THORNBURY tennis ace Emily Webley-Smith is “on a mission” to reach the US Open for the first time following her Wimbledon heartbreak.

Webley-Smith had a seven-year wait before she played in the main draw of the ladies singles at the All England Club again as a wildcard two weeks ago, having made her debut there as a 19-year-old in 2004, and now she is looking to make up for lost time in a career that has been plagued by injuries.

With the benefit of staying fit and healthy this year, she has played the best tennis of her life and hopes to continue a rise that has seen her jump over 200 places in the WTA Singles Rankings in seven months.

The British No7 is currently 246th in the world, reaching a career-high 241 in May, and wants to be in the top 230 by August 1 to make the cut for US Open qualifying in New York.

“I would love to play in New York and I want to be inside the top 150 by the end of the year,” said Webley-Smith.

“It was a privilege to play at Wimbledon but I’m on a mission for the rest of the year to play in the US qualifiers, hopefully the Australian Open next year, and the Wimbledon main draw on ranking instead of a wildcard.”

Webley-Smith enjoyed a rare break following her first round Wimbledon exit, but is now training ahead of a 25k tournament in Woking, a WTA event in Azerbaijan and a 100k tournament in Kazakhstan as she bids to make her first overseas Grand Slam.

Despite falling at the first hurdle, the 26-year-old earned many plaudits for her battling display against Klara Zakopalova, who was ranked over 200 places above her.

Webley-Smith admits she is still hurting from an 8-6 defeat in the final set, but her performance has helped re-ignite her ambitions.

“Having the opportunities against these guys has made me realise even more that I can live with them and can compete with them,” she said.

“It’s a matter of working my way up and really just keeping this positive mentality of believing I can get there.

“I had a lot of lovely messages saying how well I’ve done but it doesn’t make up for the loss. Normally it takes a day or so to get over, but it really hurt and I’m still hurting a bit.

“Everyone around me has been so positive and there’s so much more I want to achieve for the rest of the year, so I’ve got to get my head down and keep working.”

With rising stars such as Laura Robson and Heather Watson coming through the ranks, the future of women’s tennis in this country is looking bright and Webley-Smith wants to be a part of it.

She said: “Heather (Watson) had a brilliant year, it’s a shame she couldn’t win in the first round but she’ll come bouncing back the same as I will.

“Bally (Elena Balthacha) is leading the way and everyone else is jostling there or thereabouts, so women’s tennis in the UK is looking pretty good.”

Webley-Smith has benefited from working with a coach in recent weeks and will continue to get guidance from Erwan Nicolas.

She said: “I’ve loved having somebody there, I’ve enjoyed the feedback and working on specific things.

“I can hit tennis balls all day, but having attention to detail from someone not emotionally attached to the match is invaluable.”

Webley-Smith now lives in Wimbledon but chose not to watch any matches at the championships after her exit.

“It is really hard to be there around it when you’re not involved because I get jealous,” she admitted.

“I was keeping an eye on it and watching the highlights, but I’m not very good at sitting still and watching tennis.”

Webley-Smith added: "I'd like to thank Liz Earle for sponsoring me at Wimbledon."