Tennis whiz-kid steps up

Young Albany tennis star Abbi Gibson continues her rapid rise in the sport after producing impressive results at tournaments in Perth during the school holidays, competing well above her age group.

The 11-year-old has been touted as one of the stars of the future and she took on players more than three years her senior in Perth.

That didn’t stop her from not only winning a 14-and-under event, but also reaching the quarterfinals of a 16-and-under tournament.

Abbi won the 14s singles championships at the Melville Future Stars tournament, which was an Australia Ranking event, after taking down her more fancied rivals.

She defeated No.1 seed Casey Tay in the semifinals and then won the title after prevailing over No.3 seed Georgie Tovich in the final.

The Year 6 Albany Primary School student then finished runner-up in the City of Joondalup Hard Court Championships, competing in the 14-and-under girls’ division, where she lost to Lauren Nikoloshi in the final 6-4, 7-5.

At the WA Open tournament, which is a gold event, Abbi played in the under-16 division.

She won her first round 6-1, 6-1 and then defeated No.2 seed Lara Vujasinovic 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, which put her into the quarterfinals.

However, she fell to No.6 seed Luna Jokanovic in the quarterfinals 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

In the fifth-eighth play-off she had a nervous loss in the first round, and then defeated No.5 seed Jamie Edwards 4-6, 6-0, 10-7.

Albany Tennis Academy head coach David Kerr praised Abbi’s performance.

“These are outstanding tournament results for Abbi,” he said.

“It was great to get another Australian ranking event win and runner-up, and it was maybe a bit of a gamble to put Abbi up in the 16s, but it did nothing but give her confidence.

“She goes toe-to-toe with the girls five years older, she loved the challenge and really stepped up and I think her game will go to another level again.”