Lexus Ilkley Open 2025: Jack Pinnington Jones reaches first Challenger final on home soil
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British star Jack Pinnington Jones is on the verge of winning his first ATP Challenger title this weekend at the Lexus Ilkley Open after reaching the final with a straight sets win over Shintaro Mochizuki.
The 22-year-old British wild card continued his impressive run at Ilkley by defeating the world No.178 from Japan 7-6(5), 6-4.
It’s the first time he’d reached an ATP Challenger Tour final in only his second tournament since competing at college in the NCAA for Texas Christian University.
“I’m so pumped to be in the final,” said Pinnington Jones. “I played a really complete match given the circumstances and how nervous I was. Really pumped with that and so excited to be in my first Challenger final straight out of university, it means a lot. I’m excited to go again tomorrow and give it my best.”
This isn’t the first time the young Brit has starred on a grass court. Last year, he came through qualifying to reach the quarter-finals at Nottingham – picking up a victory over former world No.8 and TCU alum Cam Norrie in the second round.
“I think so (grass suiting his game) – I’ve had some good results on the grass now,” he added. “Being British and getting some extra prep time on it and having the home crowd makes a big difference. I’m trying to use all those things to my advantage and keep pushing.
“Ilkley has been so good to me, the fans have been behind me all week so to hopefully go and give it one more good shot tomorrow would be amazing.”
In the final, Pinnington Jones will play the winner of Tristan Schoolkate against Zachary Svjda.
This year, the Briton has led the line-up for TCU against the best players in the collegiate game. He finished the year with All-American honours in singles and qualified for the ATP Tour Next Gen Accelerator program for the second consecutive season. He was also part of the National Championship winning team in 2024 alongside fellow Brit Jacob Fearnley.
Pinnington Jones is supported by the LTA Pro Transition Programme, having recently graduated from the NCCA Support Programme.
He has five ITF singles titles to his name – most recently at the M25 Aldershot last season.
How to watch the Lexus Ilkley Open finals
The women’s singles final at the Lexus Ilkley Open will be streamed live on our YouTube and website.
The men’s singles will be available to watch exclusively on Tennis Channel.
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