How tennis is helping a Ukrainian family thrive in B.C.

Inside a Langley, B.C. tennis centre, 13-year-old Timoffi Trushenov serves a tennis ball with all his might. 

He's been playing the sport since he was just four years old and wants to be the best.

When Russia invaded his country, his development was in jeopardy but fast forward nearly a year later, he's ranked No. 1 in B.C. and seventh in the whole country in his age group.

"In Canada I have more chances to play tennis better," he told CBC News.

Trushenov's success is the result of community compassion a world away. 

When the war began, Larry Jurovich, tennis coach and head of a family-run tennis centre in Langley and other B.C. cities, reached out to the Ukrainian Tennis Federation and said he would be ready to support coaches or players.

Jurovich lived in the United Kingdom for years, serving as the head of coach education for the Lawn Tennis Association — the governing body of tennis for that country.

His centre in Langley has been working to develop the Lower Mainland into a model of tennis development based on the best international practices.

After war broke out in Ukraine, Jurovich sponsored Trushenov's mother and younger brother, and then eventually their father when he arrived about seven months after them.

"He's always wanting to help people out and it's a huge benefit to our program," his daughter Noah Jurovich recently said in an interview.

Larry Jurovich was not available to speak with CBC News for this story as he is out the country.

Trushenov's family is one of more than 132,000 Ukrainian nationals who have entered Canada since the start of 2022. More than 11,000 have settled in B.C.

The federal government created a special program that fast tracks immigration for Ukrainians. People coming in through this