis player that all of Warrnambool knows and looks up to," he said.

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"It (the goal) started with watching other people play and it really got me into playing by myself and to be like them."

Tennis has been a popular sport amongst the Brian family with Isaac's grandfather Rob, father Paul and aunty Kate all playing the sport.

Brian, who boxes with Lyndo's Boxing to keep his fitness up, is focusing on a number of areas in his game.

"Mainly making sure I'm hitting the balls in and hitting them properly, and moving around the court," he said.

"Foot work has been my main focus but also want to try and hit the ball really hard and making sure it clears the net and drops back in the court."

Brian, who trains with Warrnambool tennis instructors Andrew Crawford and Joe Hkimi, says he is "slowly but surely" making progress with his game.

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