10th November, 2021
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10th November, 2021
Beth Grey pleased to start with a win at UK Pro League Finals Week at The Shrewsbury Club
Beth Grey celebrated climbing to a new career high in the world rankings by securing an opening win at UK Pro League Finals Week.
Grey, now just outside the world’s top 400, was pleased to gain a third set tie break victory over Emily Appleton, winning 6-2, 4-6, 11-9, as the group stages continued on day two of the prestigious event at The Shrewsbury Club.
“Me and Emily always have good matches,” said Grey. “We’ve played each other quite a lot in these events, so it was another good battle between us.
“She was serving well, I was serving well, so it was pretty tight to the end.”
Grey, who reached the quarter-finals of the W60 Nantes tournament in France last week, added:
“I’ve played a lot of matches lately, so I feel like I’m quite match tight which is good, especially when it comes down to the tie breaks. It’s nice to start with a win.”
Looking forward to spending the week playing in Shropshire, Grey said: “They’ve put an amazing event on for the finals and Shrewsbury’s a lovely club. They’ve done a great job once again of putting on another great event for us all to play.
“Hopefully I can do well this week. There’s a lot of good players in the pools, so we’ll see how it goes.”
As for her continued progress up the world rankings, she added: “I’m up to my career high today actually of, I think, 406, so that’s nice.”
Having won an exciting third-set tie break the night before, Freya Christie was involved in another close finish, this time losing narrowly 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 against Lily Miyazaki, the highest-ranked player in this week’s women’s event.
Eden Silva enjoyed a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Lauryn John-Baptiste in her opening match of the week, while Katarina Stresnakova also started with a win, beating Eliz Maloney 6-1, 6-2.
Jay Clarke, the British number five, was happy to begin his week in Shrewsbury with victory against Giles Hussey. Clarke won the opening set 6-2, Hussey levelled it up by taking the second 7-6, with Clarke a 10-8 winner in the third-set tie break.
Clarke said: “It was good to get the win, especially in the box leagues. Every set counts, not only the match wins, so I’m happy with the win today. It’s the first one of the week, so it’s good.”
Clarke enjoyed his first appearance in the UK Pro League this year after receiving a wild card to compete at Finals Week.
“I’ve watched a lot of the matches, but this is the first one I’ve played,” he said. “It’s really good to see so many Brits playing such a good high level of tennis and I like how they’ve made it so special for us with getting the crowds in.”
Clarke is also pleased to be playing at The Shrewsbury Club again, adding: “I think the first time I was here I was maybe eight or nine years old playing national tours or something, so it’s always nice coming back.”
The group stages of the UK Pro League Finals Week will be completed today, with the day’s opening matches starting at 1pm.
By Stuart Dunn
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8th November, 2021
Anton Matusevich enjoys impressive start on opening day of UK Pro League Finals Week
By: Stuart Dunn
Anton Matusevich quickly signalled his intent to enjoy a successful week at The Shrewsbury Club by securing an impressive victory on the opening day of UK Pro League Finals Week.
Matusevich overcame Sean Hodkin 6-1, 6-3 to ensure a winning start in Men’s Pool B, a group which also includes James Ward, a member of Great Britain’s winning Davis Cup team in 2015.
“I’m very happy I got through that first match,” said Matusevich, 20. “I think there’s maybe some expectations – 6-1, 6-3 is a good score.
“I was quite happy with the first set. The second set slipped a little bit. I wasn’t too happy with that, but I’m going to hit some balls now, so hopefully get better and better.”
Matusevich, currently 12th in the British men’s rankings, is looking forward to his next group match against the experienced Ward on Wednesday.
He added: “I’ve practiced with him many times. He’s a good guy, he’s got a very good serve, so indoors he’s going to be tricky. I’m looking forward to it though.”
Matusevich enjoys the format of the UK Pro League, with players initially battling it out in a round robin group format. This week’s prestigious event, broadcast live on BT Sports from the Sundorne Road venue’s indoor courts, features 24 players as rising British stars compete alongside more established players.
Eighteen of the players – nine men and nine women – qualified after taking part at UK Pro League tournaments around the country, with six players handed wild cards by event organisers River Media Partners.
“I’m very happy to be back,” said Matusevich, from Kent, who has played at The Shrewsbury Club before. “I very much enjoy the Pro League.
“I haven’t actually played this format before, the five matches in seven days. I’ve always been used to the seven matches in seven days, so this is something new.”
Giles Hussey, one of the players to receive a wild card, made a winning start on opening day, edging a third-set tie-break against Josh Paris 13-11. Next up for Hussey is Jay Clarke, the current British number six, in today’s opening match on Court 1 (1pm).
Emily Appleton, the top ranked women’s player in qualifying, continued her fine form by starting UK Pro League Finals Week with a 6-3, 7-6 victory over Nadia Rawson. Beth Grey, 12th in the British women’s rankings, is Appleton’s next opponent today.
The two players to finish second and third in qualifying faced each other as Sonay Kartal got the better of Eliz Maloney 6-1, 7-6.
Today’s other matches include Eden Silva, a Wimbledon mixed doubles quarter finalist in 2019, against Lauryn John-Baptiste, the winner of the final UK Pro League qualifying tournament earlier this month.
James Ward will meet Sean Hodkin in today’s last match on Court 1 from 5.30pm.
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8th November, 2021
UK Pro League Finals Preview
A thrilling 9 months of UK Pro League action looks set to come to a captivating conclusion over the next seven days as UK Pro League Finals Week takes place in Shrewsbury.
The UK Pro League brings together the British pro tennis player group competing in nine individual week-long qualifying events leading to a Finals Week where the Pro League Champion is decided.
Over half a million pounds of prize money is up for grabs across the season and all the action is broadcast live on BT Sport, The Tennis Channel and UKproleague.tv, with the Finals Week also broadcast live on free to air channel FreeSports (Freeview Channel 64 / Sky Channel 422 / Virgin Channel 553 / BT TV Channel 64 / TalkTalk Channel 64).
A host of top domestic talent will be on display in Shropshire, all of whom are looking to follow in the footsteps of US Open champion Emma Raducanu and Olympian Liam Broady, who won last year’s titles.
In the women’s draw, Emily Appleton enters the women’s competition as one of the 4 top seeds following a dominant campaign to date and lines up in Pool D alongside Nadia Rawson and British number 10 Beth Grey, one of three wildcard entries.
Two of the other seeded players enter as wildcards, world number 220 Lily Miyazaki, British Number 14 Eden Silva. The fourth seed is Eliz Maloney who finished second in the UK Pro League Rankings after the 9 qualifying weeks. She faces a tough draw with Sonay Kartal – the only player to win three qualifying weeks back-to-back – in her pool.
Week 9 winner Lauryn John-Baptiste dropped just one set during the final week of qualifying to secure her place at Finals Week in dramatic style and will hope to continue her momentum. Her qualification means that she has also gained a main-draw wildcard for the first ITF Futures event held in the UK in 2022, earmarking her as one to watch.
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In the men’s draw, Julian Cash is seeded having secured top spot in the Pro League Rankings with an impressive Week 9 final win over Week 1 winner Josh Paris, who he beat in straight sets. Like John-Baptiste, the Week 9 win means he will also receive a main-draw wildcard in the first ITF Future event held in the UK in 2022.
Wildcards UK number 5 Jay Clarke and Davis Cup winner James Ward are two of the other seeds with Billy Harris seeded 4 having come second in the UK Pro League qualifying rankings.
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The pool matches take place between Monday and Wednesday, with the quarter-finals over the next two days. The semi-finals are then battled out on Saturday and the new champions will be crowned the following day.
Men’s Pools
Pool A: Jay Clarke, Josh Paris, Giles Hussey
Pool B: James Ward, Anton Matusevich, Sean Hodkin
Pool C: Billy Harris, Dan Cox, Charlie Broom
Pool D: Julian Cash, George Houghton, Henry Patten
Women’s Pools
Pool A: Lily Miyazaki, Freya Christie, Emma Wilson
Pool B: Eden Silva, Alice Gillian, Lauryn John-Baptiste
Pool C: Eliz Maloney, Sonay Kartal, Katie Stresnakova
Pool D: Emily Appleton, Nadia Rawson, Beth Grey
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1st November, 2021
UK Pro League qualifying goes down to the wire
There was high drama as qualifying for the UK Pro League Finals Week went down to the final day of the final week.
Lauryn John-Baptiste needed to secure victory in Week 9 to have any chance of making Finals Week while she also needed Danielle Daley, who occupied the ninth and final qualifying spot, to not finish higher than sixth.
And it went down to the wire as John-Baptiste won the Week 9 event as her opponent in the final, Katie Stresnakova, retired in the second set.
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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 also broadcast live on FreeSports.
Sixth-placed Stresnakova had already confirmed her place at Finals Week and was one set up when she was forced to withdraw, retiring with John-Baptiste one game away from levelling the tie – at 5-1.
John-Baptiste’s place at the Shrewsbury Club was confirmed when Nadia Rawson beat Daley in a tight 5th-6th play-off, coming through 6-4 3-6 10-8.
Emma Wilson will also be making an appearance at Finals Week after she won the 3rd-4th place play-off by beating Holly Hutchinson 6-3 6-2 at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre.
In the women’s rankings, Emily Appleton had already secured top spot which guarantees her the number one seed at the Shrewsbury Club when action gets underway on 8th November.
Also set to feature in less than two weeks’ time are Sonay Kartal, the only player to win three qualifying weeks back-to-back, and Eliz Maloney who finished in second, almost 40 points behind a dominant Appleton.
Julian Cash secured top place in UK Pro League men’s rankings with a dominant victory in the Week 9 final.
Cash defeated Week 1 winner Josh Paris in straight sets, racing to a 6-3 triumph in the first before securing an early break in the second set as he pulled away to win 6-2.
Week 5 runner-up Cash picked up the 18 points he needed as the winner of the final week of qualifying, while Josh Paris moves up into third place as he takes home 15 points.
For Cash, the victory means he will head to the Shrewsbury Club on 8th November as the top-seeded men’s player.
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In the men’s draw, Billy Harris will now be the second seed at Finals Week having conceded top spot to Cash.
Meanwhile, Charlie Broom rounds out the nine qualifiers having kept hold of his place with Ewan Moore unable to overtake him, only making the 3rd-4th play-off – and going down in three sets to Dan Little – when he needed overall victory this week.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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27th September, 2021
2020 UK Pro League winner Liam Broady wins his first ATP Challenger event
Liam Broady has won his first ATP Challenger event after losing out in 7 previous finals at the level. The victory in Switzerland further improves Broady’s stellar year that has seen him rise to 126 in the ATP rankings, the highest of his career.
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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 UK Pro League in developing British talent. Alongside Emma Raducanu, who shocked the world with her stunning victory at the US Open, Broady is just one of multiple British talents who have developed their careers at the UK Pro League.
Week 8 of this years competition is underway at the Aldershot Tennis Centre with players competing for valuable ranking points for the upcoming finals week.
Follow all the action live from 10.30 a.m. on our brand new platform: UKPL.tv as well as BT Sport Extra and Tennis Channel.