Month: October 2021

31st October, 2021

Week 9 finals day is on!

Lauryn John-Baptiste has kept her hopes of qualifying for the UK Pro League Finals Week alive with a semi-final victory in Week 9 of qualifying. 

 

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John-Baptiste must win the final week of qualifying and hope that Danielle Daley does not finish higher than sixth for John-Baptiste to take the final qualifying spot for the Finals Week

The Premier League of British tennis, the innovative format is the only domestic competition for the UK’s top professionals and brings them together for nine weeks of action to qualify for Finals Week at the Shrewsbury Club in November.

And with over half a million pounds of prize money up for grabs across the season all the action is broadcast live on BT Sport, The Tennis Channel and UKproleague.tv, with the Finals Week asp broadcast live on FreeSports.

Week 8 winner John-Baptiste currently sits in 11th spot in the UK Pro League table on 24 points while Danielle Daley is in the ninth and final automatic qualifying place with 35.  Daly will guarantee her place in the Finals Week is she beats Nadia Rawson in the Week 9 5-6th play off tomorrow.

John-Baptiste she will take on Katie Stresnakova in tomorrow’s Week 9 Final after overcoming Emma Wilson 6-4 6-3 in the Week 9 Semi-Final.  Stresnakova has already qualified for Finals Week and won her Week 9 semi in straight sets, beating Holly Hutchinson 6-2 6-2.

In the men’s draw, Ewan Moore’s chance of qualifying has been ended after losing 6-4 6-3 to Julian Cash in the Week 9 semi-finals. 

Moore who currently sits in 16th with 17 points, had to win Week 9 to overtake Charlie Broom who sits ninth in the League.

For Cash, he still has the chance of topping the overall table to guarantee himself one of four seeded positions in Finals Week.  To do that, he must beat Josh Paris who currently lies three places below him in sixth.  Paris, the  Week 1 winner, beat Dan Little in a tense final set tiebreaker, coming through 3-6 6-3 10-8.

 

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All will be decided at the Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre tomorrow with the much anticipated UK Pro League Finals Week starting on Monday 8th November.

30th October, 2021

Former winners Paris and John-Baptiste are in contention ahead of today’s Week 9 semi-finals

Former UK Pro League Weekly winners Josh Paris and Lauryn John-Baptiste are in contention ahead of today’s Week 9 semi-finals – with qualification for Finals Week still firmly up for grabs.

The premier league of British tennis, the innovative format is the only season-long domestic competition for the UK’s top professionals and brings them together for nine weeks of action to qualify for the UK Pro League Finals Week at the Shrewsbury Club in November.
With around half a million pounds of prize money up for grabs across the season, the action is broadcast live on BT Sport, The Tennis Channel and UKproleague.tv.

 

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Week 1 winner Paris has already secured his Finals Week spot, though is potentially closing in on another week triumph as he takes on Dan Little in tomorrow’s semi-final clash.
Paris is yet to drop a set having won all three of his pool matches convincingly, while Little prevailed in two of his three pool matches to reach his first Pro League Week semi-final.

The second men’s semi-final pits Week 5 runner-up Julian Cash against Ewan Moore, with Cash winning two of his three pool matches and Moore yet to taste defeat at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre.
Cash is ranked third in the League and has already secured qualification for Finals Week, but a second place finish or better in Week 9 would secure him top spot in the table and one of the four seeded positions for Finals Week.
For Ewan Moore it is all to play for. The 23-year-old needs to win Week 9 to overtake Charles Broom and grab the final automatic qualification spot, with no other result seeing him qualify.

 

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While the men have had three pool matches to contend with, the women at Bisham Abbey this week contested two pool matches before the quarter-finals and play-offs.
The women’s semi-final line-up sees Katie Stresnakova take on Holly Hutchinson and Emma Wilson face John-Baptiste.
Week 6 runner-up Stresnakova secured her Finals Week spot with her run to the last four, having double-bageled Amy Leather in yesterday’s quarter-final.
Stresnakova has dropped just four games across her three matches and takes on Hutchinson tomorrow, with Hutchinson also yet to taste defeat after a last eight victory over Nadia Rawson.

 

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Meanwhile, John-Baptiste and Wilson face off in a crunch last four clash with the former still fighting for a place in Finals Week.
John-Baptiste surged into contention after her Week 8 triumph but needs to claim victory in Week 9 and hope Danielle Daley finishes no higher than 6th to have a chance of qualification.
The Week 8 winner is yet to drop a set all week and beat Millie Bissett in the last eight to progress, while Wilson toppled Daley in straight sets in her quarter-final encounter.
Much like Stresnakova, Wilson has sealed her Finals Week spot following an unbeaten week so far.

27th October, 2021

Dunne, Appleton, Rawson & John-Baptiste reach the semi-finals | Week 8 | Day 4 Highlights

Watch all the best shots from the women’s quarter-final of the 8th week of the UK Pro League, hosted at the Aldershot Tennis Centre.

QF1: Katy Dunne v Freya Davies, 6-0 / 6-3

QF2: Emily Appleton v Holly Hutchinson, 6-3 / 7-5

QF3: Nadia Rawson v Emma Wilson, 7-5 / 6-3

QF4: Lauryn John-Baptiste v Katie Stresnakova 1-6/7-6(5)/10-8

27th October, 2021

John-Baptsite beats Dunne in nerve-jangling super tie-break | Week 8 | Women’s Final Highlights

Week 8 ✅

Another great week of matches with Lauryn John-Baptiste having the best in the Sunday’s showdown against Katy Dunne.

Re-live some of the best moments of the final.

27th October, 2021

Houghton beats Cox 10-8 in a super tie-break thriller | Men’s Final | Week 8

Week 8✅

Another great week of matches with George Houghton having the best in the Sunday’s showdown against Dan Cox.

Re-live some of the best moments of the final.

27th October, 2021

Winner of the Veloforte shot of week 8: David Quayle unreal tweener

Every week of the UKPL we ask our Instagram followers to vote for their shot of the week. In week 6 David Quayle ran out winner after 3 rounds of voting!

25th October, 2021

Week 9 starts Monday 25th October

The remaining spots for the eagerly-anticipated UK Pro League Finals Week are up for grabs when the Week 9 action begins at the Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre on Monday.
The Premier League of British tennis, the innovative format is the only domestic competition for the UK’s top professionals and brings them together for nine weeks of action to qualify for Finals Week at the Shrewsbury Club in November.

And with over half a million pounds of prize money up for grabs across the season, you won’t miss a thing with all the thrills and spills broadcast live on BT Sport, The Tennis Channel and UKproleague.tv.

Multiple players head into the final qualifying week with a chance of making Finals Week in Shropshire. In the men’s draw, Giles Hussey and Ewan Moore are both in contention for the ninth and final qualifying spot, which is currently occupied by Charles Broom.

With Week 5 winner and Week 6 runner-up Broom not competing, Hussey can usurp him by reaching the final – while Moore will snatch the final qualifying position if he wins Week 9. Hussey is in a group with Dan Little, George Davies and Sahej Maker, while Moore will be up against Alexis Canter, Llewelyn Bevan and Michael Shaw.

The highest-ranked player in action is Julian Cash, who has already qualified for Finals Week and currently sits third in the league table. Cash will top the table and seal top seeding for finals week should he reach the final in Bisham Abbey, and starts his campaign in a group featuring Liam Hignett, Jack Gibbens and Vijay Prashanth.

Josh Paris and Sean Hodkin, who have both already qualified for finals week, star in a group featuring Tom Hands and Cheraag Bajwa. 

 

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The women’s draw sees Katie Stresnakova, Danielle Daley, Lauryn John-Baptiste, Emma Wilson and Millie Bissett all battling for the final three qualifying spots. Stresnakova sits seventh in the rankings and is all but guaranteed a Finals Week spot, with a last-place finish and John-Baptiste winning the title – coupled with strong results for Daley and Wilson – the only way she would miss out.

John-Baptiste surged into contention after her Week 8 triumph but would need to reach the final and hope that at least one of Daley, Wilson and Stresnakova finishes towards the bottom of the week’s rankings.

Bissett would need to win Week 9 to have any chance, with Wilson and Daley both needing just seven points this week to move out of reach of John-Baptiste. Daley and Stresnakova find themselves in the same group alongside Abigail Amos, while John-Baptiste will face Nadia Rawson and Maddie Brooks.

Wilson starts her campaign against Alice Gillan and Amy Leather, while Bissett takes on Eliz Maloney and Holly Hutchinson.

Gillan, Maloney and Rawson have all qualified for Finals Week and will all look to improve their seedings ahead of the hotly-anticipated Shrewsbury showpiece next month.

With a prize fund of around £500k and Broadcast live on BT Sport, The Tennis Channel and UKproleague.tv, the UK Pro League is the only place where the British player group come together to compete across the full year.

4th October, 2021

LAURYN JOHN-BAPTISTE believes the unique UK Pro League format can be a springboard for stardom

Lauryn John-Baptiste believes the unique UK Pro League format can be a springboard for stardom after battling from behind to clinch the Week 8 title in Aldershot.

John-Baptiste, 22, came from one set down to beat Katy Dunne in nerve-jangling super tie-break and rack up a haul of 18 ranking points to propel herself up the table.
The Premier League of British tennis, the innovative UK Pro League is the only competition for the UK’s top professionals and brings them together for nine weeks of action to qualify for November’s Finals Week.
And jubilant John-Baptiste, who won the final 3-6, 6-3, 10-3, said: “The UK Pro League is a really good opportunity to not only play at a good level, but also play a lot of matches.

 

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“They do a lot of work and it’s a really good opportunity to play the top players in England.
“I definitely want to keep going – I’m really happy with this week, happy that I got to the final and happy that I was able to close it out and win. I thought it was a pretty tough match – Katy’s a really good player and she’s really solid.”
“I think I got better and improved throughout the week as I started to work on some things.
“I definitely want to keep going, play some more of these tournaments, get better and improve.”

John-Baptiste lost against Dunne in her first pool match of the week but turned on the style when it mattered to cap a gruelling victory.
The East London ace toppled Katarina Stresnakova and league leader Emily Appleton to navigate her way to the final before downing Dunne in Hampshire to seal a week of tennis to savour.

Dunne, 26, was playing her first competitive tournament for 10 months and wants to use her long-awaited return as a platform for hitting the international heights.

 

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She said: “I’m really happy about the whole week.
“It’s really nice to be back – it was a mixture of emotions. I was nervous as you don’t know what to expect in terms of execution, but I’ve really enjoyed the week and I feel good.
“I’m going to take a few days off, have a couple of weeks of training and then play some ITF [International Tennis Federation] events.”

The UK Pro League has a lucrative prize pot of half a million pounds and is broadcast live on BT Sport, The Tennis Channel and UKproleague.tv.

And in the men’s competition, George Houghton was the player who shined brightest in front of the cameras as he too fought from behind to beat Dan Cox and grab his first title.
The Guildford star toppled his experienced opponent 10-8 in a super tie-break thriller after losing the first set 7-6.
The 18-point haul safely secured his place in November’s Finals Week in Shrewsbury and Houghton, 23, said:

 

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“The final could have gone either way – it came down to two points at the end and I was very lucky to get over the line. “I’m happy with the week – I’ve played a lot of close matches and it’s quite nice to come through on top of them. “It’s by far the best I’ve done – it’s really nice to have a successful week before going away now.
“It’s great [to qualify for Finals Week]. I came here with the aim to qualify for Shrewsbury, so it’s very nice to come out on the other end rather than leaving it in other people’s hands.
“It should be a good week and I’m looking forward to it.”

Cox, whose 15 points take him up to second in the overall standings behind league leader Billy Harris, added:

“I’m pretty pleased with the week – I didn’t really know how it was going to go at all.
“I’m pretty pleased with getting to the final and am pretty happy.”

Elsewhere on Sunday, Nadia Rawson received a walkover against Appleton – who withdrew with an eye injury – to finish third, while Scott Duncan beat Vijay Prashanth to do the same and claim 12 overall ranking points.