Three tennis titles for Hawke’s Bay’s Franka Paunovic

Franka Paunovic won three titles and a placed third in the Hawke’s Bay Junior Open.

Hawke’s Bay senior tennis representative Franka Paunovic is eyeing a United States-based scholarship.

The Havelock North 15-year-old, who last week completed her Year 10 studies at Woodford House, proved she is on track to secure one with three titles and a third placing in the Kennedy Park-sponsored Hawke’s Bay Junior Open, which ended in Napier on Wednesday.

Unseeded in the 15-and-over girls’ singles, Paunovic beat her top-seeded Havelock North clubmate Belle Kinnear 6-1, 6-0 in the final. She combined with Palmerston North’s Lily Smith in the 16-and-under girls’ doubles and beat clubmates Sophia Morris and Zoe Kight 6-3, 6-1 in the final.

Paunovic and Kinnear won all four of their matches in the 15-and-over girls’ doubles round-robin. Paunovic finished third in the 16-and-under girls’ singles.

“I was very pleased with my results. I am lucky to have [Havelock North coach Timothy] Rynold as my coach because he is very good,” Paunovic explained.

“Playing for Hawke’s Bay in the Christie Cup defences against Manawatū and Whanganui was a good warm-up for the open, too.”

Paunovic moved to Havelock North with her family from Croatia seven years ago. She started playing tennis in Croatia at the age of 5.

A left-hander, Paunovic, ranks her backhand and forehand cross-court shots as her strengths. She has played in numerous national age-group tournaments, and this week’s Hawke’s Bay Junior Open was her fourth.

In March, she will travel to Australia to begin a tennis exchange on the Gold Coast.

The five-day Hawke’s Bay Junior Open tournament, which was played at the Hawke’s Bay Lawn and Greendale clubs, attracted 165 players, including some from Australia and the United States. Numerous players competed in two age groups and 552 matches were played.

Results from finals involving HB players:

10-and-under boys’ singles: Frank T Zhang (United States) 1; Bruno Reed (Hawke’s Bay) 2.

10-and-under girls’ singles: Lina Dimitrijoska (New Zealand) 1; Hannah Wedd (Hawke’s Bay) 2.

14-and-under girls’ singles: Sophie Wedd (Hawke’s Bay) 1; Sophia Morris (Hawke’s Bay) 2.

15-and-over girls’ singles: Franka Paunovic (Hawke’s Bay) 1; Belle Kinnear (Hawke’s Bay) 2.

14-and-under mixed doubles: Nicolai O’Dowd and Sophie Wedd (Hawke’s Bay) 1; Blake Botham and Sarah Jennings (both New Zealand) 2.

16-and-under mixed doubles: O’Dowd and Sophie Wedd (Hawke’s Bay) 1; Fraser Waugh and Lily Williams (New Zealand) 2.

10-and-under boys’ doubles: Zhang and William White (New Zealand) 1; Reed and Fergus Wu (New Zealand) 2.

16-and-under boys’ doubles: Waugh and Eziah Paulsen (Hawke’s Bay) 1; Mayank Giri (Hawke’s Bay) and Lucas Surjo (New Zealand) 2.

10-and-under girls’ doubles: Hannah Wedd and Molly Nicoll (both Hawke’s Bay) 1; Vanisha Giri (Hawke’s Bay) and Dimitrijoska 2.

12-and-under girls’ doubles: Arabella Absolom (Hawke’s Bay) and Katie Yao (New Zealand) 1; Hannah Wedd and Maisy Shennan (New Zealand) 2.

14-and-under girls’ doubles: Morris and Sophie Wedd (both Hawke’s Bay) 1; Lucy Wilson and Sarah Jennings (both New Zealand) 2.

16-and-under girls’ doubles: Paunovic and Lily Smith (New Zealand) 1; Morris and Zoe Kight (New Zealand) 2.

15-and-over girls’ doubles: Paunovic and Kinnear 1; Mansi Giri (Hawke’s Bay) and Amelia Nolan (Australia) 2.

Open doubles: Mansi Giri and Kinnear 1; Kyle Burgess and Angus Pearce (both Australia) 2.