One of the moments of 2020 came at the European Men’s and Women’s Team Championships in Liévin, France, where we saw the Scottish ladies reach the semifinals by defeating second seeds Russia 3-0.
In that match that secured Scotland’s first-ever bronze medal, MacPherson was the third and tie-winning singles player. Macpherson had not played competitive singles for quite some time before then, so her surprise during her interview afterwards was clear to see.
Watch: Historical moment for Scotland
MacPherson is known more for her doubles, particularly as of late for her mixed doubles with Adam Hall as they reached top 60 in the world. Discussing what we can expect from them as they gather more experience and titles across Europe.
- Yes, Adam and I have had a few good results this season. We got to the semifinal of the Scottish Open which is always nice to perform well in your home country. We've also had a few really close matches with top pairs which has given us some confidence going forward as we are looking to win some challenges and get to the latter stages in the higher-ranked tournaments and getting more consistent which each match.
The Olympic spirit is still in the air as we eagerly await the Games next year. Being a Team GB pair, of course, that means that MacPherson must also fight the other British nations for an Olympic spot. Discussing how this feels for her, she states.
- Of course, it is very difficult to qualify as there are highly ranked English pairs performing very well at the moment, but it makes it very competitive when it's Team GB. I think it is better to focus on ourselves rather than worrying about where the others are on the world ranking so we do not have any pressure on us. Yes, it would be easier to qualify from another country but it is good to have competition.
Read: World Junior Championships rescheduled to January 2021
Finally get a win
Macpherson was due to play in her first World Tour event of the year, the German Open, before COVID-19 brought about the cancellations and suspensions. Looking past this at her next short-term goals, she states.
-I think the next short-term goal would be to win at challenge. We have got to a few semifinals and a final so it would be good to take the next step and finally get a win.
We have already seen the strength of the Scottish ladies winning a European team medal, will it only be a matter of time before we see her medalling in the individual European Championships?
-I would like to see us medalling at some point yes. I think if we are playing well then we have the ability to challenge a few of the top Europeans as we have already done so in the past so it's just about being able to do it on the big stage!
Lastly, MacPherson comments on how far away they are from the top European pairs.
- I would not say we are not that far away from the top European pairs. On a good day, we are able to put in a strong performance against them as we have done so against past European medallists.