Samoan tennis player Steffi Carruthers has set a goal of breaking into the top 250 in the world rankings by the end of 2014.
The 20 year-old is currently ranked 794th in the world and is beginning her first full year on the pro circuit.
She was beaten in the first round of qualifying at a 25,000 US dollar event in San Diego this week but is taking a step by step approach to her long term target.
"For me I like to set small goals for myself so once I achieve it I can look at the next small goal and achieve that and try my best to achieve my small goals which will lead me to the bigger one, which is the grand slams. For me, I really want to get to 500 and, once I reach 500, 250 is my big goal for the end of year."
A top 250 spot would enable Carruthers to enter the qualifying rounds for next year's Australian Open.
