Dec 29-30 Anna and Bailey played in the Mauao Grand Slam at Mt Maunganui. Again in the double elim qualifier they won 1 and lost 2 and finished in 9th place. It was a bigger field than the previous week in Auckland and the tournament was won by Anna Scarlett and Susan Blundell. Jan 2nd Anna and Bailey flew south to Christchurch for the first stop on the 2009 McEntee Hire National Tour. Seeded 7th they first defeated Malu MacDowell/ Claire Albertson 21-17, 21-19. They then lost to Preston / Edmondson 21-11, 21-9 and then narrowly lost to the English pairing of Helen Brown and Rachel Turner 22-20, 21-15. The second set was made more difficult by heavy rain and a lightning storm! This gave them a 9th finish again.