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27th August, 2021

Day 5 Recap: Wins for Eliz Maloney, Josh Paris, Sean Hodkin and Alice Gillan

On day 5 of week 6 of the UK Pro League there were 6 playoffs on either court as the competition heated up to decide how many vital ranking points players would receive in Chelsea.

The 4 games in the 5th-8th playoff games started off with a impressive win for Alice Gillan over Lauryn John-Baptiste. Both players were unlucky to have lost their quarter-finals but here Gillan shone, wrapping the victory up 6-4, 6-4. There may have been slight signs of fatigue for John-Baptiste after her marathon games throughout this week, including a win over Eliz Maloney. Maloney featured in the other playoff game, defeating replacement Maddie Brooks in typical Maloney style, battling to a 6-3, 6-1 victory. Maloney displayed her signature tenacity and stickability as she kept the ball in play when all seemed lost.

On the men’s side, the much improved Sean Hodkin ran out comfortable winner over replacement Liam Hignett, who was playing his first match of week 6. Hodkin’s powerful serve has been a huge weapon all week and once again it was the base for a fantastic performance. Elsewhere, Josh Paris beat Evan Hoyt (Pictured above), the top ranked player in the men’s draw, 6-4, 6-4. In his return from double knee surgery Hoyt has shown glimpses of the quality he has to offer but it is still early days in his comeback. Paris looked assured and coped well with the huge serve of Hoyt.

Elsewhere there were wins for Jack Gibbens, Dan Little, Emma Wilson and debutant Emilia Banos-Gregorians. Gibbens and Wilson both made it back to back wins at this stage as they look to maximise their ranking points gained from this week.

Full Day 5 Results: 

Alice Gillan vs Lauryn John-Baptiste: 6-4, 6-4 

Emma Wilson vs India Rojano: 6-0, 6-1

Sean Hodkin vs Liam Hignett: 6-1, 6-1 

Dan Little vs Adam Jones, 5-2 (retired) 

Eliz Maloney vs Maddie Brooks: 6-3, 6-1 

Emilia Banos-Gregorians vs Jojo Bach: 6-3, 2-6, 10-8 

Josh Paris vs Evan Hoyt: 6-4, 6-4 

Jack Gibbens vs Ewan Moore: 3-6, 7-6(3), 11-9

27th August, 2021

Day 4 recap: Quarter-finals galore on Super Thursday

On day 4 of Week 6 of the UK Pro League the quarter-final stage kicked off with all 24 players taking part in Super Thursday.

In the first women’s quarter-final of the day, Sonay Kartal ran out winner over the eternally-stubborn Eliz Maloney. In the 6-1, 7-5 result some brilliant tennis was played, including the shot of the day from Maloney, a passing backhand winner when she was well off-balance. Maloney fought to the last point as she always does but Kartal just had too much. The 19-year-old, winner of week 5, has looked unstoppable this week so far as she progresses to the semi-final stage.

 

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Danielle Daley reached her furthest stage of this years competition with a dominant win over 16-year-old Jasmine Conway in straight sets. It means she will play her first semi-final of the UK Pro League. 3 set wins for Tiffany William and Katarina Stresnakova completed the semi-final draw, with all players eyeing up the chance to play in the week 6 final.

In the men’s draw Billy Harris produced a scintillating performance from the off as he disposed of talented 18-year-old Jack Pinnington Jones. In the 6-1, 6-4 victory Harris played some unbelivable shots, very early in the rallies to take an advantage that he never gave up. Joining him in the semi-final will be Julian Cash who overcame an in-form Sean Hodkin, who was far from his best. The top ranked player in the men’s draw Evan Hoyt could only reach the quarter-final stage on his return from double knee surgery. He was beaten by Henry Patten 6-3, 6-2. Week 5 winner Charlie Broom recovered from a defeat on day 1 to progress to his second consecutive semi-final.

The 9th-12th round robin stage also kicked off as there were wins for Emma Wilson, Jojo Bach and Jack Gibbens, who won a outstanding match in three sets. The third match tiebreak went to 14-12, the longest of this week so far.

On Friday the 5th-8th playoffs start and the 9th-12th round robin continues as the lower half of the final table will start to take shape!

Full Results

Jack Pinnington Jones vs Billy Harris: 6-1, 6-4 

Sonay Kartal vs Eliz Maloney: 6-1, 7-5 

Tiffany William vs Alice Gillan: 0-6, 6-4, 10-2

Julian Cash vs Sean Hodkin: 6-3, 7-6(5) 

Katarina Stresnakova vs Lauryn John-Baptiste: 6-3, 3-6, 10-7

Danielle Daley vs Jasmine Conway: 6-4, 6-4

Henry Patten vs Evan Hoyt: 6-3, 6-2 

Charles Broom vs Josh Paris: 7-6(4), 7-5

Emma Wilson vs Soumeya Anane: 6-1, 5-0(Retired)

Jojo Bach vs India Rojano: 6-0, 6-0 

Jack Gibbens vs Dan Little: 2-6, 7-6(5), 14-12  

 

 

 

26th August, 2021

Day 3 Recap: Pools decided as Hodkin, Paris, William and Kartal progress

On a pivotal day 3 at week 6 of the UK Pro League all 8 pools were decided as wins for Josh Paris, Sean Hodkin, Jasmine Conway and Lauryn John-Baptiste ensured they topped their groups.

Pool stage decided

16-year-old prodigy Jasmine Conway (Below) looked well ahead of her years in the pool stage and she rounded it off with a composed win over Soumeya Anane to top her group. The 6-2, 6-1 win means she has not dropped a set yet this week and it set her up with a quarter-final against Danielle Daley. Daley herself finished second in pool C with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Jojo Bach.

Sean Hodkin has looked like a new player this week when compared with his performances so far this year and he too has been flawless so far. On his way to topping his group with maximum points, he has defeated both Evan Hoyt, the topped ranked player in the men’s draw, and Dan Little. His quarter-final against Julian Cash is set to be a big hitting affair to decide one of the semi-finals.

Week 5 winner Charlie Broom found himself under pressure after losing on day 1 to 18-year-old Jack Pinnington Jones. He returned to form with a straight set win over Adam Jones, 6-3, 6-2 to set up a quarter-final showdown with the in-form Josh Paris. Paris ran out comfortable winner against Jack Gibbens, including the shot of the day, a ‘tweener’ as he won 6-1, 7-5.

 

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There were also wins for Katarina Stresnakova and Henry Patten who both progress to the quarter-finals and will face Lauryn John-Baptiste and Evan Hoyt respectively.

Full Day 3 results 

Lauryn John-Baptiste vs Emma Wilson 2-6, 6-4, 10-5

Jasmine Conway vs Soumeya Ananae 6-2, 6-1

Josh Paris vs Jack Gibbens 6-1, 7-5

Sean Hodkin vs Dan Little 6-2, 7-6(5)

Danielle Daley vs Jojo Bach 6-3, 6-3

Katarina Stresnakova vs India Rojano 6-0, 6-0

Charles Broom vs Adam Jones 6-3, 6-2 

Henry Patten vs Ewan Moore 6-4, 6-2 

25th August, 2021

Day 2 Recap: Pinnington Jones and Sonay Kartal top their pools on action packed day

The action comes thick and fast on week 6 of the UK Pro League, with the pool stage heating up. On a pulsating day at the Habour Club in Chelsea, 3 players confirmed their place at the top of their pool.

Pool stage starts to take shape

Week 5 winner Sonay Kartal was involved in a riveting match of the highest quality and intensity as she battled through to a 6-3, 5-7, 10-7 victory against Katarina Stresnakova. Stresnakova was able to come back from 4-0 in the second set and set up a blockbuster finish. In a brilliant final set tiebreak, the rallies were long and fierce as Kartal vied for the 2 points that would secure her top spot. In the end there was little to differentiate the players but Kartal won vital points in the third set to give her back to back wins in week .

Debutant Tiffany William (Below) has looked in form since her return from injury and she triumphed over 19-year-old Jojo Bach in three sets to book herself a place in the knockout stage. Her 6-1, 4-6, 10-2 shows that in two sets of the game she was dominant and apart from a superb second set from Jojo Bach, she was a deserved winner.

Jack Pinnington Jones has impressed on his debut with the UK Pro League. The 18-year-old defeated week 5 winner Charlie Broom on day 1 and backed up that win with a straight sets victory over fellow debutant Adam Jones 6-2, 7-6(3). He finishes top of the pool, with the other two players to battle it out for second place on day 3.

Elsewhere, there were wins for Julian Cash, Sean Hodkin and Billy Harris as they fight the pool stage. Billy Harris bounced back from an opening day defeat by disposing of Jack Gibbens 6-2, 6-2 to give him a good chance to progress from the pool. Julian Cash guaranteed at least second place in his pool with a hard fought win over Ewan Moore 7-6(5), 7-6(1). Henry Patten will leapfrog him with a win on day 3 against Gibbens. Sean Hodkin wowed on court 1 as he defeated the highest ranked player in the men’s draw Evan Hoyt. He rarely looked troubled by the powerful hitting of Hoyt to run out 6-2, 7-5 winner.

Full day 2 results: 

 Sean Hodkin vs Evan Hoyt 6-2, 7-5 

Billy Harris vs Jack Gibbens 6-2, 6-2 

Julian Cash vs Ewan Moore 7-6(5), 7-6(1)

Jack Pinnington Jones vs Adam Jones 6-2, 7-6(3)

Tiffany Williams vs Jojo Bach 6-1, 4-6, 10-2

Sonay Kartal vs Katarina Stresnakova 6-3, 5-7, 10-7

Alice Gillan vs Soumeya Anane 6-2, 6-2 

Lauryn John-Baptiste vs Eliz Maloney 7-5, 4-6, 10-7

24th August, 2021

Day 1 Recap: Wins for Kartal, Paris and Maloney as week 6 gets underway

The two winners of week 5 experienced vastly different returns to the UK Pro League as Sonay Kartal won her match while Charlie Broom lost out to debutant Jack Pinnington Jones.

In a purely dominant showing Kartal defeated newcomer India Rojano in just 32 minutes to establish herself as favourite to add to her week 5 title. Her 6-0, 6-0 victory was full of composure and the clinical nature of her game will take a lot of stopping this week!

The men’s winner of week 5, Charlie Broom, couldn’t match the result, he lost to 18-year-old sensation Jack Pinnington Jones 2-6, 6-2, 10-3. The match had been up and down for both players with each registering a double break in two win a set. In the third set tiebreak, Pinnington Jones was able to establish a big lead which Broom could not come back from. Pinnington Jones was able to cope with Broom’s big serving, something that ‘served’ him so well in week 5. It is far from over for Broom as he will be back on day 3.

Evan Hoyt (pictured below) is the highest ranked player in the men’s draw this week but his debut in the UK Pro League was far from smooth. An injury scare in the first set of his match against Dan Little seemed to throw him as he lost the first set. He was soon able to recover and win in three sets to start his week off perfectly with a 3-6, 7-6(3), 10-5 win. 

Elsewhere, the two second placed players in the league rankings, Josh Paris and Eliz Maloney started week 6 off with straight set wins. With neither of the first placed players at week 6 it is a superb opportunity for the players to close the ground. Maloney ran out winner over Emma Wilson 7-6(4), 6-4, in a game that Maloney’s intensity won over Wilson in the end. Paris was Al in a tight first set tiebreak but after he managed to win that, the second set came quickly as he won against Billy Harris 7-6(6), 6-1.

In a standout fixture of Day 1, Henry Patten was able to overcome Julian Cash in a fascinating duel that went to a third set tiebreak. Cash has often struggled in the third set and his poor form continued as he fell far behind quickly losing the match 6(3)-7, 6-2, 10-6. Patten was able to win the important points in the final set and take 2 points.

 

 

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Full Day 1 Results

Jack Pinnington Jones vs Charles Broom 2-6, 6-2, 10-3

Josh Paris vs Billy Harris 7-6(6), 6-1

Eliz Maloney vs Emma Wilson 7-6(4), 6-4

Jasmine Conway vs Alice Gillan 6-3, 6-2 

Evan Hoyt vs Dan Little 3-6, 7-6(3), 10-5

Henry Patten vs Julian Cash 6(3)-7, 6-2, 10-6

Tiffany William vs Danielle Daley 6-1, 3-0 (Daley Retired.)

Sonay Kartal vs India Rojano 6-0, 6-0

 

Catch Day 2 live from 11:00 AM on BT Sport Extra, Tennis Channel or our new platform UKPL.TV

20th August, 2021

The UK Pro League enters its 6th week: Week 5 winners Kartal and Broom feature in London

Written by Angus Wright

The UKPL IS BACK

Week 6 of the UK Pro League starts on Monday 23rd August, at the Harbour Club in Chelsea. The competition is now in the second half of the season, with players needing ranking points more than ever as they try to qualify for the finals week!

Both winners from Week 5 feature, with Sonay Kartal and Charlie Broom looking to carry their form from Aldershot over into Week 6. Alongside the reigning winners, Julian Cash (Pictured Below), Eliz Maloney and Joshua Paris will be competing for the top spots.

 

There is also a debut for Evan Hoyt who is the highest ranked player in the men’s draw this week. In 2019 he had a ATP ranking of 319 and is still ranked in the top 600 in the world. He will be hoping to impress in his first ever week with the UKPL.

Continuing her UKPL season Jasmine Conway, 16-years-old, will look to build on her massively impressive debut in week 5. Elsewhere, three of the top 5 in the league rankings in the men’s draw, Julian Cash, Joshua Paris, Henry Patten are competing in Week 6. They will want to distance themselves and get a step closer to the lucrative finals week later this year.

Returning winners aim to make it back to back weeks!

Week 5 featured a brilliant debut from Charlie Broom who, on his first outing with the UKPL, secured the top spot in Aldershot. His impressive hitting power and bullish serving earned him full ranking points from the week. On the women’s side of the draw, the returning Sonay Kartal, who had been out with injury, impressed all week, especially in her confident win over Emily Appleton in the final. Below is her shot that won the “Shot of the week” competition. Every week we ask our Instagram followers to vote for their favourite shot of the week.

Have your say in week 6 by following our Instagram account

Week 6 of the UKPL continues with the new format, with players now playing 5 matches in 7 days. The round robin stage sees players divided into four pools of 3 to play each other from Monday to Wednesday. At the end of day 3, the top 2 players from each pool progress to the 1st to 8th place play offs with the 3rd placed player moving into the 9th to 12th place round robin.

Full player list for week 6:

Men

Evan Hoyt
Billy Harris
Julian Cash
Jack Pinnington Jones
Henry Patten
Charles Broom
Josh Paris
Dan Little (wc)
Sean Hodkin (wc)
Jack Gibbens
Ewan Moore (wc)
Adam Jones

Womens

Alice Gillan
Eliz Maloney
Tiffany William (wc)
Sonay Kartal (wc)
Jasmine Conway
Danielle Daley
Soumeya Anane
Emma Wilson (wc)
Lauryn John-Baptiste (wc)
JoJo Bach
India Rojano
Katarina Stresnakova

 

Follow all the action live from 11 a.m. on our brand new platform: UKPL.tv as well as BT Sport Extra and Tennis Channel.

 

 

27th July, 2021

UK Pro League 2020 champion Liam Broady scores biggest win of his career at the olympics

Last minute replacement Liam Broady beat World No.12 Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 to secure his place in the third round of the Olympics. It stands as the 27-year-old’s biggest win in his career as he defeated the Wimbledon semi-finalist in three sets. It has continued Broady’s shock run at the Olympics after the lowest ranked player in the draw was drafted in as a replacement for Dan Evans.

 

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Broady has found a new lease of life since the pandemic began, he has risen to a career high ranking of 137. Last year he was the champion of the inaugural UK Pro League after 42 days of elite British tennis. It showcases the value of the innovative new format of the UKPL in developing British talent with Emma Raducanu already breaking into the mainstream with her fairytale run at Wimbledon.

Read Also: Emma Raducanu’s fairytale run at Wimbledon

Broady will now face Jeremy Chardy in the third round as he looks to continue his remarkable run. He remains the only Team GB player in the singles competition after Andy Murray pulled out to focus on the doubles competition.

Written by Angus Wright
27th July, 2021

Week 5 Recap: Kartal and Broom win in Aldershot

The UK Pro League returned after a break for the fifth week of elite tennis competition with seven days of action. Sonay Kartal and Charles Broom were crowned the winners at the Aldershot Tennis club.

The innovative season-long competition consists of 10 weeks of qualifying rounds, where players compete for league points in the hope of qualifying for the finals week.

The two finals of week 5 saw two new winners crowned. Sonay Kartal beat league leader Emily Appleton in the final of the women’s competition. Appleton has featured in the final of all five weeks of the UKPL this year and was a favourite to extend her lead at the top of the table. A comprehensive performance earned the Kartal a 6-4, 6-4 win over her fellow 19-year-old. It was her first action since returning from a layoff due to injury and she impressed all week. Her league ranking has been boosted by the 18 points earned in week 5 have seen her shoot up the table to fifth place.

After her win in the final Sonay Kartal said:

“I think that from having three months out, I’m very pleased to come here and win four matches,”

“I went out in front in both sets and she almost came back. I dipped slightly at times, but on the big points I managed to keep my concentration high.”

On the men’s side of the draw it was two first-time finalists in Julian Cash and Charles Broom. Cash was the highest ranked player in the men’s draw but failed to win his first week as Broom won a thriller. In a third set tiebreak, Broom saved to match points to give the 23-year-old a 7-4(4), 4-6, 12-10 win.

“Those last five, ten points were really high level from both of us. He played really well and I think I’m very lucky just to have got through. It was a really high level match all around and I’m just thankful,” he said

“It’s been a really good week all around. Obviously reaching the final is great, I think I played a really good tiebreak, but throughout the week I felt like my level was getting better and better.

“I’m really happy with how everything progressed and I’m just looking to carry it on into the next few weeks when I’m playing tournaments.”

Outside of the final two debutants in the women’s draw stood out. 16-year-old Jasmine Conway had a great week with a win over second placed Eliz Maloney impressing. The teenager showed composure throughout the week to gain her first five UKPL ranking points. Fellow debutant Grace Piper also impressed, reaching the semi-finals in her first week, only losing out to eventual winner Sonay Kartal. The 12 points she earned have put her up to 12th place after only one week of playing. The 18-year-old looked at home against some really tough opponents throughout her run to finish in third place.

 

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Week 6 of the UK Pro League will take place at The Harbour Club in London from the 23-29th August.
Written by Angus Wright
18th July, 2021

Day 7 Recap: Kartal and Broom win finals!

On the final day of week 5 Sonay Kartal and won their finals to be crowned winners of week 5 and take maximum points from the week.

The first final of the day was the women’s which saw Emily Appleton play Sonay Kartal. Appleton has been in the final every week so far this year but today she wasn’t able to make it a fourth win. Kartal was quicker out the blocks and won the first set 6-4. An early break in the second set gave her the confidence and lead to take the second set 6-4.

After the match Kartal said:

“I went up in both sets and she almost came back, on the big points I managed to keep my concentration high. Having had 3 months out to be able to come here and play 4 matches, I’m very pleased. I’m just going to try and use this momentum.”

Appleton, who has been in every final this year said:

“I’m very happy with how I played, I think it was my best match all week. Despite the result I’m pretty pleased. I’m really happy to make the final again.”

In the men’s final Julian Cash and Charles Broom fought out a three set match. In the end it was debutant Broom who won the final!

Broom had the best of the first set but couldn’t force a break of serve. It meant a tiebreak which Broom came through as winner. In the second set the roles were reversed and Cash grew into the game to force a third-set tiebreak. In a thrilling tiebreak, Broom saved two match points before grabbing the win!

In the other games, Grace Piper secured a 3rd place finish in her first UKPL week. A great performance against Millie Bissett rounded off a impressive debut week.

Grace Piper after the match:

“Very happy with how I have done this week, I’ve played some of my best tennis, even when I have lost matches it’s been close and I have been happy with my performance.”

 

17th July, 2021

Day 6 recap: Appleton, Cash, Broom and into the final!

On day 6 the finalists of week 5 were decided. The semi-finals took place on court 1 throughout the day.

First up was Julian Cash vs Max Basing. Cash pulled of a miraculous comeback after being down 1-5 in the first set. He dominated the tiebreak that followed before finishing of the game with a double break in the second set. The top ranked men’s player made it into the final 7-6 6-3.

He said after the match:

“I had a slow start today, but did well to dig in and find a few scrappy points. I got a long break at 5-2 down to stay in it and my level got slightly better. I managed to finish on a positive note at the end.”

Next up was Emily Appleton who was playing in her fifth straight semi-final at the UKPL. In a brilliant first set, Appleton and Millie Bissett thrashed out some stunning rallies, but in the end Appleton’s consistent power got her through the match.

After the match she spoke to us:

“It’s been pretty good, I’m in the final so very happy about that. I’m looking forward to playing tomorrow. It’s always amazing to get five matches in one week so I think that’s the biggest thing for me.”

The third semi-final of the day saw Charles Broom (Below) brush off the challenge of Lui Maxted easily. Broom hadn’t dropped a set all week and he continued that form by defeating Maxted 6-1, 6-1. Maxted did not turn up to court 1 but Broom impressed throughout to set up a final with Julian Cash.

 

“I felt like I played pretty well, Lui (Maxted) is a very talented player so I knew I had to be on top of my game. Thankfully, I came out firing and when the new balls came out in the second set I upped my game.”

 

 

Sonay Kartal set up her final with Emily Appleton in a win over Grace Piper. The match featured a number of long rallies but Kartal was able to outlast Piper to secure her place in the final tomorrow.

 

Full results: 

Men’s Semi-finals 

Julian Cash vs Max Basing 7-6(1), 6-3

Charles Broom vs Lui Maxted 6-1, 6-1

Women’s Semi-finals

Emily Appleton vs Amelia Bissett 7-6(4), 6-3 

Grace Piper vs Sonay Kartal 3-6, 6-7

Men’s 9th/12th playoff

Micheal Shaw vs Llewelyn Bevan 6-3, 6-4

Tom Hands vs Patrick Foley 6-3, 6-4

Women’s 9th/12th playoff

Nadia Rawson vs Holly Hutchinson 2-0, (Hutchinson Retired)

Emma Wilson vs Danielle Daley 6-1, 6-3