ROMSEY'S Catherine Gunn was rewarded for reaching the semi-finals of the Samsung Junior Clay Court Challenge at Hemel Hempstead at the weekend.

Gunn missed out on a final place when she lost 6-4 6-3 to Sarah Wright from Nottingham.

But, in the previous rounds, she had beaten Camilla Hsu (Middlesex) 6-3 6-2 and Majen Immink (Kent) 6-2 7-6 (6).

And reaching the last four of the tournament qualified the young ace for this weekend's grand finale of the 16-and-under clay court series, to be staged at Queenswood School (Herts) on Saturday and Sunday.

The challenge is designed to maximise the development of young clay-court players in Great Britain.

More than 330 players aged between 11-16 have entered the competition, hosted by Britain's top clay court venues at West Hans, Harpenden, Queenswood, Bisham Abbey, Doncaster and Ripon. The best players emerging from the Challenge will be invited to play alongside APT Tour professionals at the Samsung Open, staged at Bournemouth's West Hants Club from September 13-19.

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