A YOUNG tennis ace from Bishop's Hull performed superbly to win a national tournament over the weekend.

Taunton's Grace Piper, 16, travelled to London to take part in the prestigious LTA Under-18 National Winter Tour Finals, held at the National Tennis Centre, Roehampton.

Sixteen players from across the UK were invited into the tournament, based upon performance in National Tour events held over recent months.

Piper, sponsored by Team HEAD, enjoyed an impressive victory in her first-round match, beating Gloucestershire’s Charlotte Russell.

She followed this with an entertaining win over Alexa Wilson from Buckinghamshire to set up a semi-final with Megan Davies from North Wales.

Both players performed well but Piper came through to win in three sets to progress to the final.

This saw Piper take on Megan Carmichael from Cambridgeshire.

Piper started strongly, and saw out the match 6-1 6-1 to take the title.

Piper is a student at The Castle School and divides her time between Taunton Tennis Club (where she is coached by Natalie Ayton) and Exeter Tennis Centre (coached by Guy Leverton and Athena Nathalia).

This latest success should see her rise into the top five of the national Under-16 rankings.