MIDDLESEX TWP — Zane Ford’s parents met on a tennis court.

It only followed that Zane wanted to dabble in the sport as well. Only he didn’t just want to play tennis.

He wanted to play it at a high level — every day.

At age 9, that’s what the Mars Elementary School fourth-grader is doing.

“To have him play against kids his own age would be a waste of time for him and the other kids,” his mother, Kim Ford, said. “That’s just where he’s at right now.”

Zane started hitting a tennis ball at age 2.

Now, at age 9, he recently returned from the Little Mo Nationals in Austin, Texas, the culmination of a series of tournaments run by the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation designed to promote junior tennis development.

The Little Mo series is for boys and girls ages 9, 10 and 11. The road begins with 20 section Little Mo tournaments each spring across the country. The quarter-finalists from each of those advance to one of four regional tournaments in the summer.

The top four from each regional competed at the nationals Oct. 24-27. Ford placed fourth at the section event in Philadelphia, then fourth in the region meet in Chicago.

He took on Nicolas Scheller of Albuquerque, N.M., in the first round of nationals and lost the match, 6-0, 6-0.

“He was really good ... I thought he was going to win the tournament,” Zane said.

“All of the kids from the northeast lost in the first round,” Mrs. Ford said. “It’s tough playing against those kids from down south.”

Then again, tough competition is what Zane is used to facing. He plays in tournaments against 12 and 14 year olds.

Zane is coached by Rashid Hassan, tennis director at Edgewood Country Club. His parents take him there five or six days a week.

“I’ve been coaching Ananya for a few years now as well as a couple of national-level players,” Hassan said. “I see Zane going down that same road.

“You can already see the physicality he’s going to have once his body grows into his shot. It will be all about how he grasps the mental side of the game. He’s 9. That maturity level hasn’t happened yet.”

Zane stands only 4-foot-6 and weighs 65 pounds.

“He already hits the ball harder than most 14-year-olds I’ve seen,” Hassan said. “I always put him up against older kids who will challenge him.

“No. 1, that doesn’t bother him. He wants to get better. Ananya was going to make him run, move around faster on the court ... in other words, make him better. And some of his shots challenge her and make her better.”

Zane got his start in tennis by getting tired of watching his parents play the game.

“We knew he’d want to join us eventually,” Mrs. Ford said. “We put him by the net and told him to hit whatever shots he could reach.

“He was fearless. He attacked everything. We couldn’t even play our match anymore because we weren’t getting enough shots by him.”

When he was 7, Carl and Kim Ford took their son to Saddlebrook Academy, a popular tennis academy in Tampa, Fla. “because we had to see just how good he actually was,” his mother said.

“It was there that they told us Zane needed to play in the Little Mo tournaments.”

Tennisrecruiting.com already has Zane Ford ranked as the No. 1 recruit in Pennsylvania for his graduating class of 2023.

“Zane is an intense player, very gifted,” Hassan said. “He almost comes out of his shoes when he hits the ball.”

And he’s tireless.

Zane plays tennis five or six days a week, three hours per day. He used to play basketball and soccer. Now he’s all tennis.

“When you play for a team, you only get to play part of the time,” Zane said. “In tennis, I’m out there for every part of the match. I like that.

“I don’t get tired of playing. I’d love to play every hour if I could.”

He gets mostly A’s in school, he even does his homework while waiting for his dinner in a restaurant after practice if he has to.

Zane is far from afraid — either on the court or thinking about his future.

“I don’t get scared, just try to win the point,” he said. “I want to play in the U.S. Open someday. When I retire, I want to be a tennis coach.”

Such ideas may not be that far-fetched. Andy Roddick was a Little Mo national champion and other pro players grew up in that circuit.

“He doesn’t care about winning trophies. He cares about getting better,” Mrs. Ford said.

Hassan agreed.

“I throw him out there against national-level competition every day and he gets beaten up ... but he keeps coming back, fighting, fighting and fighting,” the coach said.

“That’s what’s special about this kid. He sees the big picture.”