Tennis: Teammates mourn loss of Mihaere

Mihaere's teammates at Brenau University, Georgia, pay tribute to the young kiwi tennis star.

The Wellington tennis community is mourning the loss of one of its former top junior players.

Katrina Mihaere died on August 19 from injuries suffered in a road accident in the United States. She was 25.

Her former Wellington doubles teammate Jane Legge recalled today how Mihaere was not only extremely talented but also "extremely funny".

"Most people knew her for her personality. She was the comedian in the group," Legge said.

Mihaere played had a New Zealand singles ranking in the top 10 before heading to the United States on a tennis scholarship in 2000.

More recently she had been playing and coaching at Brenau University in Gainsville, Georgia.

The university's website features a picture of her teammates gathered around a memorial of her and earlier this week asked staff and students to observe a minute's silence in memory of the girl they knew as "Kiwi".

Mihaere's body arrived in New Zealand yesterday and a service will be held for her in Lower Hutt tomorrow.

- nzpa