TENNIS champion Anna McBride has said winning a second successive double Down Under felt "really good" after enjoying an "amazing" experience.
Last month, the 20-year-old, who is from Dunfermline, served up women's singles and doubles titles at the Australian Open - repeating the feat she had achieved 12 months previously.
Anna, who is a first year student at the University of Stirling, competed in events for players with intellectual impairment (PWII) at the tournament in Melbourne.
In a landmark move for the world's tennis stars with an intellectual or hearing impairment, the Australian Open, in 2023, became the first 'Grand Slam' to host PWII and deaf or hard of hearing (DHOH) events.
Played on the same hardcourts at Melbourne Park that hosted some of the game's biggest and best-known names, Anna was the top seeded player in the singles, which had eight entries, and went on defeat world number four, Kelly Wren, 6-2, 6-0 in the final.
In the doubles, she paired-up with Germany's Sophia Schmidt, and they clinched the title with a 5-7, 706 (5), 10-7 success over Great Britain's Lily Mills and her Belgian partner, Hanne Lavreysen.
Speaking to Press Sport on her return from Australia - where a 6am flight the morning after her final match delayed celebrations until she arrived back home - she said: "It does feel really good to be honest.
"Even just going there and representing the country, and just getting that experience as a whole, is amazing, but then to go and win it is even better.
"Last year was difficult because it was just really new, and I didn't really know what to expect. I had never been to the Australian Open before, and then you're just playing there.
"This year was a bit better because I knew what was going to happen, I knew what was coming, so it wasn't really a surprise to me.
"Even just knowing your way around the arena - I still got lost this year, but it's massive! Our practice courts that we train on at the national centre there, and the other courts are a 10 minute walk away. That's how big it is - it's huge!"
After trying out a number of sports when she was younger, Anna first picked up a tennis racket at the age of seven, and went on to climb high in mainstream Scottish and UK rankings, including reaching number one in the former, and 13th in the latter, at under-12 age group level.
In Melbourne, she was supported by her parents, the Lawn Tennis Association's (LTA) disability competitions manager, Sophie Hall, and five team-mates from Team GB, and her performances reinforced her world number one position in the VIRTUS world rankings for players with intellectual impairments.
"I had a bit of a wrist injury going into it, and then it kind of flared up towards the end, so I was happy I managed to get through that," Anna added.
"I managed to bond well with my (doubles) partner (Schmidt), so that was fun, and it worked well."
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