St Albans News
Young tennis player from Harpenden achieves national top five ranking
1:48pm Friday 10th February 2012
A talented young tennis player from Harpenden who trains at Batchwood Golf and Tennis Centre has been ranked in the top five in the country in her age group.
Emily Arbuthnott, 14, has made a tremendous leap in the performance seeding, achieving a national top five ranking for both the under 16 and under 14 level.
Emily, a pupil at Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls, won the Girls under 14 winter national tournament in Nottingham before Christmas, defeating the top seed in the final. A week later in Bolton, she continued to show excellent form by reaching her second consecutive national semi-final in the under 16 age group. These results have propelled Emily to number 3 in the GB national rankings in both age groups, her highest ever positions.
Emily's proud mum Sally Arbuthnott said: "She works hard and steadily and keeps getting better."
Emily was first identified as having potential at the age of eight.
Having trained at Batchwood for four years, she also plays at Harpenden Tennis Club and manages to combine 15 hours tennis training a week alongside school.
Scott Machen, contract manager at Batchwood Golf and Tennis Centre, said: "A big congratulations from all the team at Batchwood to Emily. This season alone Emily has made an amazing leap forward, we look forward to seeing what the future brings and wish her every success in 2012."
Liz Jones, tennis director at Batchwood Golf and Tennis Centre, said: "Emily has earned some fantastic results this winter and is starting to make a big impact in older age groups. "Considering she only started playing under 16 tournaments in July and she’s a full-time schoolgirl, it’s a phenomenal achievement to reach a top three national ranking in just six months."