SILCHESTER performance tennis player Hannah Smith finished off 2015 with a December to remember.

It all started at the Bolton Arena, where the 11-year-old captained a young Talbot Heath School Year 7 team to victory in the Year 8/9 National School Tennis finals.

Smith returned to Bolton two weeks later for the National 12 and under tournament, finishing runner up to Surrey's Sally Pethybridge.

On her route to the final ,the Silchester player beat Chloe Elliott (Oxfordshire) 6-2 6-2 in round one and then enjoyed a 6-3, 6-0 success over Maisie Lavelle (Lancashire).

In the last eight, Smith came up against former Romanian national champion Alexandra Maria Petric.

In a titanic battle which lasted over two hours, the British star came through despite dropping the first set in a tie break.

The 11-year-old won the second set 7-5 and the deciding third set tie break 10-4.

A superb semi-final performance saw Smith beat Suffolk’s Maddie Mcloughlin 6-1, 6-2 to book her final place. During the Christmas period, Smith travelled to Paris as part of an LTA representative team to compete in a Tennis Europe event at Boulogne Billancourt.

Smith reached the last 16 stage in the singles event, and was triumphant in the doubles event, with fellow British player Andrea Pineda.

After a bye in the first round, the pairing beat Netherlands' Laurel Palmon and Italian Isabella Righi 6-3 6-2.

They then took on the all French pairing Juliette Doukhan and Margaux Yaiche in the quarter finals, winning 4-6, 6-3 10-6. The semi-final was won 6-3 6-3 against Oceane Babel and Tara Zoppas which set up a final again against the all French team Chloe Donstetter and Carla Galmiche.

After losing the first set 6-4, the British girls fought back strongly to take the second set 6-3, and clinched the title 10-5 in the third set tie break.

Smith will return to France in mid-January, to represent Great Britain in Lille, against the French Girls 12 and under team.

Then later in the same month she will be representing GB as in the 2016 Tennis Europe Winter Cup, held in Neudorfl, Austria, hoping to qualify for the European finals held in February.