Tennis: Local tennis star shines in Asia

Otumoetai's Ashleigh Harvey would love to play tennis for a US college one day.

Ashleigh Harvey is hoping a breakthrough year in 2015 will help her chances of gaining a tennis scholarship from an American college.

The 16-year-old from the Otumoetai club lifted her profile when she represented New Zealand at the 2015 WTA Future Stars Tournament in Singapore and the IC Asian Junior Challenge event held in October.

Tennis NZ held a highly competitive three-day round robin trial to determine the players to travel to Asia in the 14- and 16-year-old age groups. It was the first time New Zealand had been invited to the WTA Future Stars, which provides top-level competition for young girls from 18 countries across the Asia-Pacific region.

"It was an amazing experience going over there because we got to see the top players play at the same time at the women's WTA final," Harvey said. "I played a girl from Australia and a girl from Korea. It was a lot different to here but it wasn't that big a step up. It was just good to compete with those girls internationally and see what everyone else in the world is kind of doing."

Harvey has a national under-14 doubles title to her name and was runner-up in the singles final last year, and also went to Malaysia in 2014 with the best young New Zealand players for the Junior Fed Cup qualifying.

Harvey attends St Peter's Cambridge but has no intention of switching allegiances away from Otumoetai Tennis Club, who she plays inter-club tennis for.

"Otumoetai has been my club and always will be. I just love the courts, the people, just the atmosphere at Otumoetai. It is such a supportive club," she said.

"The least I can do is play for them after all the support they have given me."

Otumoetai Tennis Club celebrated its 50th anniversary this year and has top-quality playing facilities. Club captain Fred Kelve said Ashleigh was the epitome of what could evolve out of the junior programme.

"She is a nice, well-rounded kid who has balanced her life well," he said. "She tries to come back (from Cambridge) whenever she can to play on the premier team we have combined with the Mount. She volunteers to work with the younger kids in sessions with the club."

Kelve believed that Harvey had the determination and ambition to succeed.

"We have had a couple of other kids in the club who may have had similar capabilities in terms of talent but may not have had that individual drive."