Katie gets ready for Four Nations Championships
A LIFELONG tennis player from Helensburgh is getting ready for her latest tournament - and is encouraging others to try out the sport.
Katie Hope has been selected to represent Scotland in the Four Nations Championships in the over-50s ladies team.
This will be Katie’s first senior cap for Scotland, but not her first representing the country.
In fact it comes 35 years after she first played for Scotland, at junior level.
The three-day tournament will take place in Bolton at the beginning of May, when Scotland will compete against England, Ireland and Wales.
Katie, a member of Helensburgh Tennis Club, where she was previously a coach for 10 years, is currently the west of Scotland over-50s single and doubles champion, and is ranked 11th in Britain in her age group.
Katie told the Advertiser: “I started playing tennis at a young age of four or five on the red blaes courts at Helensburgh and have continued playing all my life.
“I got into coaching as a career after having kids and needing a job that I could work my own hours and which was something that I enjoyed doing, so becoming a tennis coach was the perfect job.
“I am still loving the game. I’ve won the Helensburgh ladies’ club championships more than 20
times! I’ve played tournaments and for the west of Scotland county at junior and senior level. I represented Scotland a few times as a teenager.
“I’ve recently started playing senior events after hitting 50 and am lucky enough to be enjoying some success at events, which has resulted in my first senior
cap for Scotland.”
Katie, who trains at David Lloyd West End, travelled to New Zealand earlier this year where she saw Britain’s Emma Radacanu play.
She then travelled on to Australia where she watched Helensburgh’s own Gordon Reid win his 23rd Grand Slam wheelchair
doubles title alongside fellow Brit Alfie Hewett. She added: “For anyone wondering about learning to play tennis later in life there’s a great coaching team at Helensburgh Tennis Club, which caters to all abilities from beginners to competitive players.
“It’s a great way to meet people.”