(Photo by Chris Freeman - Left to Right : Hannah Burston, Ava Rooke)

Ava Rooke won the Girls Junior Championship for the third year in a row.  Her opponent was Hannah Burston, entering the competition for the first time after having won through the qualifying rounds.  The format for the match was 2 sets with a third set tie breaker if necessary.

Ava served first and won her game.  The second game seemed to be never-ending with several points going to deuce.  Hannah fought hard to hold on to her game, but Ava managed to break down her serve.  Good serving from both girls, with hardly any doubles faults and some long baseline rallies were a feature of the next 4 games, but Ava had the edge, and won the set.

The second set was played in a similar fashion to the first, with lots of deuces, great baseline rallies moving the opponent around the court, and both girls playing to win.  The defending champion showed her greater experience and managed to keep Hannah at bay to complete the win in two sets.

The scoreline certainly did not reflect the quality of play between the two girls.  Well done to Ava, the girls’ junior champion 2021, and to Hannah Burston, a worthy contender in the final.