THERE was a racket - indeed quite a lot of them - when Judy McCairns drove in as the new Oxford Ladies captain at Southfield.

McCairns emerged onto the first tee through an archway of tennis and badminton rackets to mark her prowess at those sports.

The 55-year-old, from Abingdon, dominated the Oxfordshire tennis scene from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, winning the county ladies singles title an amazing ten times in a row, among many other honours.

During that time, McCairns twice made the Wimbledon qualifiers but, to her regret, never played in the All England Championships.

In badminton, McCairns played for Berkshire alongside former world champion Judy Hashman, and still represents Oxfordshire veterans.

Despite taking up golf only ten years ago, she has achieved a notable successes on her way down to her current eight handicap. Her renowned compettive nature enabled her to win a place in the England Ladies Seniors second team, which competed in the European Championships in Sweden and Italy.

McCairns, who runs a language school in Oxford, had one regret about her drive-in ceremony.

She was hoping that her family would join her, but they got caught up in a traffic jam on the A40 at Eynsham and arrived too late.