Whilst there were no semi-finals today, some great tennis was played on day 5 of the UKPL Week 5.
Oscar Weightman forced his way to a win in a brutal match against debutant Liam Higgnet 7-6, 6-4. Both players slogged it out in a mammoth match that went on for over two hours despite only being two sets. Some games went on for a long time, but Weightman kept his cool to get into the 5th place playoff.
In the other side of the draw, a serving masterclass was put on by Jack Gibbens who finished with 14 aces in his game. Sean Hodkin could not cope with the heat coming at him and due to some marginal calls, he lost his composure in the tie break to lose in three.
On the women’s side, Freya Christie swept aside newcomer Jojo Bach in straight sets to get to the 5th place playoff.
Full Results
Oscar Weightman vs Liam Hignett 7-6(6), 6-4
Patrick Foley vs Michael Shaw 6-3, 6(5)-7, 10-8
Freya Christie vs Jojo Bach 6-1, 6-4
Nadia Rawson vs Danielle Daley 6-3, 6-4
Jack Gibbens vs Sean Hodkin 6-4, 6-7, 10-3
Tom Hands vs Llewelyn Bevan 6-1, 6-2
Anna Brogan vs Eliz Maloney
Holly Hutchinson vs Emma Wilson 3-6, 4-6
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16th July, 2021
Day 3 Recap: Super Thursday!
The quarter-final stage kicked of on Thursday with some superb games played out!
First up was Julian Cash, the highest ranked player in the men’s draw, he impressed as he defeated Jack Gibbens in straight sets. He dominated throughout as he won 6-2, 6-0 to qualify for the semi-final.
Emily Appleton made her fifth straight semi-final at the UKPL 2021 as she beat Freya Christie in a brilliant match. It ended 6-2, 3-6, 10-6, but in reality it was a tightly fought contest of the highest quality. Appleton’s big hitting was countered by Christie’s stern defence. Appleton will face Millie Bissett who defeated Jasmine Conway in the other stand out game of the day.
16-year-old Conway has impressed this week but Millie Bissett proved one step too far on her debut. Bissett ended up winning a up and down match 7-6, 4-6, 10-2 to set up a mouth watering match against Emily Appleton.
Sonay Kartal overcame Eliz Maloney in a straight set victory, Maloney fell away in the second set after being broken late on in the first. She will be disappointed but Kartal will face debutant Grace Piper in her semi-final.
Piper looked confident as she swept Anna Brogan aside 6-0, 6-3. In particular the first set was where she impressed with some clinical tennis, making all three of her break points count.
Lui Maxted set up a match with the in-form Charles Broom as he beat the fiery Oscar Weightman 6-3, 6-3. Maxted has looked good all week with some impressive results featuring great winners and confident net play. His opponent Charles Broom disposed of Josh Paris in a similar fashion. The semi-final promises to be a cracker.
Full Results
Julian Cash vs Jack Gibbens 6-2, 6-0
Holly Hutchinson vs Danielle Daley 6-3, 6-3
Amelia Bissett vs Jasmine Conway 7-6, 4-6, 10-2
Eliz Maloney vs Sonay Kartal 5-7, 0-6
Charles Broom vs Josh Paris 6-2, 6-2
Lui Maxted vs Oscar Weightman 6-3, 6-3
Emily Appleton vs Freya Christie 6-2, 3-6, 10-6
Nadia Rawson vs Emma Wilson 6-3, 4-6, 10-4
Anna Brogan vs Grace Piper 0-6, 3-6
Llewelyn Bevan vs Patrick Foley 3-6, 3-6
Max Basing vs Sean Hodkin
Tom Hands vs Micheal Shaw
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14th July, 2021
Day 3 Recap: Basing, Maxted and Piper top their group
On day 3 of week 5, results meant that many of the pools look clearer than they did last night. Among those to qualify top of their group are Max Basin, Lui Maxted and Grace Piper.
Today Max Basing dominated Llewelyn Bevan, beating him in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. He finishes the group stage with 2 wins from 2 games.
The quarter finals start tomorrow with some big games taking place including Eliz Maloney vs Sonay Kartal and Emily Appleton vs Freya Christie.
Full Results
Oscar Weightman vs Tom Hands 6-3, 6-3
Sean Hodkin vs Patrick Foley 4-6, 6-3, 12-10
Sonay Kartal vs Millie Bissett 6-1, 6-4, 10-7
Anna Brogan vs Danielle Daley 6-1, 6-1
Jack Gibbens vs Lui Maxted 7-6(3), 2-6, 2-10
Nadia Rawson vs Grace Piper 5-7, 6-1, 10-2
Jasmine Conway vs Emma Wilson 6(5)-7, 6-4, 5-10
Max Basing vs Llewelyn Bevan 6-1, 6-1
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14th July, 2021
Day 2 Recap: Christie fightback, Maxted thriller and Appleton win!
Day 2 was certainly a day of elite-class tennis on both courts as we saw thrillers and hard fought wins throughout the day.
Two matches stood out however, with Freya Christie fighting back from a set down to win a extremely tense championship tiebreak against debutant Grace Piper 3-6, 7-5 10-8. Christie was struggling to convert her match point in the third set. Piper smashed into the net to complete the comeback in what was a must win game for Christie.
The other was Lui Maxted’s clash against Alexis Canter in pool C. Another comeback saw Maxted come home 4-6, 6-4, 10-2. The quality on show from both sides was remarkable but Maxted shone through with some brilliant volleying and timing at the net. This was the first game of week 5 for the 17-year-old and the impressive win puts him in a good place to reach the quarter-finals.
Elsewhere there was a dominant straight-set win for Emily Appleton over Danielle Daley 6-0, 6-2, Appleton making it 2 from 2 and qualifying top of her pool. In the early game on court 1, Joshua Paris retired with a back issue meaning he will have to win on Thursday to qualify. Eliz Maloney returned to winning ways, with a win over Emma Wilson.
Day 3 stands to be a pivotal day for many Pools as some players will find themselves in must win matches if they want to qualify for the quarter-finals!! Join us live at 11:00 and find the livestreams on our youtube channel!!
Full results
Joshua Paris v Max Basing 6-7, 0-1 (Paris Retired)
Julian Cash v Tom Hands 6-4, 6-4
Freya Christie v Grace Piper 3-6, 7-5, 10-8
Alexis Canter v Lui Maxted 6-4, 4-6, 2-10
Emily Appleton v Danielle Daley 6-0, 6-2
Eliz Maloney v Emma Wilson 6-4, 6-3
Holly Hutchinson v Millie Bissett 7-6, 7-5
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13th July, 2021
The Return of the UK Pro League! Week 5: Day 1 Recap
Week 5 kicks off
The UK Pro League returned with a bang as the first day of matches brought upsets and thrills. The fifth week of this years league takes place at the Aldershot Tennis Centre.
16-year-old Jasmine Compton upset 2nd place Eliz Maloney in a high class match. Compton was eventually able to overcome the eternally stubborn defence of Maloney in a third set tiebreak to finish the match 5-7, 7-6, 11-9.
Emily Appleton was able to overcome debutant Anna Brogan in 3 sets to win 2-6, 6-3, 10-6. Appleton is looking to extend her lead at the top of the 2021 league. After losing the first set she got off to a great start to week 5 with 2 points.
In the men’s pool A, Julian Cash defeated Oscar Weightman in a pivotal showdown. Cash started slowly but was able to claw back the second set against an increasingly frustrated Weightman. Cash won the game 6-7, 6-4, 10-6. There were also impressive straight set wins for Joshua Paris, Alexis Canter and Sonay Kartal.
Nadia Rawson (above) defeated Freya Christie 6-4, 4-6, 10-8 in a tightly fought contest on court 1.
Full Results
Julian Cash – Oscar Weightman (6-7, 6-4, 10-6)
Joshua Paris – LLewelyn Bevan (6-3, 6-2)
Alexis Canter – Jack Gibbens 7-6 (7-2), 6-2
Sean Hodkin – Charles Broom 6-7 (4-7), 3-6
Eliz Maloney – Jasmine Conway7-5, 6-7(3-7), 9-11
Freya Christie – Nadia Rawson4-6, 6-4, 8-10
Holly Hutchinson – Sonay Kartal 2-6, 2-6
Emily Appleton – Anna Brogan 2-6, 6-3, 10-6
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11th July, 2021
The UK Pro League is back for week 5
After a two-month break, the 2021 UK Pro League is back with a bang this week, with some of Britain’s brightest talent locking horns at the Aldershot Tennis Centre.
Set up in 2020 and first played to enable players to get back into competition after the initial national lockdown, it is the only domestic league for UK players, with the 2021 instalment beginning back in March.
And with over half a million pounds of prize money up for grabs across the season, you will not miss a thing with all the thrills and spills broadcast live on BT Sport.
So far Anton Matusevich and Emily Appleton are leading the way, topping the men’s and women’s rankings, respectively.
Appleton sits top of the women’s rankings with 69 points, 16 ahead of second placed Eliz Maloney, whilst Matusevich sits 11 points ahead of Dan Cox in the men’s rankings. Appleton has won three of the four weeks and was runner-up as well, meaning she is the favourite to triumph once again, though Matusevich will not be in action this week.
The men’s event will be led by Josh Paris, who currently sits in third place, with Julian Cash, Alexis Canter and Charles Broom the highest ranked players in action.
There is also a wildcard for Lui Maxted who recently played in junior Wimbledon, and event founder Jamie Delgado revealed he was impressed when the 18-year-old played in week three.
“Lui Maxted stood out. When he played, he played well, it was good to see him compete. It’s great to see the younger players do well,” said Delgado.
Appleton’s main rival will likely be Maloney once again. The two have met in three finals this year, with Maloney the only person to stop Appleton from winning a week.
Other notable names in the field include Freya Christie, the highest-ranked woman in the field, Sonay Kartal and bright young prospects, Grace Piper and Jasmine Conway.
Delgado believes that Appleton’s consistency and resilience is key to her success so far and will make her hard to beat this week.
“I think that consistency is always an impressive thing. So many players can play good one-off matches but the people who will do well in this league are the people who will back up that level day-to-day,” he said.
“They’re all good players and they can all play good tennis but when you’re getting tired, when the body starts to go, can you maintain it? Emily has obviously done it the best out of everyone.
“You never know how people react to getting lots of matches and potentially losing a match. A lot depends on how much you can bounce back from that as well so I think it’s a real test of your ability and your focus during the week.”
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9th July, 2021
Emma Raducanu: The UK Pro League 2020 champion’s fairy-tale run at Wimbledon.
The Inaugural women’s UK pro league champion reached the last-16 at SW19 in her first Grand-Slam appearance. 18-year-old Raducanu had only made her WTA Tour debut in June but managed a fairy-tale run as she defeated two top-50 seeds in her remarkable journey. She showcased brilliant aggression and an incredibly fearless attitude on the biggest stage of her career.
Her performance once more showcased the UKPL’s ability to progress and development young British talent. In 2020 Raducanu won the first version of the UKPL, which stretched over 6 weeks and 42 days of elite tennis competition.
At the start of the tournament Raducanu was ranked outside the top-300 in the world, but played with the confidence of a seasoned Grand-Slam veteran. Her ranking will improve massively after her breakthrough appearance. Remarkably she didn’t drop a set until her retirement in the last-16. Raducanu described her experiences at Wimbledon as the “Best week of her life.” She charmed the returning fans throughout her time in South-West London, with plenty of charm and a smile stretching across her face.
Another participant of the UK Pro League Jack Draper impressed at Wimbledon, taking the first set off world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the opening round.
The 5th week of the 2021 UKPL starts on the 12th July, with players looking forward to more high-class tennis competition.
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2nd May, 2021
Patten and Appleton win the fourth week of the UK Pro League
Henry Patten believes he’s finally finding his finest UK Pro League form after storming to the Week 4 title against Dan Cox in Loughborough.
Patten, the British No.24, toppled evergreen Cox, 30, 6-2 6-3 in Sunday’s showpiece to clinch his maiden victory of the season and rack up a crucial 18 ranking points.
Patten, 24, was beaten by Anton Matusevich in the Week 3 final but bounced back in style at the Dan Maskell Tennis Centre to haul himself up to 33 points for the season. The Essex ace competed at Classic Week of last year’s UK Pro Series but reckons he’s only now hitting his peak after a dominant display in front of the BT Sport cameras.
Patten, who lost to table-topping Cox 6-3 6-1 on Thursday in the round robin format, said:
“I think it’s definitely the best tennis I’ve played at any of these events. To do it in the final is pretty satisfying. I felt like I’ve been building up to it all week and when you play this many matches, you’re seeing then ball pretty well. Congratulations to Dan for an unbelievable week – he didn’t drop a set in our group, and was really the dominant player. When you play Dan, he gives you opportunities and you just have to play well consistently for an hour and a half – or however long it takes. He just maintains his levels so well. He’s so experienced in the big moments – it’s tough, but I knew it was doable.”
Patten is a huge fan of the innovative UK Pro League format – the brainchild of Andy Murray’s coach Jamie Delgado – and added:
“Any opportunity you get to play in these tournaments, you can’t really pass up. The money that they raise here is just unparalleled – and you can’t pass these up.”
The Premier League of British tennis, the season-long UK Pro League brings together the country’s top professional tennis players across nine separate weeks from March to December.
Britain’s leading stars compete in a round robin format in eight individual qualifying weeks, with the weekend play-offs then giving them the opportunity to accumulate valuable ranking points to seal qualification for December’s Finals Week.
And another player who’s come flying out of the traps is battle-hardened Emily Appleton – who reckons jet-setting to Jerusalem is the perfect recipe for catalysing her assault on the overall title. The Surrey star, strapped in bandaging after an injury scare last week, sealed her third win in four weeks after toppling Week 3 nemesis Eliz Maloney 6-3 7-5 in Sunday’s final.
Appleton gives winning speech
Appleton, the British No.18, went down in straight sets against Maloney, 20, in last week’s showpiece but re-established her Loughborough hegemony with a dazzling display. She’s flying straight out to Israel for a tournament this week and hopes a dollop of international experience can continue her searing start to the domestic season.
The indefatigable 21-year-old said:
“At 8am tomorrow morning you can catch me at Terminal 5! I’ve got 12 hours to recover and get ready for next week. I haven’t actually felt great all week, so I’m very happy with the win. I was considering not playing last week, but I’m very happy. I need to do all the recovery I can now to get ready for next week. Honestly after these four weeks, if someone said I’d have won three of them I would never have believed you. This is the cherry on top. It’s really exciting – but I’m just so done right now! Eliz worked me to my hardest and it was such a great and match from her, so I’m just happy to get over the line.”
Like Patten, Appleton revels in the UK Pro League format and added:
“You can count on me being in Weeks 5, 6, 7 and 8!”
Elsewhere, Week 1 winner Joshua Paris scooped third-place in the men’s competition while the precocious Alice Gillan claimed the final spot on the podium on the women’s side. Paris, 25, toppled Leeds ace Luke Johnson – the British No.14 – 6-2 6-3 while Gillan, 22, eased past Nadia Rawson 6-2 6-2.
Julian Cash and Katarina Stresnakova finished fifth in their respective competitions with wins against Dan Little and Freya Christie, while George Houghton and Emma Wilson were seventh after their victories over Mason Recci and Danielle Daley on Sunday.
It’s Appleton who continues to set the pace at the summit of the women’s standings ahead of Maloney, while on the men’s side, Matusevich – who did not compete in Week 4 – tops the table ahead of Cox, Paris and Patten.
The UK Pro League will now take a two-month hiatus before Britain’s leading players next descend on the court, with Week 5 scheduled to get underway on July 12 as the race to Finals Week intensifies.
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11th April, 2021
Maloney and Matusevich are the winners of the second week of the UK Pro League
One new winner and one regular victor reigned supreme as Eliz Maloney and Anton Matusevich claimed Week 3 honours in the UK Pro League. Revenge was a sweet relief for Maloney in Loughborough, overcoming Emily Appleton for the second time in the week having lost in the Week 2 Final.
But there was no stopping Matusevich at the Dan Maskell Tennis Centre, winning his 15th successive match in the competition having not dropped a single set in the week. Maloney has improved week-on-week in this year’s series, and this week was no different having waltzed through the Pool stage with five wins from five.
Another straight sets win over Freya Christie set her up for the Appleton showdown – prevailing 6-4 6-3 to take maximum points away from Week 3. “I’m just so relieved, especially after that last game which seemed to go on forever, but I’m happy to close that out,” she said. “My legs felt a bit shaky, especially on your own serve trying to start it off, but you’d rather have the serve than not.
“The group-stage win gave me a lot of confidence heading into the final, I hadn’t beaten her on these courts but because she’s playing so well, that certainly helped me raise my game. “I was making inroads into Emily’s serve but couldn’t take the break points, luckily I was able to take the chances in the end. She’s serving so well at the moment, and follows it up really well to make it hard to get a look in against her. I’ll be back for Week 4, I’ve got a picnic on Monday to look forward to now – hopefully it will be sunny!”
And Matusevich has taken another huge step towards Finals Week after winning for the second week in a row. Since winning the third-place play-off in Week 1, the 19-year-old hasn’t lost a match – a record he maintained with a 7-5 6-1 win against Henry Patten.
Patten held his own in the opener but Matusevich’s flying form proved too much – winning 14 from a possible 14 sets across the week.
“I was very happy the way I played, I thought I played quite at home out here and was playing better tennis than in the second week. Congratulations to Henry in making the final, that’s a great achievement. It was awesome, I’ve really enjoyed it here. Week 1, you’re panicking a little bit, as top seed having not played in these events before. There was less panicking, less talking for me, I was a bit more calm and composed and stopped thinking about the scoreline. I turn 20 next month – it’s scary getting older, I don’t want to do that. Maturity is definitely something I want to work on, getting mentally solid.”
Sunday also saw a host of play-off matches played, with the final league ranking key in determining who will make Finals Week later this year.
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10th April, 2021
A super semi-final Saturday at the UK Pro League
Emily Appleton is just win one away from a UK Pro League 2021 hat-trick after reaching the Week 3 Final in Loughborough. Appleton took top spot in last month’s opening two weeks of competition and is back doing what she does best at the Dan Maskell Tennis Centre.
But this week’s route to the Sunday showdown came in rather different circumstances, with semi-final opponent Sonay Kartal having to withdraw through injury following the first set, which Appleton won 6-4. Appleton will now face Eliz Maloney for Week 3 honours – live on BT Sport 3 and UKProLeague.com – with the two familiar opponents having met in the round-robin stage this week as well as the Week 2 Final.
But the men’s and women’s finals won’t be the only action on court. Classification matches will be played to determine the week’s final standings and crucial league points, which players will use in order to qualify for the UK Pro League Final Week.
“I had a bit of a slow start but Sonay played really well at the beginning, I don’t think she missed a ball,” said Appleton. “I started to find my feet and by the end of the set, I felt I was serving pretty well. “I’m really thrilled to be back in another final, three out of three is a great achievement so whatever happens in the final, I’ll be really happy. It’s always a great battle against Eliz because she’s a great competitor, I’ll just focus on my strengths and what I can do well. It’s been a different week to the first two, I feel like I’ve found my momentum again and I’m looking forward to the match.”
Three wins from three different weeks would be an outstanding achievement but her opponent won’t be giving her a free pass to glory. Maloney reached Saturday’s semi-finals with five wins from five in the pool stage, with victory over Appleton one of the highlights of her week. And she carried that form into the last four, downing Freya Christie 7-5 6-2 to reach back-to-back finals in Loughborough.
“I played well, it was a good match – Freya and I always have really long rallies but I just tried to stay positive,” said Maloney. “There’s always things you can do better. I just want to stick to my gameplan and make some small adjustments from this match. I’ve played Emily three times now, she’s serving big and playing some good tennis, so it’ll be about trying to take it on where I can.”
With injury ruling Kartal out of Sunday’s third-place play-off, she is confirmed as finishing fourth this week with Christie placing third. The Premier League of British tennis, the innovative UK Pro League brings together the country’s top professional players and runs across nine separate weeks from March to November.
The season-long competition involves players competing in a round robin format in eight individual qualifying weeks, with the weekend play-offs then giving them the chance to accumulate ranking points to seal qualification for November’s Finals Week. And there’ll be a familiar face in the men’s final with Anton Matusevich, victor last time out, back bidding for a shot at top spot. Matusevich didn’t drop a single set in his round-robin matches and maintained that scintillating tennis to beat George Houghton 7-5 7-5.
“It was a very good match, he played very well, served well, came out as an underdog but his forehand was very good, I’m just happy to get through it, I really enjoyed the match and hopefully I can win in the final. It’s awesome to get in the final again, there’s lots of matches and I’m building up some nice confidence as well.”
Matusevich will be up against Henry Patten in Sunday’s final, wasting little time making his mark in his first week of UK Pro League 2021 action. Patten felt he wasn’t at his best against Julian Cash but held his nerve when it mattered most to win 7-6 7-6.
“I don’t think either of us played very well, it certainly wasn’t our best tennis but mentally I was happy with how I competed. This is my first week here so it’s amazing to reach the final, I came here with moderate expectations but it’s a new event and venue for me so I’m happy to get through that. I got a bit lucky with some of the results but I’m looking forward to the final, I’ll have to be on it.”
