WANBOROUGH wheelchair tennis player Louise Hunt has set her sights on securing a seeding for next year’s Paralympic Games after finishing the year at a career-high ranking.

A breakthrough season – capped by victory at the Polish Open back in June – has catapulted the 24-year-old into the top 10 in the world for the first time.

Hunt admits this lofty ranking has come ahead of schedule and she now wants to crack the top eight before the Games get under way in Rio next September.

Although she has a fair amount of ground to make up, as more than 500 points currently separate Hunt from eighth-ranked Kgothatso Montjane, of South Africa, she has no doubts she can continue her climb.

“I wanted to end the year in the top 12 and then in the middle of next year, I was aiming to be top 10, so to have done it before the end of this year is amazing, really. I’m really pleased,” said Hunt, who also competed at London 2012, where she made a first-round exit to current world number two Japan’s Yui Kamiji.

“It’s made me have a rethink of my goals and what I want to do next year now as I have ticked one off a little bit early.

“I never look at the rankings and I only knew I was in the top 10 because my press officer rang me. I don’t look at it as it freaks me out too much, but it was the best thing ever.

“I always get a bit paranoid by looking at my points compared to someone else’s, but that sort of thing takes care of itself.

“I’d like to be seeded at the Paralympics - for that to happen, it would mean being in the top eight.

“As you go up the rankings, for some of the places there is a bigger gap to jump than others, and from 10 to eight is quite a big jump.

“That’s still my aim for September-time, but we will work out the interim goals as we go on.”

Hunt only secured her place at the London Games at the end of the qualification campaign, but having started this one so strongly, Rio is already within touching distance.

Although only a disastrous dip in form would prevent Hunt from finishing inside the required top 22 when qualifying ends in May, she has no plans to ease up.

“You can’t help but to compare now to this time four years ago and so far, it’s a completely different story,” said Hunt.

“I’m feeling a lot more relaxed than at this time four years ago, which is quite nice. I’m feeling a different pressure. I’m more relaxed in terms of actually qualifying, but the pressure of wanting to be in the top eight by the Games is an equal pressure to just wanting to qualify last time.

“That’s only what’s good enough and in my mind, that’s only what qualifying is; being in the top eight.”