Dudley Sport
Whiley hits the top after Oz trip
11:00am Thursday 2nd February 2012
HALESOWEN serving sensation Jordanne Whiley has become Britain’s number one wheelchair tennis player.
The 19-year-old’s run to the semi-finals of the ITF Sydney International Open has seen her jump ahead of Lucy Shuker to be ranked 12th in the world and the nation’s number one.
It capped off an excellent January for Whiley, who won back-to-back doubles titles in Adelaide and Melbourne with partner Louise Hunt.
Whiley said: “Becoming British number one has been one of my goals for a while.
“I’ve been pretty close to Lucy for a couple of years now, so it’s nice to have overtaken her even if it is by just one place.
“It’s been a fantastic four weeks in Australia and I’m really pleased to have returned with some good results against top 10 players.
“Now it’s all about building on these performances as we head towards the end of the qualification period for the London 2012 Paralympics in May.“ The Sydney event was one of the ITF’s Super Series, making it one of the top-six tournaments on the circuit.
It meant there was plenty of opportunity for Whiley to pick up world ranking points and she did just that in style, beating three world’s top 10 ranked players in succession before coming up against Dutch world number one Esther Vergeer in the last four of the tournament.
South African world number 10 Kgothatso Montjane was Whiley’s first opponent in Sydney but Whiley eased to a 6-2 6-1 victory, before beating Germany’s Sabine Ellerbrock later the same day in straight sets.
She then achieved a career first, defeating Dutch world number eight Sharon Walraven 3-6 6-1 6-2 in the quarter-finals.