Perse tennis player serves up national title

Olivia (Year 10) proved to be a big hitter after winning the LTA national girls’ U14 singles indoor tennis title in Nottingham.

She came out on top against a field featuring the country’s top players in her age group after the gruelling challenge of seven matches in just five days.

In the group stage, Olivia beat all three opponents to top her pool and move through to the main draw.

After winning her first two knockout matches in straight sets, Olivia saw off an extremely difficult opponent in the semi-finals in a three-set encounter that lasted more than three hours.

Olivia went on to be crowned national champion after a comprehensive victory in the final.

She said: “It’s nice to see my hard work pay off and it’s a good basis to build off, so it’s given me a lot of confidence.

“All my opponents were very good and each match was really intense. It was physically very challenging, but also mentally.

“At all these tournaments there’s a lot of adrenaline in the air and it’s a very tense atmosphere. It’s very hard to be relaxed when you’re in the main draw and it’s a case of taking it one point at a time.

“The average match length was around 1 hour 45 minutes, so it was very tough. You could play two matches on one day, so recovery was very important.

“When I have a tournament, I’m also more conscious about my diet, such as eating more protein than usual, because it makes a difference to your playing and energy levels.

“I found the final less nerve-racking than the semi-final because you feel you’ve already won something by making it that far, and I think my experience helped in the end.”

Olivia’s national success followed on from two other recent prestigious tournament triumphs at the Scottish Open in Edinburgh and the Fred Perry Tennis Trust Championship in London.

She said: “I was really pleased to win the Fred Perry tournament because it’s at the same level as the nationals and you also get a year’s sponsorship of Fred Perry clothing.

“The Scottish Open was played on clay, so it was a different style of tennis and the weather was very unpredictable. It made the conditions pretty tough to deal with, so that was another good win.”