13 September 2011 | Tennis West

WA tennis starlet Storm Sanders is set to hurdle up the rankings after a quarterfinals appearance at the 2011 Alice Springs Women’s International.

The seventeen year old upset the number 6 seed, Turkish sensation Pemra Ozgen (6-1), (6-1) in a dominating performance at the Northern Territory hard court club.

Sanders then faced nineteen year old Isabella Holland in the quarters and put up a gallant effort, before being edged out by the Queenslander in straight sets (6-3), (6-4). Holland went on to beat the number 1 seed, Sally Peers in the semi finals, before going down to Olivia Rogowska (number 2 seed) in the final (7-5), (7-5).

National Academy WA Manager, Callum Beale stated “Storm recently took out the State Tennis Centre Winter AMT in Western Australia and committed to an intense 5 week training block before heading to the Alice Springs Event. The combination of the confidence taken from the WA tournament along with the additional training was the catalyst for her results in the event.”

With an ignited start to the season, Sanders will continue following the Pro Tour around the Country. Next up Cairns and Darwin before heading back to the West Coast to compete in the Cliffs Esperance Tennis International and the Gold Fields St Ives Tennis International commencing in early October.