CAVERSHAM’S Holly Ranson won the U21 girls’ singles title when she competed in the Racketlon World Championships in Rotterdam earlier this month along with more than 420 competitors from 20 countries competed.
Ranson was able to win each match without even going to tennis, as she was so dominant in the first three sports — table tennis, badminton and squash.
The 18-year-old also competed in the women’s A elite event, where she finished ninth, losing only in the first round to a French player who went on to be crowned world champion. Despite the early loss, Ranson went on to beat the Danish number one and two times former world champion in her second match for the first time. Ranson went on to win her third match against the British number two ranked woman, needing just six points in squash, after winning table tennis and badminton 21-3, 21-1.
Earlier in the year Ranson also played in two teams representing Great Britain. She played in the U21 British first team, with teams made up of two or three boys and one girl, and each sport played to 11 instead of 21. Ranson’s team went on to win the event, defeating the Swiss, German and Austrian teams on the way to the title. Holly was unbeaten in all her matches.
Ranson was also part of the elite open team which secured the bronze medal. After losing to Finland (the eventual winners), they had a close match against Germany. This was won by GB on a gummi-arm point, played when there is a tie in the score at the end of all the matches. This is one sudden death point of tennis, where only one serve is allowed and whoever wins that one point wins the match. GB managed to win that point taking them into the bronze medal match, which they won against Denmark.
Ranson will head off to Warwick University next month to study philosophy and Politics, where she hopes to train in all four racket sports, but particularly badminton and squash, as they have full time coaches at the university.
She is currently ranked number one in the world in U21 girls’ singles, doubles and mixed for racketlon, but she wants to focus on climbing the rankings in women’s singles from her current position of seventh.