St Andrews 15 year old Morven McCulloch justified her number one seeding at Scotstoun this weekend, retaining her Scottish Indoor Championship under 16s title.

In a textbook weekend’s tennis she dropped just five games in five matches. 

“It was pretty comfortable, I played well which helped and in each match won one set to love, so I was pleased with the result,” she said after a weekend in which she beat players from Scotland, England and Ireland. In the final she beat Ireland’s Megan McGreevy 6-2 6-0.

Morven is that rarest of players – unusual even in the modern men’s game – in being able to serve and volley.  

“When I was little I used to be terrified of coming to the net and getting hit by the ball,” she said.  

“But I’ve worked on my slice and that has helped to develop my volley.  Now I like serve and volley.  It’s different in the girls game where most of them slap the ball from corner to corner.  I like to mix it up and vary it, come to the net. They don’t really expect the variations.” 

It’s a part of her game her coach, Marcel du Coudray, Head Tennis Coach at The Tennis Academy at Edinburgh’s St George's School for Girls, has keenly developed.

“Full credit should go to Morven for having the courage to do it,” said Marcel.  “We spend a lot of time getting her to understand when the right time is and what kind of effect it will have on her opponent. 

“We’ve worked a lot on her tactical awareness, how to use the specific shots she has as well as giving her the confidence in being able to use them at the right time.” 

2010 will be an important and transitional year for Morven who will attempt to improve her junior world ranking whilst studying for Highers at St George’s.  

“She will spend this coming year at the Academy on a reduced academic timetable looking to up the amount of tennis she plays so she can make the transition to senior tennis,” said Marcel.  
 
“For the next couple of months we will be looking for her to do as well as possible in ITF events.  The level after that will be to qualify for junior Grand Slams.  Then in two years time she is looking to go more full time onto the WTA Tour tournaments.   

“She’s determined, loves tennis and loves improving and seeing the results.” 

Supporting Morven is St George’s and the East of Scotland Institute of Sport (ESIS), part of sportscotland’s institute of sport regional network which provides high performance expertise to Scotland’s potential world class talent. 

“The support the school and boarding staff at St George’s provides has been vital,” said Marcel. 
 
“The ESIS support is absolutely crucial and has played an integral part in helping me set up a programme that’s manageable for her.  She’s getting her Strength & Conditioning programme through ESIS in partnership with tennis Scotland. 
 
“She accesses psychology and lifestyle management support, which is very important for someone of her age as it teaches responsibility and independence.   It has been a big help managing her time and exams over the last couple of weeks.”  

The Tennis Academy Scotland was opened two and a half years ago with an initial intake of 12 boys and girls, attending Merchiston and St George’s schools whilst receiving a top level tennis education.  

Since then The Tennis Academy Scotland has doubled its pupil numbers and a drive is underway to bring in other talented players.  Producing players of the calibre of Morven has been a perfect advert for the programme. 
 
“We are very pleased with the quality of the boys and girls,” adds Marcel. “We will be doing another recruitment drive over the next couple of months and looking for some top kids.

“We will go out and handpick a few and if there is anyone out there who is interested in applying they are very welcome.”