Claremorris ace Shauna is a rising star of the tennis world

THE Connaught Telegraph’s Young Sports Stars of the Year 2015 award winners (in association with Baxter Healthcare).

Number 17: Shauna Heffernan (Tennis).

SHAUNA Heffernan is a rising star of the tennis world.

She has been picked on the Irish team for the Tri-Nations Cup, which will be held this month in Glasgow.

A rising star in Claremorris Tennis Club, Shauna started playing in a number of tournaments on the European tennis circuit.

Her first European victory was in the Under 16 Capital Inn Reykjavik Open, which was held in Iceland and was a Category 3 European ranking tournament.

With her European ranking, Shauna qualified for the singles and the doubles events, reaching the final in both and winning outright in the singles.

She came into the tournament as the second seed and got a bye in the first few rounds. She beat Antonia Balzert from Germany 7-5, 6-2 in the quarterfinal, Chiara Waigand, again from Germany, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the semi-final, and was victorious in the final against Viola Cioffi from Italy with a score of 6-3, 6-4.

That win saw her advance in the European girls Under 14 ranking.