Ella McDonald admitted even she was surprised by her performance in a terrific display against former top-ten star Coco Vandeweghe in Wimbledon qualifying writes Oli Dickson Jefford.

Preston star McDonald, who trains at the LTA’s National Academy in Stirling that is offering a pro-style training environment for aspiring professional players, was beaten 5-7 6-1 7-6 [10-8] in a thrilling contest out on Court 11.

Vandeweghe is a two-time quarter-finalist at Wimbledon as well as an Australian and US Open semi-finalist, and McDonald believes she well and truly matched her experienced opponent today.

She said: “I just went into the match wanting to have no regrets, just playing my tennis and playing a great game really. I didn’t expect myself to do that well to be honest!

“She [Vandeweghe] played really well. I just wanted to match her and I thought I did that pretty well considering. I’m really pleased with how the performance went today.”

Having played so well against someone who has competed at the very highest level, the 16-year-old now wants to keep making improvements - with a busy couple of weeks providing the perfect platform.

McDonald commented: “It makes me more determined to keep progressing, keep my head down, keep working hard and keep improving.

“I went through pre-qualifying, so it was actually a really great experience to compete here, and I hope to do it again next year.

“Hopefully I’ll be doing the Roehampton Juniors next week, and then after that Junior Wimbledon. I’m looking forward to that, getting to play at the Wimbledon club.”

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