British teenager Freya Christie had a strong finish to 2015, with an impressive three week run on the British indoor swing of Loughborough W$15k, Bath W$25k, and Shrewsbury W$25k.
Week 1 saw the 17-year-old reach the quarterfinals at Loughborough, including a 76(6) 63 victory over second seed Indy De Vroome (NED) in the 2nd round, and with Lisa Whybourn capture the doubles title.
After celebrating her 18th birthday on the middle weekend, the Nottingham player travelled to the $25k at Bath, and continued her impressive form with another quarterfinal appearance as a wild card, defeating sixth seed Alice Matteucci (ITA) 64 75 in the 2nd round, plus reaching the doubles final with Whybourn.
However, it was at the $25k in Shrewsbury where Christie really made a significant impact, reaching the final as a qualifier. She defeated a quartet of top 500 players on route (Sofie Oyen (BEL) No. 447, Tereza Martincova (CZE) No. 183, Xenia Knoll (SUI) No. 356, and fellow qualifier Greet Minnen (BEL) No. 457).
There was a certain irony in the final, which saw the British teenager up against Top seed Oceane Dodin, who was returning to Shrewsbury having won the 2014 title as an 18-year-old qualifier!
In a hard fought match Dodin prevailed with a 76(3) 75 victory, but as a result of her recent performances, Christie who was ranked 804 at the beginning of August should rise into the top 400 for the first time in her fledgling career. Earlier in the year she reached the junior girls doubles semi-finals at Wimbledon, playing on a packed No.1 court.
After the final, which was played in front of a record crowd at The Shrewsbury Club, Christie admitted she was disappointed to lose the match but was pleased to make her first singles final at $25k level, improving on her previous best quarterfinal performance, and is now looking forward to pushing on in 2016.
Photograph courtesy of Richard Dawson Photography