WARRINGTON squash player Emily Whitlock continues to demonstrate her standing as one of England’s brightest young talents after a stunning start to 2011.

The 16-year-old Warrington Sports Club player has become the first English woman for more than a decade to win the British Junior Open under 17s title.

She stormed through the 64-strong draw without dropping a game before defeating Egyptian Yathreb Adel in a thrilling 50-minute five-set final in Sheffield.

“It still hasn’t sunk in that I’ve won,” said the England Squash and Racketball star afterwards.

“I worked really hard to achieve this because the draw was extremely difficult.

“I had to face a tough opponent at each of the final stages.”

Whitlock, whose father Phil is a former England international, has now reached a senior career high world ranking of 77 this month.

Unsurprisingly, she sits atop the standings in England at both under 19s and under 17s level for female players.

In 2010, Whitlock won the Dutch German and Austrian Junior Opens to cap a year to remember.