WITH a move to Canada imminent, Lindsay Rawling's life is pretty hectic at the moment.

But, as she found herself with a rare couple of days off, the former Yorkshire women's singles champion was talked into competing in the Aegon British Tour event at Ilkley.

"I was at reception and I was persuaded to enter as a wild card,"explained the 38-year-old from Ilkley, "in what is my first tournament for a decade.

"But my life is all over the place as I work my last shift at Leeds General Infirmary tomorrow before emigrating to Canada to work in Vancouver as a consultant paediatric anaesthetist."

Maybe tennis took the county player's mind off what lies ahead as she beat Charlotte Peckover 6-1, 6-2 in the first round of qualifying before losing 6-2, 6-4 to Eve Daniels, with both matches being played indoors.

Many spectators thought that the Daniels match was a lot closer it was so well contested, but Rawling, whose movement was always an asset when she was in her pomp, managed to disguise an injury.

"I have torn a few fibres in my right calf, but I don't think my opponent noticed!" said the former Newcastle University student who switched her county allegiance to Northumberland while she was up there, playing County Week for them for eight years.

There was some Ilkley success in the same event, however, as home club member Zoe Judkowski defeated Somerset's Emily Thomas 6-4, 6-1.

Her 16-year-old opponent comes from good tennis stock as her mother is former Ilkley and Yorkshire player Sarah Longbottom, but Judkowski had too much for her.

The 18-year-old used her assets of fitness and movement to good effect, and the Ilkley Grammar School student will know more about her own future in a couple of weeks' time when she gets her A-level results in geography, psychology and biology.

Judkowski, who is always prepared to do the hard yards when it comes to keeping herself fit, said: "The plan is to go to Loughborough University in the autumn to play in either the first or second team and take it from there."

There was local interest in the men's singles qualifying too, with Cameron Malik retiring when trailing 13th seed Callum Todd 5-1 in the second round

Steven Hunt defeated Tom Haslam 6-3, 7-5 only to lose to third seed, wild card Charlie James, 6-3, 6-2, also in the second round, while former Ilkley member Jonny Dow was given a walkover before losing 6-3, 6-3 to fifth seed William Cooke Wharton.