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28th February, 2023

Daley and Loffhagen win Week 3

Week 3 concluded on Saturday at Gosling Tennis Centre, meaning we are already a quarter of the way through the 2023 UK Pro League calendar! George Loffhagen was crowned the Week 3 Men’s champion, which is his second Week Win and first of this year. Meanwhile, UK Pro League regular Danielle Daley won the week for the first time in the Women’s competition. Daley has competed in 18 UK Pro League Weeks, including the very first week ever held back in 2020. A very well-deserved win. Carry on reading to learn how our two Week Winners triumphed.

Winner Danielle Daley (left) and runner-up Emma Wilson (right)     Winner George Loffhagen (right) and runner-up Dan Cox (left)

If you were following Loffhagen’s week at Gosling, you might have assumed he was a shoo-in for the Week Win. He didn’t drop a set on the way to the Finals and in most of his matches he lost only a few games. However, Dan Cox, the other Men’s finalist, could not be counted out. Cox is over 300 places above Loffhagen in ATP ranks, and is much more experienced, being over 10 years Loffhagen’s senior.

However, it was Cox who got off to a shaky start in the Final; an erroneous first game from the 32-year-old handed Loffhagen an immediate break of serve. Starting off on the back foot was not ideal for Cox. His first chance to break back came in the 4th game when Loffhagen was 2-1 up, and Cox had a break point at 40-15. However, a string of unforced errors lost Cox this chance to break at a crucial point in the match. Loffhagen quickly broke Cox’s serve again in the following game and closed out the first set 6-2. The score does not reflect the quality of tennis coming from both sides of the court; the ball was flying about the court with incredible speed, and the precision of Cox’s shots would have easily overcome his previous opponents of the week. Loffhagen, however, had not only the power for a deadly serve and forehand, but the speed and agility to reach the ball when it seemed impossible.

George Loffhagen was competing in his second ever UKPL Final

In the second set, Loffhagen, once again, broke Cox’s serve in the opening game. The next break of serve came again from Loffhagen to go 4-1 up, but Cox immediately broke back. However, Loffhagen was not going to let this be an opportunity for Cox to begin a catch up- another break of serve from Loffhagen kept him firmly in the lead, and now serving for the match. It was a fierce battle until the very end; Cox saved 2 match points, but Loffhagen swept up the win in an impressive 6-2, 6-2.

Keep an eye on George Loffhagen in the coming year- he last won a UKPL week on his debut with us last November. At that point in time he was at an ATP ranking of 1373- now, approximately 3 months later, he has already soared up to 692. A straight-sets win against Dan Cox, who has a current ATP ranking of 408, suggests he is not done rising yet. Loffhagen said when interviewed after the match:

“It was a tough match- Dan’s a good player so I felt like I had to play very well.”

“I enjoy getting 5 guaranteed matches, I think that’s really good. You can try a few things because, say in Futures, if you lose you have to go home, so here there’s a bit more room for experimenting and trying to play in a way that you can get better.”

Now onto Danielle Daley’s incredible win, a wonderful highlight so far of her UKPL journey. 22-year-old Daley had an impressive week. She also didn’t drop a set in her 4 matches leading up to the final, and her 6-1, 6-4 win against Andre Lukosiute in the semi final was particularly noteworthy; Lukosiute was easily the favourite to win, as top seed and sitting over 300 WTA ranks higher than Daley.

In the Final, Daley faced second seed Emma Wilson. A strong first game from Danielle Daley awarded her two break points, but she failed to convert. The first break of serve did, however, come from Daley but for 2-1, and then again for 4-1. Wilson nearly broke back when Daley was serving for the set, but Daley saved a break point and won the first set 6-1. Daley seemed completely in control of the match during the first set. She was making very few errors and was able to push Wilson about the court until her she would make an inevitable error.

Danielle dominated the first set of the Final

However, the tide began to turn in the second set; Wilson was playing better and Daley was making more errors and struggling to return Wilson’s serve as easily. It turned into an extremely even match. Both women were winning their service games and, to highlight just how close it was, when Daley was serving at 2-3 the game went back to deuce 5 times before Daley was able to win it. The first break of serve came from Wilson for 3-5, and she continued the momentum to win the next game without dropping a point, winning the set 6-3.

Unsurprisingly, the subsequent match tiebreak was equally as tight. Neither player had ever won a UKPL Week before, despite competing numerous times, and both were in touching distance. Neither one managed to move more than one point ahead all the way until Daley managed to go 8-6 up, a crucial point to win. Daley converted the first match point which shortly followed to win the match: 6-1, 3-6, 10-7.

“It was a difficult match because I’ve actually never beaten Emma before, so this was a first time win.”

“I’m very pleased, I feel like its been a long journey over the last few years, and playing the UK Pro Leagues has helped so much, so to be able to come and win one has been really really good.”

Loffhagen is planning for a few weeks of practise next, meanwhile Daley is heading straight to South Africa for ITF W25 and W60 events.

Missed the finals? Watch them on demand over at ukproleague.tv

See the results from the week in full here

23rd February, 2023

Week 3 – midweek round-up

4 days down, 3 to go here at Gosling Sports Park! The pool stages finished on Tuesday, and yesterday saw 16 men and women compete in the Quarter Finals. Our 9-12th play-offs also got underway…

Andre Lukosiute

Top seed Andre Lukosiute sailed through the first pool stage without a hitch; she beat Annabelle Lammas and Michelle Dzjachangirova in straight sets, thereby collecting the maximum 6 points available to advance her easily through to the Quarter Finals. Her Quarter Final match against Freya Davies was also a straight sets victory: 6-4, 6-2. She will face Danielle Daley (who also topped her pool with 6 points) in the Semi Finals on Friday.

The other Women’s Semi Final will see second seed Emma Wilson face Jaquelyn Ogunwale. Wilson is playing well, also securing the maxiumum 6 points in her pool. Newcomer Jaquelyn Ogunwale, who recently turned 18, has made waves in her first UKPL week. After coming top of her pool, she won her Quarter Final in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, against Michelle Dzjachangirova, who placed 4th in Week 2. How far will she get on her debut?

Newcomer Jaquelyn Ogunwale

In the Men’s competition, George Loffhagen will face James Davis TODAY in our first Semi Final. Loffhagen is yet to drop a set all week. James Davis is another newcomer having a strong debut. The 24 year old came second in his pool, losing only to top seed Dan Cox, but beat Ben Jones in the quarter finals 6-3, 6-2, a player who is nearly 300 ATP ranks his senior. Top seed Dan Cox will face Ivan Denisov in his Semi Final on Friday.

James Davis makes his UKPL debut

 

See the order of play here and results in full here

Watch all matches live and on demand here

19th February, 2023

Week 3 Preview

UK Pro League starts today!

Week 3 : Sunday 19th – Saturday 25th February

UKPL heads back to Gosling Sports Park for another 7 days of action!

There will be some familiar faces competing. Dan Cox, runner up of UK Pro League Finals Week 2022, returns for his first week of 2023 and, as the top seed, is likely to be seeking a generous helping of League Ranking Points. Cox recently reached the second round of the Tenerife Challenger main draw.

2022 Runner Up Dan Cox returns for his first Qualifying week of 2023

George Loffhagen, who won Week 7 on his debut last November, will be another one to watch. He defeated 2021 Champion Anton Matusevich in the Final to claim that particular win. Brandon Murphy, who won back-to-back weeks in 2022, will also be competing.

Andre Lukosiute, winner of Week 3 last year, heads up the women’s draw, likely keen to get another win under her belt. No doubt also eyeing up her chances will be 2nd seed Emma Wilson, who is yet to win a week here at UKPL.

Could Andre Lukosiute claim a 2nd UKPL Week Win?

Register at ukproleague.tv to watch all matches live and on demand for free!

Check the order of play, live scores and results at ukproleague.com

7th February, 2023

Reigning Champion Elena Malygina and newcomer Hamish Stewart win Week 2!

Another fantastic week of tennis concluded here at Graves Tennis Centre, Sheffield, on Saturday. UK Pro League welcomes a new Week Winner, Hamish Stewart, who was one of a handful of players competing in their first ever UK Pro League week. UKPL 2022 Champion Elena Malygina returns to the top of the women’s competition, putting her loss in the Week 1 final well behind her.

 

Men’s Final: George Houghton vs Hamish Stewart

George Houghton moved from strength to strength after his flying start to the week. He beat top seed Filip Peliwo (who was unfortunately hampered by an injury) 6-3, 6-1 in the quarter finals, and Sean Hodkin, some 150 places his senior in ATP ranks, in a closer semi-final: 6-4, 7-6(6). Houghton has competed in many UKPL Weeks previously, but has only won once before. He came close to repeating the feat last October, but was beaten by Anton Matusevich in the Final. This was another chance to take the crown. Houghton was up against Hamish Stewart in the Final. Stewart, a recent graduate of the University of Georgia, had spent the week picking off the competition with apparent ease. His quarter final against Ivan Denisov was wrapped up in 58 minutes: 6-1, 6-3. It was a similar tale against Alexis Canter in the semi final: 6-3, 6-0. He seemed unstoppable.

George Houghton had a flying start to the week

Houghton started strong; two aces during his first service game helped him win it without dropping a point, and the momentum continued with an immediate break of Stewart’s serve. The next break of serve didn’t come until Houghton was 4-1 up, where a few too many errors from Stewart allowed Houghton to break again. Houghton then served out the set to love, hitting two aces, to take the first set 6-1. At this point in the match Houghton seemed in control, making fewer errors than his opponent and with an impressive ability to return Stewart’s lighting fast serve, which Stewart’s previous opponents in the week had been less successful in doing.

A double fault from Stewart was not the fresh start he would have wanted in the second set. Houghton broke his opponent in this opening game, but the contest seemed to be evening out- both players winning some great points. A few cracks started to appear in Houghton’s game at this point, there was a few more errors and his usually outstanding backhand was finding the net more than its usual landing place in the back corner of his opponent’s side of the court. Stewart capitalised on this, converting his first break point of the match to even the second set score. 1-1. It was game on.

Strong serving from both players delayed the next break of serve until Stewart broke Houghton’s serve to go 4-2 up. With Houghton losing the consistency he had in the first set, it didn’t take long for Stewart to close out the set 6-2. And so the Men’s Final went to match tiebreak.

Stewart charged ahead in the tiebreak, racing to 7-1 until a couple of errors allowed Houghton to begin the catch up- the score reached 8-4. The last four points showcased both players ability- some great tennis, but Stewart ended the match with a delicate backhand slice over the net, winning 1-6, 6-2, 10-6. What a comeback from the first set! He joins the handful of UKPL players who claimed the win on their debut- a fantastic achievement.

Hamish Stewart wins Week 2 on his debut

Women’s Final: Elena Malygina vs Arina Vasilescu

Elena Malygina headed into her 3rd UKPL semi final in a row with her usual routine of losing no sets in her run to the final. Malygina is, of course, our reigning UKPL champion, but she lost in the Final of Week 1 to Katie Stresnakova and was therefore likely keen to avoid another 2nd place. However Arina Vasilescu, the other finalist, had also won a UKPL week in the past, and she beat Anna Brogan, who is equal in WTA rank to Elena Malygina, in an intense semi-final match 2-6, 7-6(1), 13-11.

The Women’s Final began with each player breaking each other’s serve in the opening service games. Another break came from Malygina to go 3-1 up, but yet again Vasilescu immediately broke back. 3-2. The next game was crucial for Vasilescu and, unfortunately for her, some erroneous shots aided in Malygina getting another break of serve. From this point on, Vasilescu struggled to catch up, and Malygina won the first set 6-3.

Arina Vasilescu is a proven UKPL Week Winner

Malygina started off the second set just as strong, and broke Vasilescu’s serve immediately, with Vasilescu visibly frustrated at some of her shots into the net. Malygina was sending the ball all over the court with ease, her accuracy and power didn’t falter and she had soon won two consecutive games without dropping a point to go 4-0 up. Vasilescu won two service games, and saved a match point, but could not break back. Malygina swept up the win 6-3, 6-2, reminding us, yet again, why she’s a Champion.

Elena Malygina is back to number 1

 

See all results from Week 2 here, and watch all matches on demand at ukproleague.tv

1st February, 2023

Week 2 – Pool Stage Recap

We are three days in to the second instalment of UK Pro League 2023 here at Graves Tennis Centre, Sheffield. Carry on reading to see all the news from the pool stages, which wrapped up yesterday.

In the Pool stages, the draws of 12 men and 12 women are split into 4 pools of 3. Players compete within their pools for points; they gain 3 for a win in 2 straight sets, 2 for a win in 3 sets, 1 for a loss in 3 sets, and none for a loss in straight sets. At the end of the Pool stage, the top two players in each pool progress through to the Quarter Finals, and the rest enter the 9-12th place round robin. There’s no knockout here at the UK Pro League- every player is guaranteed 5 matches.

In the Men’s draw, George Houghton is the only player to secure a spot in the Quarter Finals without dropping a set. The 24 year old has had a strong start to the year, winning the Loughborough 25k doubles title earlier this month with fellow UKPL player Tom Hands. Will he secure another win before the month is up? He will have to beat top seed Filip Peliwo today to make it though to the Semi Finals, tune in NB 13:00 for that match, its sure to be a good one. Filip Peliwo beat Michael Shaw on day 1 in straight sets, but faltered at the last hurdle in an epic match against Hamish Stewart that went to match tiebreak, eventually won by Stewart 3-6 7-6(5) 14-12. A great result for Stewart, beating a top 400 player, and the longest match of the week so far at 2 hours 23 minutes.

 

George Houghton looks set to continue his great start to 2023

In the women’s draw, the two top seeds, Elena Malygina and Anna Brogan, are both very much still in the running. 2022 Champion Malygina, who came runner up in week 1, seems determined to get another shot at the trophy. She beat Jizel Fernandes 6-1 6-3 and Kapari Bagerbaseh 6-2 6-1; a dominant start from the proven Week Winner. Meanwhile Anna Brogan, competing in her first UKPL week since this time last year, has also won both her matches (against Soumeya Anane and Annabelle Lammas) in straight sets. Malygina goes on to face Nadia Rawson next, whilst Brogan will compete against Adeola Greatorex.

 

Anna Brogan is yet to drop a set

Another front runner to come out of the Pool Stages is Arina Vasilescu, who beat both Kate Mansfield and Nadia Rawson in straight sets. Vasilescu won Week 1 of last year, can she collect another title in Sheffield? Tune in NB 14:30 to see her play Jizel Fernandes in her Quarter Final match on court 2.

 

Previous Week Winner Arina Vasilescu has had a strong start to the week

 

Tune in today to watch all the Quarter Finals with our pool of potential winners dwindling from 8 to 4… Plus, catch up with any action you’ve missed so far at www.ukproleague.tv – all matches are on demand now!

9th January, 2023

Anton Matusevich and Katarina Stresnakova Win Week 1

Week 1 of the UK Pro League 2023 concluded on Saturday. Keep reading for a round up of the end of the week and, of course, hear from our first two Week Winners of the year!

With a competitive draw, there were exciting matches the whole way through the week. The semi-finals took place on the 5th day of competition. First up Anton Matusevich and Henry Searle were vying for their place in the final. While Henry Searle was participating in his first ever UKPL Week, Anton Matusevich is a lot more experienced with the competition, having competed since 2020. Matusevich has won UKPL weeks multiple times and, in 2021, won Finals Week to became the 2021 Champion. On the other side of the net, Searle was the youngest competitor of the week at just 16 years old. However, don’t use this fact to overlook him; Searle spent 2022 winning the LTA’s 16 & Under Junior National Championships and competing in the Wimbledon Boys’ Singles. Matusevich started to gain momentum early on in the match, winning a love service game for 2-1 before breaking Searle’s serve for the first time. Searle couldn’t catch up and Matusevich took the first set 6-1. The second set started more evenly, but Matusevich eventually forced a break to go 4-3 up and, despite Searle putting up a good fight until the very end (saving 2 match points), Matusevich won 6-1 6-3. This meant he reached the final without dropping a set.

The other Men’s semi final was between Aidan McHugh and Ben Jones. Currently, McHugh has an ATP singles rank of 372, a quite a bit higher than Jones who sits at 1006. McHugh pulled ahead by taking the first set 6-4. In the 2nd, an early break from Jones gave him a 3-0 lead and he went on to claim the set 6-1. Therefore, the contest went to a 10 point match tiebreak. McHugh took an early lead, which Jones never recovered from. Despite some incredible shots from both sides (see a few tiebreak highlights over on our Instagram @ukproleague) McHugh triumphed 6-4 1-6 10-6.

Aidan McHugh

Searle went on to win against Ben Jones in straight sets 7-6(3) 6-4 to claim 3rd place for the week – a very impressive first run at the UK Pro League for the youngster.

The men’s Final, Anton Matusevich vs Aidan McHugh, was the last match match of the week. Matusevich broke McHugh’s first service game, but McHugh immediately broke back and the first set continued without another break, resulting in a set tiebreak which Matusevich won 8-6. The second set started off just as evenly. Yet again, Matusevich was the first to break to go 3-1 up, but, yet again, McHugh broke back. However, at this point, Matusevich started to pull away. McHugh fought valiantly, including a last minute resurgence when Matusevich was serving for the match at 7-6 5-3 40-0 and McHugh saved 3 match points, but it was too late. Matusevich claimed the trophy in with a 7-6(6) 6-3 victory. A great start to the year for him.

Anton Matusevich last won a UKPL Week in early October

“I’m very pleased to win it. First tournament of the year is always nice to win. Going to come in feeling confident into the 25ks, and hopefully more UK Pro Leagues this year.” – Anton Matusevich after his win

In the Women’s competition the first Semi Final was between Katarina Stresnakova and Danielle Daley . Daley was on good form, having beaten Eliz Maloney for the first time in the Quarter Finals by holding her nerve in the match tiebreak: 6-4, 4-6, 10-6. Stresnkaova was yet to drop a set and had had a decisive 6-2 6-4 win against British no. 9 Eden Silva in her first match of the week.

The Stresnakova vs Daley match started off fairly close, but Stresnakova breaking for 3-1 up was the turning point of the first set, which she ultimately claimed 6-2. In the 2nd set, Daley fought back hard, winning the first 2 games. However, Stresnakova then won the next 4. After the score levelled at 4-4, Stresnakova sprinted to the finish, winning the match 6-2 6-4.

The other women’s Semi Final featured Elena Malygina vs Eden Silva. Malygina was returning off the back of her taking the 2022 UK Pro League Champion crown in November and she sits currently at a career high WTA singles ranking of 347. However Eden Silva was never going to be an easy opponent. The British number 9 sits at 305 in the WTA rankings- a career high for her too. Malygina took control of the start of the match by winning the first 3 games, and she led the rest of the set before sealing the win 6-2. However, in the second set it was Silva who won the first 3 sets and led the way to a 6-3 win of the 2nd. Another close contest that would go to a 10 point match tiebreak. The score stayed pretty even throughout the tiebreak, and before long had reached 8-9. Silva then saved two match points, but the third was converted by Malygina, giving her the win: 6-2 3-6 12-10.

A retirement from Silva in the 3rd-4th match granted Daley her highest ever finish at a UKPL week of 3rd.

Katarina Stresnakova had previously reached 4 UKPL Finals but never claimed the win

Stresnakova and Malygina, the two women in the final, had met in the pool stages of the UKPL Finals Week in November, where Malygina claimed a 6-3 6-2 win. But it wasn’t to be the same story this time. Stresnakova took the lead immediately by breaking Malygina’s serve in the opening game. However, Malygina fought back and ultimately won the first set 6-3. In the second set, Stresnakova broke first to go 3-2 up, but it wasn’t long before her lead was taken away. The close fight led ultimately to 6-6 and a set tiebreak- a chance for Malygina to claim victory. But Stresnakova wasn’t ready to lose another UKPL final and instead snatched a 7-4 win to take the fight instead to a 10 point match tiebreak. This, unsurprisingly, was also nail-bitingly close until the end. Stresnakova saved three match points, and converted one to win 12-10.

Katarina Stresnakova (second from right) wins week 1 and Elena Malygina ( second from left) comes runner-up

Katarina said after the match: “The match was very challenging- Elena is a great player so I knew that before going into it. I played her about a month ago and I pretty much got killed! So I just wanted to play the best that I could and I didn’t want to give up, I was fighting hard and it was worth it. I’m very pleased because it took me a few tries to actually get the win! It was a tough final so it feels even sweeter!”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before but UK Pro League basically got me back up. I didn’t think I was playing tournaments anymore when I came to the UK and they got me going. It’s always a good atmosphere, it’s always good matches and good practise. I actually really love that I can try out things for other tournaments, and I guess it’s paying off!”

Both Katarina and Anton headed straight up to Loughborough after their wins to compete in a 25k event.

Missed the Week 1 action? All matches are available to watch on demand for free at www.ukproleague.tv . Plus, it’s not long to wait for Week 2, which kicks off in Sheffield on January 29th.

5th January, 2023

Week 1 Pool Stage recap- newcomers and veterans battle it out

UK Pro League 2023 is underway! Week 1 is being hosted from 2nd-7th January at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, and the stage is set for a great week of Tennis.

The pool stage takes place over the first 3 days of the tournament. The 12-player draw is split into 4 pools of 3 and players compete within the pools in a round robin format. Players earn 3 points for a straight-sets win, 2 points for a win over 3 sets, 1 point for losing in 3 sets and 0 for losing in straight sets. The top 2 players from each pool progress into Thursday’s Quarter Finals, and the bottom player enters the 9-12th round robin for the rest of the week.

The week is set to be highly competitive, with the draw containing multiple previous Week Winners as well as two UKPL Champions: Anton Matusevich (UKPL Champion 2021) and Elena Malygina (UKPL Champion 2022). Both Matusevich and Malygina have made it through to the Quarter Finals. Matusevich did so without dropping a set, achieving the maximum 6 points to come top of his pool.

Anton Matusevich, who is no stranger to winning at the UK Pro League, is yet to drop a set.

Previous weekly winners looking to add other win to their collection include George Loffhagen, who won his UKPL debut week in November. He beat Toby Samuel and Henry Searle in straight sets to come top of pool D. Loffhagen beat Matusevich in the final of Week 7 in an intense 3 set match- will these two meet again this week? Matusevich will face Aziz Kijametovic at 10:30am today and Loffhagen will be playing Ben Jones later in the day NB 13:00.

Eliz Maloney is also looking to add to her collection of UKPL trophies. The 22-year-old won 2 weeks last year and returns in good form for 2023. She beat Francesca Jones 6-4, 6-4 and Talia Neilson-Gatenby 6-2 6-3. Will her winning streak continue in the second half of the week? She faces Danielle Daley in her Quarter Final NB 11:45am.

Will Eliz Maloney collect another UKPL Trophy this week?

Eden Silva, who recently reached a career high WTA ranking of 305, beat Summer Yardley in a quick 6-3 6-0, but faced a tougher contest against an on-form Katerina Stresnakova. Although Stresnakova triumphed in straight sets 6-2 6-4, Silva still reaches the Quarter Finals as she came 2nd in her pool. Silva has previously won a UKPL week, but Stresnakova is yet to, despite reaching multiple finals. Will this be her time?

Eden Silva recently reached a career high WTA ranking of 305

Multiple players are making their UKPL debuts this week at the National Tennis Centre. Francesca Jones’s UKPL debut marks her return to competitive Tennis after being forced to take a year out due to injury. With a career high WTA ranking of 149, she made it though to the Quarter Finals after coming 2nd in Pool D. However, unfortunately, Jones has had to retire from the week and will be replaced by Jessica Matthews going forward.

Wildcard Henry Searle, who is just 16 years old, is also having an impressive UKPL debut and has progressed through to the Quarter Finals. His lightning-fast forehand helped earn him an impressive 2-6 6-4 10-5 win over Toby Samuel, although he lost 6-4 6-4 to previous Week Winner George Loffhagen. He faces Dan Little, some 9 years his senior, first up on Court 2 at 10:30am.

Watch all matches live and on demand for free at www.ukproleague.tv

 

Quarter Finalists

Anton Matusevich
George Loffhagen
Aidan McHugh
Sean Hodkin
Henry Searle
Aziz Kijametovic
Dan Little
Ben Jones

Eliz Maloney
Andre Lukosiute
Jizel Fernandes
Katie Stresnakova
Eden Silva
Danielle Daley
Elena Malygina
Jessica Matthews (replaces Francesca Jones)

 

Players in 9-12th

Joshua Goodger
Toby Samuel
Adam Jones
Felix Gill

Adeola Greatorex
Summer Yardley
Talia Neilson-Gatenby
Michelle Dzjachangirova

30th November, 2022

Kyle Edmund and Elena Malygina are crowned the UKPL 2022 Champions

Kyle Edmund believes his UK Pro League Tennis triumph is the biggest boost yet to his long-awaited return to the top table. Tormented by knee trouble, the former British number one had been out of action for 18 months until making a tentative comeback on the recent US hard court swing. Edmund restated his credentials on home soil by winning the UK Pro League men’s final, joining Emma Raducanu on the tournament’s roll of honour. The 27-year-old beat Dan Cox 6-2 6-3 in the final to be crowned champion of the only domestic league for the top UK tennis professionals. Edmund said:

“For me to be back on court is a bit of a win and I am just enjoying that right now, being able to compete,”

“I said to myself that I was going to play but I have only just started to feel like I can play daily again.
“I was in a lot of pain, couldn’t do anything on my knee really and it was sort of like that light in the tunnel, there was zero light, and I didn’t know how I was going to play at that rate.

“This week has been great for me and next year I just want to be playing tournaments, improving and playing regularly.
“If I come through a decent calendar, my body holds up and I’m improving, you know, that is what I want to be doing.

“When you are playing you want to win, so that competitive side will come out of me like this week but now it is just about getting back on tour and establishing myself again.”

Edmund dropped the first set of his finals week before fighting back to beat George Houghton 5-7 6-3 10-2 in Pool C. He then faced Cox for the first time, again losing the first set but surging back to a 3-6 6-4 10-8 triumph. In the quarter-finals, he beat Giles Hussey 6-2 6-3 before coming back once more to beat Charlie Broom 4-6 6-2 10-0 and reach the final.

“When you’ve had an injury that has put you out for that long, it is definitely mental, you have to regain your confidence physically,” said Edmund.
“Also when you play matches you are playing at live speed and when you see the ball you can’t hesitate, you just have to get there.

“There are going to be areas of my game that are rusty. It’s a true test, from the physical and knee point of view, it was a test of my tennis fitness.
“I ended up playing seven games in five days, I haven’t done that in over two years.”

Estonia’s Elena Malygina ran out winner in the women’s final, edging out home hope Freya Christie. The 22-year-old didn’t drop a set en route to the showpiece and then beat Christie 6-4 3-6 10-7 in a closely-contested final. Malygina said:

“I like to play in the UK and I am hoping to come next year to play as well. It is perfect to play in this event that Britain have made.”

30th November, 2022

Finals Week 2022 – Day 7 Recap

Day 7 saw us crown our 2022 UKPL Champions, but we were also treated to other excellent matches on both courts as we concluded the 8th and final UKPL week of 2022.

First up on court one was the 5-6th playoff between Katarina Stresnakova and Eliz Maloney. Maloney was coming off the back of a very close Quarter Final match in which she went to a nail-biting match tie-break against Lauryn John-Baptiste. Stresnakova, on the other hand, was defeated by Maia Lumsden 7-5, 7-5 in her Quarter Final and, as a result, is certainly pining for that 5th place spot (which holds prize money of £4,000). To begin with, Stresnakova took advantage of a slow start from Maloney going 3 games up at the start, breaking the Maloney serve twice. Maloney, however, came back with vigour breaking twice herself. This was an indication of how the game would proceed. After lots of deuces and break points, Stresnakova was able to get a break in the 10th game, going 0-40 up against Maloney at 5-4. She converted the break, playing some great ground strokes in the process. The next set was rife with excitement and pressure. Stresnakova found herself two break points up in the first game of the second set, converting them with accurate and authoritative striking. Maloney, however, would once again refuse to be quietened down; she pushed to gain 3 break points over Stresnakova. However, perhaps the defining feature of the match was Stresnakova’s ability to make a comeback. She won 5 points in a row in that specific game to hold her serve and consolidate the break. With the score at 2-0, Maloney needed a break soon to try and force a match tie-break. She succeeded, breaking Stresnakova in the 4th game to tie it all up 2-2. After some very good rallies and some great holds, both players found themselves at 5-5 in the second set. Neither was giving an inch to their opponent; Maloney found efficiency in her net play and Stresnakova couldn’t miss the lines. Ultimately, it was Stresnakova in the 11th game that broke Maloney’s serve, achieving 3 break points. It then stood 6-5, with Stresnakova serving for the match. When it all seemed said and done, Maloney won 3 straight points putting immense pressure on the Stresnakova serve. The tension was palpable but, yet again, the tenacity of Stresnakova shone through and she took the game right back to Maloney. Stresnakova then afforded herself a match point and, without hesitation, she took it, securing herself 5th place. A brilliant performance from Stresnakova!

Court 1 also saw the 3rd and 4th play-off between Billy Harris and Charles Broom. Harris had, previous to this match, played Dan Cox in a nerve-jangling and physically demanding fight that ended in a 14-12 match tie-break. Broom, on the other hand, was the unfortunate recipient of Kyle Edmund’s (the former world no. 14) best tennis, also losing in a match tie-break 10-0. Harris started with fury; he ended up 3-1 having broken the Broom serve. However, as Broom began to sweep away the cobwebs, he was able force two breaks and go up 4-3. He then played an outstanding game and found himself with 2 break points. He was able to capitalise on one of these and won the first set 6-3. The return game of Broom was incredible, only allowing Harris to win 55% of the points off his first serve. Harris, a tall man (6’ 4’’), usually uses that big serve of his to dictate rallies but, in this match, Broom was making it very difficult for Harris to win quick and easy points. The momentum lay with Broom in the second set and it seemed Harris wasn’t able to do anything against his ferocious attack lay out. Broom careered through the first 6 games winning 5 of them and breaking twice. Broom’s serve was also very potent, with him winning 80% of points off his first serve. However, there was some last-minute drama; Harris did not accept defeat and pushed on to get a break and bring the game back to 5-4 with Broom to serve. However it was too little too late, as Broom persevered with a strong service game to win the match 6-3, 6-4. What a game from the young Hertfordshire man.

Now, onto the finals…

The Men’s final featured the former world number 14 Kyle Edmund, and Dan Cox. Cox has participated in the UK Pro League every year since it started, achieving 4th place in the Finals Week of 2020 and 3rd place in the Finals Week last year. Kyle Edmund needs no introduction, having once seeded in the top 20 players in the world and reaching the Semi Finals of the Australian Open, where he lost to Marin Cilic in a tough contest. Against Cox, Edmund came out of the blocks flying. Both players able to hold their serve until the 6th game, when Edmund forced a break on the Cox serve. Edmund’s ferocious forehand and serve were doing a hefty amount of damage. The strongest parts of Cox’s game are long rallies as well as his speed, but those were hard to come by today with the electricity that Edmund filled the first set with. Edmund again forced a break in the 8th game to settle the first set 6-2. However, Cox did not accept defeat, he marched on displacing the momentum that Edmund had after the first set and earning himself 3 break points in the 5th game, however he wasn’t able to capitalise on them. It seemed that whenever Edmund started playing his best he was unstoppable, playing passing shot after passing shot with ease. He pushed Cox around the court until finally finishing off the rally with his brutal forehand. It was clear that we were witnessing the glimpses of a top 20 player back in action after 2 years of injury. It was ultimately in the 8th game, after some great tennis from Cox, that Edmund was able to force a break gaining a 0-40 lead. This settled the scores at 5-3. It was then a matter of second nature for Edmund to close out the match. An unbelievable game, Edmund acted as a human highlight reel and was a pleasure to watch. Cox played exceptionally and perhaps would have won against anyone not of Edmund’s calibre. Kyle Edmund is thus named 2022 UK Pro League Champion!

The Women’s final featured Elena Malygina and Freya Christie. Christie championed over Maia Lumsden in her Semi Final, with Lumsden having to retire with injury after the first set. Malygina defeated Lauryn-John Baptiste in a decisive 6-1, 6-1 contest in the other Semi Final. Both players settled in nicely to the first set, Christie served very well and Malygina played very precise ground strokes. The only real break in their serves came from Malygina, who was able to take advantage of some slightly erroneous shots and serves from Christie. The score reached 4-3 with Malygina to serve. The next few games were routine for both players, but Malygina held her serve and finished off the set 6-4. At this juncture, both players were playing very well. Christie’s forehand serve made it difficult for Malygina to attack like she usually does. Similarly, Malygina did her best to stifle the Christie attack with some beautiful passing shots and drop shots. Malygina was able to force some errors from Christie at the beginning of the second set, however Christie (the comeback queen), held off Malygina’s attack and was able to force a break in the 8th game making the score 4-2. She then, with the help of her brilliant serves, finished off the second set 6-3. Onto the match tie-break, where Christie earned herself a mini break at 3-1, but the tenacious young Estonian was not to be left in the dust. She fought her way back and squared the game off at 6-6. It was then when she really turned on the thrusters and cannoned herself to victory in a 10-7 brilliant match tie-break win. Elena Malygina is the 2022 UK Pro League Champion!

26th November, 2022

Dan Cox wins his Semi Final at match tiebreak as Freya Christie makes the Women’s Final

Dan Cox and Billy Harris faced each other in the Men’s second Semi Final match. It was always going to be a very tight match, with both players very close in the ATP rankings (Cox at 399 and Harris at 322). Both players settled into the first set well. Cox was using his patented slice serve to push Harris out wide but, despite Cox’s consistency, Harris was the first to break in game six. It was a great first set from Harris, who capitalised on the shakiness of Cox and used his serve very accurately and efficiently, winning 84% of points off his first serve.

In the second set, Cox won the first game of the set 2 to love, looking very imposing. He then achieved 3 break points in the second game, putting an onerous amount of pressure on Harris and ultimately converting it to a break with a sumptuous drop shot. Again, the first serve was instrumental in this with Cox winning 100% of the points off of it. Cox went on to win his next game and force another break off the Harris serve. It was a very confident and assertive set by Cox, whose returns also forced Harris to win every point through groundstrokes rather than grabbing a few natural points with his serve. Cox ended up concluding the second set 6-1.

Once again, the match tie-break did not disappoint. Harris served powerfully to begin with, gaining a small mini-break. However, Cox never left his shoulder in the race to the finish. They went right up to the line 10-10, 11-10, 11-11… Right up until 14-12. Cox had 3 match points until, at 13-12, he finally converted and won the match in a great 3-set battle 3-6 6-1 14-12. A very well-deserved victory for Dan Cox, who plays Kyle Edmund tomorrow.

In the second Woman’s Semi Final match Maia Lumsden faced off Freya Christie. Throughout the entirety of the first set it was clear that Lumsden wasn’t feeling her best. Although some good rallies were played, Lumsden unfortunately couldn’t play on after the conclusion of the first set and had to retire. And so, Christie wins 6-2 ret. She will play the very strong Elena Malygina tomorrow in the Final!

The 9-12th playoffs featured some thrilling matches. The scores ended:

• Danielle Daley bt Arina Vasilescu 3-6, 6-2, 10-7
• Joanna Garland bt Alice Gillan 7-6(3), 7-6(2)
• Anton Matusevich bt George Houghton 6-1, 6-2
• Sean Hodkin bt Tom Hands 6-2, 2-0 ret.