Tennis West is pleased to introduce ACEgirls, an initiative developed to celebrate West Australian Females in Tennis. Showcasing past and present champions, rising stars, tournament officials, coaches and club committee members, WA’s caliber of ACEgirls is nothing short of world class.
Rolling out over the next 12 months, ACEgirls will celebrate West Australia’s standout women with a monthly profile poster and fact sheet. Highlighting individual achievements, successes both on and off the court, alongside amazing feats of commitment and dedication, ACEgirls stands to deliver you the very best of WA’s tennis legends.
As such, it gives Tennis West great pleasure in announcing Astra Sharma as our inaugural ACEgirl. Coming off Astra’s impressive Australian Open campaign where she sliced her WTA ranking from 230 to 160, the decision was simple.
Forging her way through qualifying and into her debut Grand Slam, Astra went on to beat fellow Aussie, Pricilla Hon, in the first round match before bowing out to World number 41, Maria Sakkari (6-1, 6-4) in the second round. Regardless, Astra’s phenomenal AO ride, was only just beginning.
Partnering with QLD’s John-Patrick Smith as Wildcard entrants in the AO Mixed Doubles event, the pair secured a place in the Final, beating Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jamie Murray (6-4, 7-6) in the quarters before stamping out the number two seeds, Nicole Melichar and Bruno Soares (6-4, 7-6) in the Semifinal. A gracious Final’s defeat to the number three seeds, Barbora Krejcikova and Rajeev Ram (7-6, 6-1), didn’t go unnoticed, with Astra selected to make her debut Fed Cup appearance alongside Ash Barty, Daria Gavrilova, Kim Birrell and Priscilla Hon in the five-strong team against the USA in North Carolina from 9-10 February.
From the young girl who always did more than the rest, who took a chance on a US College Scholarship and is now reaping the rewards of her dedication and commitment, we celebrate Astra Sharma as January’s ACEgirl.
To download this month’s ACEgirl Fact Sheet about Astra Sharma, CLICK HERE
To watch Astra’s journey from US College to the AO Final, CLICK HERE
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