WANBOROUGH'S Louise Hunt produced a career-best performance at the Cruyff Foundation International Wheelchair Tennis Junior Masters in Tarbes, France.

She retained the girls' doubles title and narrowly missed out on a place in the singles final at the most prestigious of all wheelchair tennis events for players aged 18 and under.

The 17-year-old, the Advertiser's Young Sports Personality of 2006, partnered Jordanne Whiley to a successful defence of their doubles crown - after Whiley had got the better of her in the singles.

The pair saw off Americans Emmy Kaiser and MacKenzie Soldan 3-6, 7-6, 14-12.

In the singles, Hunt beat Kaiser in three sets, after her 6-2, 6-2 defeat to partner Whiley.

She then sealed a courageous 6-7, 6-0, 6-4 victory over Solden, only to miss out on the final because Kaiser had defeated her compatriot in straight sets.

"I was bitterly disappointed on Saturday night when I reaslised I had not reached the final after playing so well and winning two of my three matches, but that's sport, everything is decided by such tight margins sometimes," said Hunt. "But I've got to be pleased with the way I played.

"Before I arrived in Tarbes this year I knew it would be the most wide open Junior Masters I had been to.

"Last year Jordanne and I had to go to a championship tie-break to win the title, so when it came down to another one this year we were very nervous, although we tried not to show it."

Hunt bids for further success at this week's Sion Indoor tournament in Switzerland, which begins on Wednesday and is her first senior tournament of the 2008 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour.