Bargeddie 17-year-old Ellie Robertson takes on the biggest challenge of her tennis career this week when she contests the first junior wheelchair tennis tournament to be held at a Grand Slam.
Robertson, who is part of the LTA’s National Age Group Programme, is in New York for the inaugural US Open Junior Wheelchair Tennis Championships after a busy and successful summer that culminated in her earning direct qualification for the eight-player girls’ singles field at the last opportunity.
Robertson, who was No.11 in the international junior wheelchair tennis rankings at the start of June, improved her ranking to No. 7 by early August to ensure that she would not need to depend on the chance of being awarded a wild card for New York. She said:
“It’s really exciting and I’m very proud to have qualified after all the hard work over the summer. I’m feeling proud. It was quite nerve-wracking going to play in Holland because I knew that I had to win a certain number of matches to qualify for New York. I think I coped with the pressure quite well, being in that match situation and knowing what I needed to do. I had had the thought in the back of my mind for some time that I could make it.”
Robertson, who trains at Scotsoun Tennis Centre with her coach and former Paralympian Kevin Simpson, has played tournaments in Great Britain, Turkey, Hungary, Italy and the Netherlands this season to gain as much experience as possible and to help improve her ranking.
At the end of July she was world ranked No. 8 after the British Open Junior Championships in Nottingham before back-to-back tournaments in the Netherlands ended with the young Scot moving up one place to the No. 7 ranking that ensured her place on the plane to New York.
Among her results in the Netherlands Robertson took current No.2 ranked junior Maylee Phelps of the USA to three sets at the Amjoy Cup before finishing runner-up to fellow Brit Ruby Bishop the following week at the Cruyff Foundation European Junior Camp.
“I think we bought the best out of each other. I’ve beaten a few of the players that were in the top 10 of the junior rankings when I played them, but Maylee just managed to get the better of me,” said Robertson of her match against Phelps, the player who is set to be top seed in New York.
“It’s a really big thing for me as it will be my last junior event. I’m nervous and excited. I’ve never really been that far and while I get to experience playing at a Grand Slam, I’m also going to experience things like jet lag for the first time, so it’s a learning experience for me, too,” added Robertson, who turns 18 next Tuesday. “My coach Kevin has been to most of the Grand Slams with Andy Lapthorne, another British wheelchair player, so to have him there will be great.”
Looking ahead to Robertson’s US Open challenge, coach Simpson, formerly one of Britain’s leading wheelchair players, said: “It means the world to me to see Ellie show her potential. I still remember her coming to tennis as an 11 or 12-year-old and to see her now is incredible. She’s worked hard for this. It’ll be an experience she’s never going to forget and will stand her in good stead for the transition from junior to senior women’s competition.”
Photo courtesy of the LTA
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