YOUNG disabled tennis player Melissa Alves has a big disadvantage on court .

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her wheelchair is too big for her.

Eleven-year-old Melissa , who suffers from spina bifida, has a chair which is so big that she had to put a basketball under her feet when she played because her legs were not long enough to reach the footplates.

Now, the basketball has been replaced by a plank of wood – but she still badly needs a new chair.

The Jersey Sports Association for the Disabled has launched an appeal to raise £1,500 for a second-hand sports chair.

JSAD chairman Paul Patterson said: ‘Melissa has got incredible court awareness and is going to be a very good all-round wheelchair athlete.

It would be great if we could buy her the sort of chair she needs.

‘There’s no point in getting her a new chair because she’s still growing.

We know the chair will cost about £1,500 – and we’ve already raised about £300.’ Anyone who would like to make a donation should call Dorothy Patterson on 872855.