Rising star Kira Reuter has shrugged off three years of injury misery by enjoying a stunning summer of success – culminating in a national crown.
The Hemingford Grey prospect teamed up with Lancashire-based partner Holly Staff to win the British Junior National Championships Girls 16 and Under Doubles title recently.
A delighted Reuter said: “I’m so proud to be holding the trophy. This time three months ago I was struggling to string two matches together and I didn’t even expect to enter the Nationals, let alone win them. It’s absolutely fantastic!”
What makes the 16 year-old’s achievement even more impressive is that has seen her blossoming career badly held up by prolonged injuries to both knees.
Reuter found herself ranked a lowly 78th in the country only four weeks before an event in which only the top 26 players in the age group received automatic entry, but she produced a fine run of form to catapult herself up the national ladder.
An amazing run began at the start of July when she played in back to back National Schools Team Tennis Championship events.
Reuter won the ISTA National Doubles Under 19 crown with partner Lizzie Pam and then led Culford School Girls to third in the National Schools Championships (the highest positing in the Bury St Edmunds school’s history).
But her big break came the following week when a family break in Kent turned into a notable tournament success.
Reuter entered the British Tour Open in Tunbridge Wells and powered to victory in an event which boasts some illustrious former winners in 1977 Wimbledon champion Virginia Wade and current British Fed Cup captain Anne Keothavong.
She won seven matches, all against opponents ranked higher than her.
Reuter then represented Cambridgeshire Ladies in the Summer Cup, winning 10 of her 14 matches in Division Three of the doubles-only event at Frinton. She partnered fellow Hemingford Grey player Lisa Whybourn in eight of those successes.
Reuter also reached the semi-finals of the doubles competition at a British Tour event in Sutton, while making the singles quarter-finals in Newcastle.
She now sits 11th in the national rankings and is the top player in Cambridgeshire in the 16 & Under, 18 & Under and Open age groups.
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