DUNFERMLINE Tennis Club have bolstered their coaching team by announcing the return of a "very popular figure".

Olivia Brown, who played at the Bothwell Street club until she was 18, will work alongside head coach, Mike Russell, after being confirmed in her new role.

A university student in Glasgow, Olivia began her coaching journey as a tennis leader six years ago, and said she is excited to see the progress that youngsters have made at the club.

"I've been a Level Two coach for three years and have a total of five years' experience coaching," she said.

"In that time, I've mainly worked with young people and students at a variety of levels. I grew up playing tennis at Dunfermline from the age of 10 to 18, starting my coaching journey as a tennis leader in 2018.

"I'm excited to see how all the kids have progressed since I left in 2021!

"I'm now based in Glasgow, about to go into my final year of university, where I play on the women's team and coach general members for Glasgow University Tennis Club.

"I'm looking forward to coming back to Dunfermline and being on the coaching team once again!"

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A club statement said: "We are delighted to be welcoming back Olivia to the club as she was a very popular figure in her time at Dunfermline Tennis Club!

"She has always been fantastic on-court, especially with younger kids, and now that she has gained some valuable experience in her time at university, we can't wait to have her officially part of the coaching team!"

Olivia's arrival comes as the Dunfermline men's first team push for promotion in Division Two of the East of Scotland doubles leagues, as six wins from six matches took them to the top of the standings.

In addition, the success of the women's teams in the Scottish Cup is set to be celebrated next month.

The 100th final of the competition is set to be played on June 15 and Tennis Scotland will honour Dunfermline as its most successful team.

They have won the tournament a record 18 times and four core members - Fiona and Alison Reid, Allison Wood and Jane Russell, who all came through the club's junior coaching programme - have been invited to Glasgow's Whitecraigs Tennis Club to celebrate their achievements.

Meanwhile, Dunfermline hosted a P3 'Mini Wimbledon' event on Tuesday, which saw 11 teams of four players from local schools take part.

With many of the youngsters playing matches for the first time, they were praised for playing "brilliantly" in an "excellent" atmosphere, with St John's Primary edging out Culross in a doubles shoot-out in the final, after the teams were tied at two wins and 32 points each after their matches.

The club will host a P4 event in two weeks time, and are running junior summer camps from July 1-4, and July 29 to August 1.

For more information and to book, find the club on Facebook, or at https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/dunfermlinetennisbridgeclub.