Team Bath’s Alicia Barnett is new British number one women’s doubles player after winning first WTA 250 title with Olivia Nicholls in Canada
Team Bath Tennis player Alicia Barnett is the new British number one in women’s doubles after she and partner Olivia Nicholls won their first WTA 250 title in Canada this week.
Barnett, coached by Ian MacDonald at the Team Bath Sports Training Village, and Nicholls recovered from a set down to beat fellow Brit Harriet Dart and her partner Rosalie Van der Hoek 5-7 6-3 10-1 in the final of the Granby National Bank Championships.
The result meant that Barnett (pictured left) reached a new career-high doubles ranking of 69 in the world, moving above fellow Team Bath Tennis player Samantha Murray-Sharan to become the top-ranked Brit.
“It has been incredible year with a lot of firsts,” said Barnett, who started the year ranked 184 in the world. “This achievement is really special and I couldn’t have done it without Liv or our team.”
Barnett and Nicholls appeared at their second Grand Slam of the year when they made their US Open debuts on Thursday. The Brits put up a good battle against number 13 seeds Alexa Guarachi and Andreja Klepac in the first round before going down 6-4 7-5.
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