Katy Dunne is named in the under 16 team, along with Grace Dixon and Katie Boulter, aiming to win the Winter Cup for the first time. The qualifications take place this weekend in 4 groups, 2 progressing from each. Our girls are in Zutphen (Netherlands) and are fortunate to be in the weakest group, earning a seeding of 1. As there are only 7 nations they get a bye and so will need to win their match on Saturday against either Belarus or Spain to progress. Even so the strength of Belarus in particular (top player just outside 100 ITF) suggests a tough match.
Bit of an aside, but on the subject of under 16s. Is anyone aware how Pippa Horn is getting on ? Still recuperating ? I observed her last year getting good results and she performed really well at the national under 18s, I believe beating both Rens on the way to the title.
I know she has had many injury problems, particularly back related then of all things managed to do some real damage stepping on a ball at a tournament in the latter part of last year, though from memory I don't think it was that late.
She did seem to me maybe like someone with real prospects if she could just have better luck.
-- Edited by indiana on Thursday 3rd of February 2011 09:54:23 PM
Pippa hasn't played since winning the Nationals last August thanks to stepping on that ball. She has appeared on one or two lists and withdrawn, but is nominally down as reserve for the under 16s this weekend (I say nominally, because that was the original nomination, which could have changed). The first current ITF list I've spotted her down for is in South Africa at the end of February.
In the end Hungary posed no problem and the team sailed into the finals to join the under 16 boys next weekend. They play one more match to determine seedings
SF
Hungary 0 (2) Great Britain 3
Freya won 6-2 6-2 Lana won 6-2 6-4 Freya & Maia won 6-3 6-4
Freya won 7-6(5) 4-6 6-2 Lana lost 7-5 3-6 3-6 Lana/Maia lost 1-6 0-6
The girls play Switzerland (who include Tennis Europe No. 1 Belinda Bencic, coached by Martina Hingis' mother Melanie Molitor) tomorrow in the 5th-8th place play-offs