Thirteen-year-old Annerly Poulos claimed a maiden ITF junior title with a shock Canberra Junior International win at the Canberra Tennis Centre on Friday.
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Coach Todd Larkham admitted Poulos "wasn't expected to win" but defied the odds as she swept all before her, dropping just one set along the way.
Larkham said winning an ITF title in her 13th birth year elevates Poulos into rarified air.
"It says that she is one of the best junior players on the girls side that we have in Australia," Larkham said.
"She had some really good wins over some older players and it was really satisfying for us here in Canberra.
"She's been training really hard, she's been playing really well for about four weeks getting close to winning tournaments, so this is a good breakthrough for her this week."
The youngest player Poulos came up against was 15 – nearly three years her senior – and four of them were ranked higher than the world No. 1804.
While her hard work paid off on Saturday, Poulos had no time to rest, backing up almost immediately for the 14U national titles and dispelling fears about her mental and physical fatigue as she promptly advanced to the quarter finals.
"She showed that she can match it with girls who are highly ranked in Australia in much higher age groups so that's a good sign for her and for us in Canberra," Larkham said.
"She actually played the final of the ITF and she had to back up and play the first round of the nationals that afternoon."
Poulos plays in the quarter finals on Monday with an eye on winning her second piece of silverware in a week having made two finals in last year for no titles.
Larkham said Poulos is "pretty keen to try and get one under her belt" after going so close on a number of occasions as she continues to match it with older players.
"She's always been the best player over the last couple of years in her birth year but I think as she's physically growing she's showing she is now able to compete with the older girls as well," Larkham said.
"That's really good signs for her for the coming years. I think she's got a lot of potential, she needs to keep working hard but she's got a lot of potential to do well in the next few years hopefully."
