Debbie makes a breakthrough

Jun 7 2006 Wirral News

PRENTON ' S Debbie Thomas achieved her best ever National Wheelchair Tennis Championships results after reaching the finals in both the Women's Singles and Women's Doubles.

Thomas, from Prenton Hall Road, came up against current British No. 1 Lucy Shuker, from Somerset, in the final of the Women's Singles.

But the Wirral player did not let Shuker have things all her own way, producing a solid performance despite Shuker's powerful ground strokes and court craft earning her her first National singles title after a 6-2, 6-2 win.

In 2005, Thomas reached the final of the Women's Doubles for the very first time and repeated that performance again this year.

Since last summer, Thomas has forged a successful partnership with Cleveland's Susan Paisley, earning both players a career high doubles ranking inside the world's top 25. In their first National Championships together, the top seeded pairing reached the final after a commanding 6-2, 6-1 win over South Wales' Debbie Brazier and Lancashire's Anna Tarkowski.

They then started the final against second seeds Shuker and Hunt encouragingly, but were edged out of the first before eventually slipping to a 6-4, 6-0 loss.