King conquers at London Grand Prix

The 18-year-old, who is currently training at the Grantham Academy, took a break from A Level revision to win the women’s band one singles.

Ultimately, the England number eight woman, seeded two, was a comfortable victor after beating Welsh international Nicole Hall, who she had overcome 3-1 in her group, 11-8, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7.

Jasmin Ould (Tunbridge Wells) gave King a shock by leading 2-1 in their main women’s singles group match, but the Hastings player pulled through to win 3-2. She also beat her other two opponents to qualify for the knockout stage and went on to reach the quarter-finals where she faced second seed and England number four Karina Le Fevre (Cleveland).

Playing aggressively well with heavy spin serves and big topspin drives, King looked set for a big victory when she led by two games and was 9-7 up in the third. The quick counter-hitting Le Fevre fought back to lead 10-9, but King regained the initiative for a match point at 13-12.

Although King, from the Weald Table Tennis Club in Cranbrook, lost that game and the fourth, she led 9-7 in the decider before Le Fevre took the last four points for a 6-11, 8-11, 15-13, 11-7, 11-9 victory.

Seeded one in the under-21 women’s singles, a tired and slightly despondent King struggled to win her group, being taken to a fifth game by Sophie Neil (Nottinghamshire), ranked 38.

Having failed to consistently regain her zip and spirit, King suffered a disappointing 10-12, 11-6, 4-11, 11-6, 7-11 loss in the semi-finals to the dangerous Evie Collier (Essex).