2025 Deaf Tennis national champions crowned, as sights now turn to Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics
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Esah Hayat took another step closer to closing the gap on the all-time record of men’s singles titles at the LTA’s Deaf Tenis National Finals when the Middlesex player claimed his eighth title at the National Tennis Centre over the weekend, with Essex’s Gabriele Tarasovaite winning the women’s singles title for the second year in a row.
Hayat continued to dominate his domestic rivals after defeating eventual 18U singles champion Ethan Carter 6-1, 6-2 in the men’s semi-finals as Willcox beat former 18U champion Charlie Denton 6-0, 6-0. Come the final, 23-year-old Hayat produced another fine performance to beat 13-time National champion Willcox 6-0, 6-1 in an hour and 14 minutes and remain unbeaten against Willcox since the 2018 final.
After winning her first National singles title in 2024 with victory over Great Britain international Valerie Copenhagen, who is currently recovering from injury, Tarasovaite came through a tough title decider this year, beating newcomer Vina Jamiolahmady 4-6, 6-4, 10-5 in a marathon contest lasting over three hours.
While Hayat retained his men’s singles title he also partnered Wiltshire’s Lewis Fletcher to retain the men’s doubles title. The top seeds and former World Deaf Tenis Championships silver medallists beat Carter and Denton 6-0, 6-2 in the semi-finals and second seeds Jack Clifton and Willcox 6-1, 6-4 in the final to secure their eight successive men’s doubles National title.
Esah Hayat (left) continued his stunning domestic run with victory in the men's singles, whilst also claiming the men's doubles title with Lewis Fletcher (right)
There was also a second National title and a second tense title-decider for Tarasovaite in the mixed doubles after she partnered Clifton to victory in two tie-breaks. A former men’s doubles National champion, Clifton teamed up with Tarasovaite to beat Jamiolahmady and Willcox 7-6(2), 7-6(6).
Formerly runner-up to Gloucestershire’s Charlie Denton in the 18U singles at the National Deaf Finals, Hampshire’s Carter came out on top this year, winning all three of his round-robin matches in straight sets after beating both Jamiolahmady and Alan Bury 4-1, 4-2 and Jacob Berry 4-0, 4-1.
Three-time 18U doubles National champions together, Carter and Denton contested the third place play-off in the men’s singles, five-time U18 singles champion Denton coming out on top 6-4, 6-3.
Hayat, Fletcher, Willcox and Denton selected to DeaflympicsGB Team for Tokyo 2025 Games
With the 2025 Deaf Tennis National Finals behind them, the following four players are now confirmed as selected to the DeaflympicsGB Tennis Team for the Tokyo 2025 Games taking place from 15th – 26th November. Tokyo will host the 25th Deaflympics.
- Esah Hayat
- Lewis Fletcher
- Peter Willcox
- Charlie Denton
Around 3000 deaf athletes representing 80 countries are set to compete in 21 different sports in Tokyo, with DeaflympicsGB athletes, managed by LTA partner UK Deaf Sport, competing in seven sports - athletics, football, golf, swimming, cycling, shooting and tennis.
For Esah Hayat, Tokyo will be his second Deaflympics after he made his debut in the international elite multi-sport championships for deaf athletes in Samsun, Turkey, in 2025.
Fletcher, the 2012 men’s singles national champion and former world men’s doubles silver medallist alongside Hayat, will contest his fourth Deaflympics, having previously competed in Taipei in 2009, Sofia in 2013 and Samsun in 2017.
13-time men’s singles national champion Willcox will represent the DeaflympicsGB Team for the third time, having made his Deaflympics debut in Melbourne in 2005 and then been selected again for 2013 Games in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Denton, the five-time U18 National singles champion, who was a nominee for Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2013, is selected to make his Deaflympics debut this year in Tokyo.
The four players selected to the DeaflympicsGB Tennis Team will travel to Tokyo along with Catherine Graham, the LTA’s National Deaf Coach, and Sophie Hall, the LTA’s Competitions Support Manager.
The Deaflympics are held every four years and are open to deaf athletes with a hearing loss of at least 55dB in their ‘better ear’. The first Deaflympics took place in Paris in 1924, making the event the second oldest multisport competition after the Olympic Games.
