WHEELCHAIR TENNIS: Hunt raring to go as season begins (From This Is Wiltshire)

WHEELCHAIR tennis ace Louise Hunt feels a winter of hard training has been good for her game as she prepares for her first competitive outing of the year in Switzerland tomorrow.

The Wanborough player has been grafting on the training court since mid-November, following a 2012 rammed with tournaments, including the Paralympic competition at Eton Manor.

However, plenty of work behind the scenes has been the story of the last few months, and the 21-year-old feels this will benefit her this week at the Biel-Bienne Indoors and beyond.

“I'm second seed in Switzerland and I just want to get a good result and a good start to the year,” said Hunt.

“My last tournament was actually in November (the Invacare Doubles Masters in the Netherlands) so I've had a fantastic few months of training, which has been so nice.

“Last year I had tournaments and tournaments and I needed it for the Games, but I've seen a massive improvement in my game in the past couple of months, just because I've had the opportunity to build on what I've already got.

“You need an equal balance of training and tournaments. Last year was all about maintenance, but it's the same in any sport, you try and maintain during competition and then improve in training for the next set of tournaments.”

Hunt, once ranked as high as 18 in the world, has slipped to 23 of late due to her break from tournament play.

And the Wiltshire star is targeting a drive up the rankings which she aims to kick-start this week.

“By the middle of this year I want to be back inside the top 20 again. I've just dropped out because I've had a bit of time out,” said Hunt.

“Hopefully I'll be in the top 15 by the end of the year. I've got more of a ranking aim rather than an individual results aim.”

After Biel-Bienne, Hunt will turn her attentions to the Sheffield Wheelchair Tour on March 15-17, where she is number one seed.