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!