Naomi Broady, the rubbish junior who dreamed more about supermarket checkouts than tennis, is finally at the sport's top table, and it is taking some getting used to.
The 26-year-old became the latest British woman to break into the top 100 in February and will play in the main draw of a grand slam on merit for the first time at the French Open.
Now ranked 79, and with wins over Sabine Lisicki and Ana Ivanovic to her name this season, there is no doubt Broady has earned her place.
Reaching the top 100, the holy grail for lower-ranked players, had been her goal for the season, meaning Broady must reassess what she hopes to achieve.
The Stockport player, who stands 6ft 2in and has a serve to match, said: "You hear a lot of the players say they dreamed about playing tennis and winning Wimbledon.
"I never had those sort of dreams when I was little, so I'm still trying to catch up with what I really want to do in this sport, and really find my passion and my goal as to what my top achievement would like to be.
"As a family we did gymnastics, swimming, tennis, all sorts of different sports. But tennis just stuck really. I'm not entirely sure as to why, because I was rubbish as a junior. But we just kept going with it, and thankfully it's paid off.
"I don't really think I had any dreams. Is that possible? I used to like supermarket checkouts, and now you can do it on your own in Tescos. So I'm living the dream, really. Those machines, I hate those Tesco machines.
"I used to love the buttons, when they do all the clicky buttons when you're checking out. I'm an over-achiever."
The catalyst for Broady's rise came after Wimbledon last year when she decided to travel full-time with coach Andrew Fitzpatrick.
It was a big financial risk and, although it has clearly paid off, only once she picks up her cheque in Paris - guaranteed to be at least 30,000 euros - will she finally have turned a profit.
"I still owe quite a bit of money," said Broady, whose brother Liam is also a professional.
"Until I get my prize money from here, I won't actually have made any money yet. So I think I might just go and cash my cheque and run straight to the bank with all my money and pay everyone off. This will be the first time I am in the black and I am so excited.
"Even with the results I've been having, I'm still losing money to pay for a coach full-time. People don't realise that it's the expenses that are so expensive. You're paying two flights a week, two hotel rooms. It's like paying for a holiday every single week of your life.
"Andrew and I have often had to share rooms, which isn't easy to do. I'm constantly sharing with other players, looking for cheap hotels. Hopefully after here I will still be looking for cheaper options but convenience will become more a part of what I'll choose to do."
Broady is feisty and refreshingly candid; a legacy perhaps of forging her own path in the game.
The 26-year-old has had nothing to do with the Lawn Tennis Association since an incident in 2007 when a photo of her at a nightclub posted on social media led to her being suspended.
"Ten years later, the highlight of my career was the press doing that bloody picture," she said with an exasperated smile.
"At some point, I'll do an amazing achievement on the tennis court and it will outshine it. But I think I'll have to beat Serena (Williams) on Centre Court for that to happen."
American Coco Vandeweghe, a fellow big server, will be Broady's first-round opponent in Paris on Monday, and the British number three's hopes have been raised by some unexpectedly positive results on clay.
"To have won a round in both Rome and Madrid is great but it's weird to say as I'm playing on clay," she said. "Me and clay are official friends this year."
Source: PA
