Darcy in dazzling form in Europe
12-year-old Jewish Melburnian Darcy Basist has won a 14-and-under girls' singles tennis title in Germany.
After representing Victoria’s junior girls’ tennis team in their teams national championships title win last month, Darcy Basist is now having an incredible experience in Germany with Tennis Australia.
Basist, who is still 12, won a major junior international tournament – the Peter Hagendorn International in Waiblingen – which had a 64-strong 14-and-under girls’ singles draw.
Going into that tournament unseeded, she defeated the 9th, 8th, 3rd and 2nd seeds, culminating with a 6-2 6-0 win in the final on July 17 over the top seed, Denmark’s Ella Andrews Wendell.
Basist only dropped one set in the tournament, and made the decider after prevailing in a tight semi-final against the third seed, Emiliya Starusseva of Kazakhstan, by 6-3 2-6 6-2.
In doubles, she teamed up with fellow Aussie Sofia Haddock, bowing out 6-3 3-6 (9-11) in the Round of 16 against the top seeds.
Basist then boarded a train for Ulm to play in the Muller Junior Cup, before flying home.
In that tournament, she also fared well, despite having such a demanding schedule, finishing as a singles and doubles quarter-finalist, and having won three out of her four singles matches.