TEENAGER Basingstoke tennis star Aisling McGrane won an under-14 double to take her first national under-14 tournament at Sutton Tennis Academy.

McGrane was seeded six and her first match was against a wild card qualifier which is always tricky but she won it in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. The following round the teenager won again 6-4, 6-2 which put her up against a player who had just defeated the fourth seed in the previous round.

Against a strong competitor McGrane was able to remain calm and focused and played controlled and consistent tennis to beat her opponent, 6-1, 6-0, securing her place in the semi-finals.

Here she came up against one of her very good friends Hannah Smith.

The pair play in the same county teams and have been playing tennis together since they were five years old.

Smith, having just beaten the number one seed in the previous round, was on top form.

In a hard fought contest, McGrane won the first set on a tie-break and the second set 6-3 to reach her first ever national under-14 final.

The final the final day saw the Basingstoke player come out on top with a 6-3, 6-3 success.

A few hours later an exhausted but very excited McGrane followed up her title win by winning the under-14 doubles title with her friend, Abbie Tyler.

The teenager has over the past two years has steadily climbed up the national rankings for girls tennis.

Working tirelessly with her coach of five years, Karim Auoichaoui, Aisling trains three times a week in David Lloyd Sports Centre (Southampton) with the Elite Tennis Academy.

Aisling attends Bishop Challoner Secondary School who continue to be hugely supportive in facilitating her demanding schedule.

McGrane competes with three different Hampshire and Isle of Wight county teams playing in under-14, under-18 and ladies tournaments.

Managing her school work alongside various training programs and competition commitments, Bishop Challoner’s support is crucially important for Aisling’s development.

Recently Aisling has secured a sponsorship deal with TEAM Head and has been playing with Head racquets for the past few months.

She feels this has really benefitted her in recent tournaments and the budding tennis star appears to be on a bit of a winning streak.