Whanganui youngster Aria Bannister wins first squash tournament after moving to Brisbane just last week

The writing was on the wall as soon as former Whanganui youngster Aria Bannister (right) stepped onto the court to win her first tournament since moving to Brisbane a week ago.

Twelve-year-old Aria Bannister has made an immediate impact in Australian squash circles after the family moved to Brisbane just over a week ago.

The youngster played her first tournament, the Carrara Junior Open at the weekend. The tournament was a Squash Australia bronze event.

Bannister played four matches on the day with two back-to-back five setters against older boys and managed to win her division. Her scalps included a first-round win over the Australian under-13 number 2 ranked player.

Bannister plays out of the Carrara Squash Centre on the Gold Coast. This is also the High Performance Centre for Squash Australia, where her father Rod Bannister is the head teaching pro/operations manager.

Aria Bannister is currently attending the National Junior High Performance Camp at Carrara for a full week as an invited player. The camp is run by the national coach Stewart Boswell, a past world-ranked number 4 and Jenny Duncalf world-ranked number 2. This camp is for kids that made semifinals of the Australian under-19 nationals in 2019.

Aria and her sister Harper, former members of the Wanganui Swim Club, are also swimming out of the 2019 Commonwealth Games venue at the Southport Swimming Club.