Cranston heads for third tilt at worlds

OFF AGAIN: Ohakune's Karen Cranston has departed for France, to play in the Senior World Team Championships.PHOTO/FILE A-300113WCSMKAREN-CRANSTON1

Ohakune's tennis ace Karen Cranston will add France to the stamps in her passport, as she has departed for La Baule to represent New Zealand at the 2015 ITF Seniors World Team Championships.

It will be Cranston's third straight year at the world championships, having previously been to Turkey and Florida, US.

She left on Wednesday and has her first games on Monday.

"First week, made up of team competition where I will play singles and doubles, then the second week I play singles, doubles and mixed," Cranston said. "Any one day, I could play up to two singles and two doubles."

This year, for the first time, the senior world champs will have only three age groups - the over 50s, 55s and 60s.

The over 35 and 45 age groups were folded into a separate Young Seniors world championships, held in March in Turkey.

Cranston, a national 50-55 women's singles and doubles champion, has three teammates, from Queenstown and Auckland.

Cranston said she had been fortunate to train and play against Leela Beattie, the 21-year-old ranked No5 female nationally, who came from Christchurch to coach at Collegiate.

"She's young and enthusiastic and can hit the cover off the ball, and very accomplished in her own right on the New Zealand stage," said Cranston.

"So for her to hit with this much older player, it's been a privilege, and has certainly benefited me, both physically and mentally."

Cranston said her form was pretty good as she headed overseas.

"I'm stoked, as I travel long distances to play interclub drive to Auckland to play on a Saturday and New Plymouth the alternative weekend."

Cranston said just to have a social hit on week-days with Beattie or someone else requires planning and the mindset to drive to Wanganui and back to Ohakune, arriving home late.

She was yesterday in Hong Kong, en route to France.