Scott (16) won the 16 and under title in Christchurch last week, a rare feat for a southern player.
Success in tennis requires one-on-one competition at a challenging level, and Scott has only been able to gain this by taking on males. She came to notice when winning both the Otago boys 16s and 18s titles when only 15, and plays men's senior interclub in Dunedin.
She was picked up by Auckland scouts when beating last year's individual titleholder Dana Gray in a three-hour battle during the team event which followed the age-group tournament.
When the chance came to play in the Caro Bowl, Auckland's semi-professional club competition, Scott was keen.
"Parnell have been really good to me and it has helped so much to play up there," she said.
She is thrilled by her recent success. "I'm just stoked; really happy."
Scott does not mention the sacrifices involved for herself and her family in making an impact on the tennis court.
She leaves Dunedin every Thursday night, missing school on Friday, to play in Auckland on Friday night. She flies back every Saturday.
After the Caro Bowl, Scott won five singles matches to take the National Residential Open consolation event - effectively finishing fifth in the championships, as each round losers are fed back into the draw - in the tournament won by leading New Zealand professional Marina Erakovic.
Somewhat unusual in an individual sport, Scott has no regular coach, although she credits former Otago coach Neil Carter with getting her started, and is receiving occasional help from national high-performance coach Pete McGraw.
Her brother, Oliver (19), is a regular practice partner.
Scott also holds the Otago Open title and Otago Player of the Year, and is obviously in line to retain both again this season.
But it is her off-court attitude which shows Scott has not forgotten where she comes from.
She expects to spend her morning today at a working bee at the Logan Park courts, and was noted coming to the tournament office at a local event asking if there was anything she could do to help, before spending 20 minutes transferring scores to the public noticeboard.
She has a refreshing attitude to team events in a sport where it is important to be self-confident.
Scott's hopes for the future involve her aiming for a tennis scholarship in the United States, but her immediate task, before returning to St Hildas Collegiate for year-12 studies, is to attend ITF world junior circuit tournaments in Christchurch and Auckland.
- Dennis Radford
