Seaton Tennis Club star Emma Hurst is the new 18U Girls Doubles National Junior Champion of Great Britain, writes Belinda Bawden.

Plying for the first time with Swansea’s Joely Lomas, the pair proved better than the rest to power their way to the last four where they confidently saw off the top seeds Jasmine Amber Asghar and Ellie Rose Griffiths, 6-4, 7-5 to book a final berth.

In that final it was a closer affair against Ella Monsey (Suffolk) and Madeleine Brooks (Norfolk) with the final score being 7-6, 6-4.

Coached by Derek Blackmore, Emma Hurst is thrilled to have her name engraved on a national trophy along with famous players Virginia Wade and Sue Barker.

Speaking after the triumph Hurst said “I’m really surprised with the win! I can’t believe I’ve ended the week as National Champion. I got knocked out of the singles early on and was pretty disappointed with that but this a great moment for me. Joely and I haven’t played together before this week but we gelled really quickly and played some great tennis, especially in the semi-finals yesterday. It’s been a great way to finish my Junior Nationals, I start University at Bath in September and I’m really looking forward to working with the coaches there.”

Seaton Tennis Club coaching coordinator Ben Elliott is on the move.

The popular coach, who also works at Exmouth and Sidmouth Tennis Clubs, is off to become Performance Coach at Bath University.