WITH the tennis season in full swing, Barclays has begun the search for 30 lucky youngsters to fulfil the dream of a lifetime and appear on court with the world’s best tennis players at the 2014 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 in November.

Now in its fifth year, the Barclays Ball Kids programme is designed to thank and reward the support of young tennis fans who help make tennis what it is.

Youngsters hoping to be selected for this once in a lifetime opportunity to grace the court at The O2 with the likes of Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, started their journey in Manchester over the weekend.

More than 150 hopefuls were put through their paces by the Barclays Ball Kid talent ID team at Old Trafford Sports Barn last week.

Successful youngsters from the regional trials will then be selected to go through to national trials day onOctober 4, held at the prestigious St George's Park, home of England Football.

The trials tested the hopefuls on their agility, endurance, coordination, ball skills, balance, speed and teamwork in an attempt to assemble a squad of talented and energetic youngsters to take to the court in front of thousands of spectators at The O2, as well as millions of television viewers around the world.

Mark Magrath, head of the Barclays Ball Kids recruitment team, said: "This is the fifth year of the Barclays Ball Kids, and I know from my own experience, and feedback in the industry that they are seen as the best at what they do.

"This year we are looking for another 30 kids to take on that mantel and prove to be the best yet while having an experience of a lifetime."

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, which take place between November 9 and 16, has established itself as one of the most prestigious tournaments in the tennis calendar and showcases the best eight qualified male singles players and doubles teams on the planet with more than a quarter of a million fans visiting The O2 during the week.

To find out more on Barclays Ball Kids, please visit the Barclays Tennis Facebook page. facebook.com/BarclaysTennis.