SAMANTHA Curry, of the Ripon Spa Croquet Club, defeated some of the country's top players to win the first ever women's open matchplay croquet championships.

Hosted by the club at the Ripon Spa Hotel, the hotly-contested event was played over three days, starting with two blocks of nine players. The winner and runner-up in each block then competed in the semi-finals.

Samantha defeated Leo Dungan from Ireland in the last four, before going on to triumph 7-3, 7-5 in the best of three sets final against top North-East player Jane Pringle.

Currently the top-ranked woman player in the country at 13 overall, Samantha went into the competition as the top seed. She was also defending a 100pc matchplay record against female opposition, but needed to be at her best to take the title.

She told the D&S Times: "I wasn't that nervous going into the competition, but when I saw everyone play and the standard went up and up, I knew I was going to have to make an extra effort."

The top seed received a further wake-up call when she lost in the initial block matches to her eventual final opponent.

"She played really well and I had to pull out all the stops in the final. I also had to slow my game down and think about my shots."

The champion will next be in action at the Ramsgate Open on June 7, where she will also play in the mixed doubles. She will compete with some of England's top-ranked players as well as visitors from the top croquet countries around the world.