Colette Sultana won three matches and lost one to finish ninth in the French Junior Open, one of the top junior tournaments held in Europe. This good result takes the Maltese 17-year old to nineteenth place in Europe in the U-19 category in her first year in this age group.

Held across three venues in Lille and using 20 courts, the tournament attracted more than 200 players, including elite juniors from all over the world.

In the first round, Colette Sultana went up against Lea Van Der Zwalmen, one of the strongest players in the competition from France. The Maltese played extremely well and put pressure on her opponent  however after two very close games, Van Der Zwalmen who took the match 11-9, 12-10 and 11-2.

Colette Sultana's next two matches were against Marie-Victoire Wickers and Louise Dudouit, both from France. She dominated the matches and won 11-5, 11-1, 11-0 and 11-4, 11-2, 11-8, respectively.

The final match proved to be more challenging for Colette Sultana since she was playing against Finland’s no 2 Emilia Korhonen. Colette Sultana maintained her high level at the competition to win 11-9, 11-5 and 11-5, finishing the match quicker than expected to claim ninth place.

Ms Sultana is currently based in the UK where she is combining training with studies at Millfield School. She is coached by former world champion Jonah Barrington and Ian Thomas.

Last month Ms Sultana was in Malta training with Malta's professional squash player Bradley Hindle Deguara. Hindle Deguara has been passing on some of his extensive international experience to the youngster in preparation of her upcoming tournaments.

Ms Sultana's next competitions will be the Welsh Junior Open (March 8-10 in Cardiff) followed by the Luxembourg Junior Open (April 19-21).

Between these events she will be in Malta to defend the Malta Ladies Open title. In May she will then join the Maltese national team at the European Team Championships in Amsterdam.

Ms Sultana is supported by the Kunsill Malti għall-iSport (KMS) and the Malta Olympic Committee (MOC). She is sponsored by Harrow Sports.