Rylatt and Jefferson win ITF Loughborough, Mackinlay triumphs in Antalya
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More titles for Scottish based players as the 2023 season wraps up.
Hannah Rylatt and Henry Jefferson, GB National Tennis Academy players based at Stirling, both picked up singles titles at the ITF J100 Loughborough.
Rylatt managed to go one step further following her singles final the previous week in Glasgow. She entered the tournament as the sixth seed and kicked off her campaign with a straight-sets first-round win over Celine Ricaud 6-3 7-5.
In the second round, Rylatt recovered from a set down to move past Alice Wilson-Marsh 4-6 6-2 6-0. In the quarter-final, she faced second seed Nela Jandova of Czech Republic and again fought back from a set down to win 3-6 7-5 6-2.
In the semi-final, Rylatt played Allegra Korpanec Davies, who she lost out to in the J60 Glasgow final. This time, Rylatt emerged victorious, winning once again in three sets 6-4 3-6 6-3 to book her place in her second final in as many weeks.
Rylatt faced top seed Hannah Read in the final. The two had teamed up last month to win the Tennis Scotland Open Tour National Doubles Championships, but were now on opposite sides of the net. Rylatt put on a dominant display, besting Read 6-2 6-1 to be crowned champion.
Meanwhile, in the boys’ event, second seed Jefferson produced a strong week to lift the title.
He opened with a commanding 6-3 6-3 win over Joao Portugal before defeating Charlie Valentine of the Netherlands 7-6(5) 6-1 in the second round.
Jefferson then battled through against Ilias Hirani Worthington 6-4 3-6 6-2 to move into the semi-final, where he faced Felix Balshaw of France, putting in an impressive performance to beat the eighth seed 6-2 6-2.
In the final, Jefferson played top seed Bill Chan of Singapore, who hadn’t lost a set all week. Jefferson rose to the challenge and emerged victorious, winning 6-4 6-4 to down Chan and take home the title.
Mackinlay wins first pro doubles title
James Mackinlay won his first pro doubles event at the M15 Antalya, Turkey, teaming up with Jay Clarke to put together a title-winning run.
The British pair entered the tournament as third seeds and survived a tough first-round test against South Korean duo Dong Ju Kim and Ji Hoon Son 3-6 6-4 10-8. The pair then edged out Turkish pair Mert Alkaya and Gokberk Satitas 7-5 7-6(4) to progress to the semi-final.
In the final four, Mackinlay and Clarke played Daniil Golubev and Evgenii Tiurnev, who had toppled the first seeds in the previous round. The Brits held their nerve once again to win in a deciding match tie-break 4-6 7-5 10-6.
The pair were up against second seeds Sarp Agabigun of Turkey and Corentin Denolly of France. There was little between the teams, but Mackinlay and Clarke kept their tie-break winning momentum to secure the title 7-6(5) 7-5.
The pair return to the court at this week’s M15 event in Antalya where they will be bidding for back-to-back titles.
Robertson and Oluwadare compete in Orange Bowl Championships
Charlie Robertson and Hephzibah Oluwadare competed in the 2023 Orange Bowl Championships, one of the most prestigious junior events in the world.
Charlie won his first two rounds in straight sets, but due to injury had to withdraw from his third-round tie with Nicolai Budkov Kjaer of Norway. Meanwhile, Hephzibah lost out to American Elizabeth Ionescu in the girls’ event which was eventually won by GB’s Hannah Klugman.
