Telford’s Megan Jones is a double national champion

Telford’s Megan Jones is a double national champion

The 17-year-old won both the Under-17 Girls’ Singles and Under-17 Girls’ Doubles titles at the Mark Bates Ltd Cadet, Under-17 & Junior National Championships.

Seeded second in the singles, Jones won her group to go into the knockout stages and two more 3-0 wins put her in the semi-finals.

She had to dig deep to beat Sienna Jetha 3-2 (12-10, 11-6, 6-11, 8-11, 11-7) to go through to the final, where she faced unseeded Ella Pashley. Jones lived up to her seeding as she won the final 3-1 (11-5, 7-11, 11-6, 11-4).

It followed victory in the doubles earlier in the day as Jones and partner Anna Green, the top seeds, just about managed to get the better of top seeds Amy Marriott & Saskia Key 3-2 (8-11, 11-8, 13-11, 6-11, 11-6) in the final.

Jones said: “It’s not what I was expecting, to be honest, but it’s a good feeling to come home with two golds.

“The doubles was my first National title, so it’s a good feeling. In the singles final, it was a good match, but I felt like I had to play my game more and not let her get in.”

For good measure, Jones added a bronze medal by reaching the semi-finals of the Junior (under-19) Girls’ Singles. She was narrowly defeated by second seed Amy Marriott, who won 3-2 (11-6, 11-13, 14-12, 8-11, 12-10).

In the Junior Mixed Doubles, Jones & Jakub Piwowar lost 3-2 (9-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8) in the last 16 to Marriott & Maxim Stevens, while in the Junior Girls’ Doubles, Jones & Jasmin Wong went out in the semi-finals to eventual champions Anaya Patel & Millie Rogove. Bronze medals are not awarded in doubles.

Pic by Michael Loveder