Hughes In Maiden WISPA Triumph In South Australia

Reigning Australian junior champion Peta Hughes announced her arrival in the senior ranks when she won her first Women's International Squash Players' Association (WISPA) World Tour event at the Naracoorte Open in South Australia today.

The 20-year-old from the Central Queensland city of Rockhampton beat fellow Australian Dianne Desira in an epic final 6-9, 9-5, 7-9, 9-3, 9-5 to claim her maiden title on the WISPA Tour.

Hughes, who is a scholarship holder with the Australian Institute of Sport in Brisbane, has been in top form during the current Australian season, making WISPA finals in Darwin and Perth.

But she went one better today as she wore down the more experienced Desira and closed out the match with three delightful drop shots that left her opponent stranded.

Hughes now heads to New Zealand to play in the Central Open in New Plymouth, before returning to South Australia for the South Australian Open and then the Clare Valley Australian Open.

Final:
[2] Peta Hughes (AUS) bt [1] Dianne Desira (AUS) 6-9, 9-5, 7-9, 9-3, 9-5 (65m)