Millfield tennis player achieves first senior world ranking

Millfield tennis player Francesca Davis has gained her first senior ITF (International Tennis Federation) world ranking. 

Lower Sixth Francesca achieved her senior world ranking following a string of impressive singles and doubles showings in professional tournaments held across the UK. She is also currently ranked as the British number 6 U18 female player.

Francesca attended Millfield Prep in Year 6 on a joint sports and academic scholarship, and has represented the school at hockey, netball and cricket as well as tennis, which she decided to make her sole sporting focus when she was 16. She is currently studying A levels in philosophy, history and politics, and is planning to study political science at university, either on a tennis scholarship in the US, or at Cambridge in the UK, where she would also continue to pursue her tennis. 

Francesca joined Millfield because of the school’s outstanding sports facilities and coaching team, as well as its excellent academic programme alongside. 

Francesca said, “Obtaining a senior world ranking will give me the opportunity to compete internationally against professional players from all over the world. We are lucky to have both indoor and outdoor courts at Millfield so we can play all year round. However, the best aspect of the tennis programme is the coaches. They are all experienced players themselves and are really dedicated to help players to improve and progress, along with ensuring that we have a fun team environment within the programme.” 

Millfield Director of Tennis, Alexandra Walker, said “To achieve a senior world ranking at the age of 17 would be an outstanding achievement for any aspiring tennis player; for Francesca to achieve this whilst still in full-time education, when many of her contemporaries have already moved into full-time tennis programmes, makes this even more impressive. Francesca is an incredibly driven, dedicated and ambitious individual who is determined to succeed in all she does, both on and off the tennis court. She is a fantastic role model both within the tennis programme and the wider school community, and we are excited to continue to support her on her journey over the next couple of years.”

As one of the leading co-educational tennis schools in the country, Millfield Tennis Academy provides sport and academic education, athletic development training, individual lessons, sports science and tournament support. These are all included in the High Performance Programme, led by LTA coaches with a proven track record of players going on to be awarded scholarships in the US and playing professional tennis. 

Find out more about tennis at Millfield here.