Just after Christmas, me and another Asda player Sophie Brown went to Hoensbroek in Holland to compete in the Hoensbroek International. We played U17 doubles and managed to beat the top seeds in the semi-final before losing in the final to the 2nd seeds and European Bronze medallists. We had never played together before and were both just getting back into our training after Christmas.. we struggled to begin with, having very different styles, but then went from strength to strength!

I also got to the semi-final of the mixed doubles with Darren Adamson losing to the eventual winners but playing very well a year young.

In the team event, I was the captain of our team, we had a tough draw beating the German team along the way before winning the Gold against a Dutch team.

In February I played the U19 nationals, losing 2nd round of the singles to a much more experienced player in 3 sets, losing in the quarter finals of the doubles with my partner fellow Asda player Mina Clark to two U19 international players, but playing extremely well in the mixed doubles with another Asda player Ryan McCarthy, getting to the final in our first year playing together, beating many seeded and more experienced pairs along the way.

In the U17 nationals in March I went in feeling very good and ready to impress, still being a year young, getting through to all 3 semi finals on the Sunday. I lost in the semi-finals of the singles to the top singles player in my age, before beating the top doubles pair in the semi-final of the doubles with Mina Clark, and going on to win the national title for the second consecutive year. Ryan and me, after our great performance at the U19 nationals, were in form and we managed to perform once again to our maximum, winning the mixed national title beating the top pair for the first time. This meant that I had won two national titles and got to the semi-final of the other to finish a fantastic domestic season in style.

After recent performances, I was selected for 5 Nations to be played in my hometown Milton Keynes, an event that consisted of the top nations in Europe. In the team event, I played doubles and mixed and put in some good performances but losing quite a few tight matches, in the end England came 2nd behind the Netherlands. In the individual event, me and my partner Mina Clark reached the semi-finals of the doubles gaining a Bronze medal and in the mixed with Ryan McCarthy reached the final before losing to another English pair in 3 tight sets, to get our first international medal together after an amazing first year.

The season is now over in terms of tournaments, there are still some club matches and we are playing our 3rd round tie in the Badminton England Cup in two months so we are training hard for that at the moment!

Me and my partner another Asda athlete Mina Clark recently went to Turkey to play in the Turkish Junior tournament, there were players from different countries across Europe and we played the U17 age group. The place itself wasn’t the nicest I have ever been to, we had to be escorted everywhere and were’nt allowed out during the day! In the singles I struggled to handle the Turkish crowd that were completely against us English and I lost in the final to a top Turkish player. In the doubles we played very well and played a really tough pair in the final but managed to play well enough to win, our first international win as a pair!

The tournament was really good experience and I learnt alot to take back and work on with my coaches for next season.

The season has finished and after my GCSEs I will start summer training..m mostly spent running round lakes and in the gym!