EGLINTON tennis talent Grace Schumacher is expected to break inside the Australian women's top 50 rankings following her singles and doubles titles at the NSW Priceline Country Closed Silver AMT/18U Championships.
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Schumacher was ruthless in her singles campaign as the top seed, winning both her opening matches 6-0 6-0 and going on to take out the tournament without dropping a set.
In the doubles Schumacher and partner Isabella Podesta, as third seeds, brought down the top-seeded pairing in the final following an intense super tiebreak.
Recent results have pushed Schumacher six spots up the rankings to a new career high of 55 and that is certain to be improved even further when updates are released next week.
"I think it will take me down to 49. It feels great. With every tournament my ranking is improving," Schumacher said.
"My Australian ranking is what I'm working on now. I'm going to move out of the Junior ITFs next year so I can focus on that ranking and move onto pro events."
There's one big reason Schumacher wants to get that ranking as strong as possible.
"I'm looking to go to college next year so I've been talking to a few colleges," she said.
"We've learned a lot from every school that we've spoken to. We've had talks with South Carolina and Vanderbilt, who are both top five in America for their tennis programs.
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"The goal is to do the 18s showdown at the end of the year. Depending on what they're offering it can sometimes give you a wildcard into the Australian Open main draw or qualifying."
The victories in her home state were welcome ones for Schumacher after a tough Queensland campaign to start her winter.
Schumacher was knocked out of the Shaw Park Open and Queensland Open singles in the second round where she lost on both occasions to Sara Tomic, the younger sister of former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Bernard.
Bathurst was well represented in the women's draw at Forster.
Tayla Brasier entered as the 13th seed and reached the third round before being knocked out by second seed and eventual finalist Laia Pasini.
Gabriella and Dominique Mitton both reached the second round while Caitlin Speirs made a main draw appearance.
More success came Bathurst's way when father-son combination Andrew and Alex Mitton took out the special men's doubles after a challenging run to the final.
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Alexander Grant
Part of the Western Advocate's sports desk in Bathurst.
Part of the Western Advocate's sports desk in Bathurst.
