COLCHESTER tennis starlet Sarah Skaria insisted she could still hold her head up high despite falling just short of a dream outing at Wimbledon.

The Colchester County High School for Girls pupil had the chance to book herself a spot at the world-famous venue as she competed in the HSBC Road to Wimbledon East Regional Qualifier at Gosling Sports Park, in Welwyn Garden City.

The 13-year-old was playing for a spot at August’s National Finals of the HSBC Road to Wimbledon 14 & Under Challenge at the All England Club, looking to walk away as overall champion of the tournament.

But, despite falling short of a memorable outing at the famous SW19 courts this time around, Colchester Leisure World’s Skaria is adamant we haven’t seen the last of her after losing out to Ananya Vartak 6-1, 6-2 in the first round.

She said: “I was playing fine but I wasn’t very consistent and I need to be a bit more aggressive going forward into other matches.

“It was marginal and I was hitting the ball a bit too well sometimes, so I think I need to wait and hit the right ball in future.

“Days like this help me to become more experienced and with that I will become more consistent.

“I was serving pretty well, and I did hit a few winners – which I was proud of.

“It was my first time and something like this and it felt great to be there even though I lost.”

The HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 & Under Challenge, the UK’s largest grass court tournament, forms part of HSBC’s investment in grassroots tennis.

Each year, more than 10,000 youngsters take part in the series of national tennis tournaments, helping to inspire the next generation of Wimbledon stars to take their tennis careers from the back garden to Centre Court.

And after watching the action for herself at the South East regional qualifier, HSBC ambassador and former Scottish international tennis player Judy Murray was impressed with what she saw from the crop of 2016.

“The HSBC Road to Wimbledon is a wonderful grassroots programme which more than 10,000 youngsters take part in each year and culminates in the chance to play at Wimbledon, which is every young tennis players’ dream and inspires them every year,” Murray said.

“This programme is a very big part of the British tennis calendar and youngsters recognise the HSBC Road to Wimbledon as a tournament that offers a prize to play at Wimbledon. This prize is a real incentive to enter and do their very best to make it to the final stage.

“Going along and receiving coaching on how to hit the ball properly is one thing but competitive opportunities at a young age need to be fun and stimulating because you want them to enjoy the sport and keep coming back. In my opinion it doesn’t get more stimulating than the ultimate prize of being able to play at Wimbledon.

“Wimbledon is one of those places that is on most people’s bucket list or it is their dream to go there but for most people they are only able to see it on the television so the HSBC Road to Wimbledon is creating a wonderful opportunity for kids across the country.”

HSBC is the Official Banking Partner of The Championships and is committed to supporting grassroots tennis, helping to inspire the next generation of Wimbledon stars to take their tennis careers from the back garden to Centre Court through the HSBC Road to Wimbledon 14 & Under Challenge. @HSBC_sport