Hayat wins ninth Deaf Tennis National Final
• 2 minute read
Esah Hayat’s dominance of the men’s singles event at the Deaf Tennis National Finals continued as he won the title for the ninth time at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre.
Middlesex’s Hayat won the final with a polished performance against 13-time National champion and No.2 seed Peter Willcox, confirming he remains a step ahead of his domestic rivals.
After convincing wins against Sussex’s Wilf Jenkins and Gloucestershire’s Charlie Denton, Hayat edged closer to matching Willcox’s record of 13 Deaf National Singles titles as he beat his long-standing rival from Devon 6-2, 6-2 in the final.
Hayat and Wilcox then proved to be too strong as they teamed up to clinch the doubles title, winning both of their matches in the tournament.
In the women’s singles, Scotland East’s Vina Jamiolahmady took the title with a win against Middlesex’s Valerie Copenhagen after a 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 win in an entertaining final.
Jamiolahmady was triumphant in the 18U Singles and she also clinched the 18U doubles title with partner Jacob Perry, as they beat Isla and Leo Fletcher in the final.
It proved to be a triumphant event for Jamiolahmady as she teamed up with Denton to win the mixed doubles title, beating Hayat and his partner Copenhagen en route to that success.
This year’s Deaf National Tennis Finals also welcomed some junior players to experience the event, with the LTA's Great Britain National Deaf Tennis Coach Catherine Fletcher delighted with the level of play across the tournament.
“We had a successful Deaf Tennis Nationals weekend, with some fantastic commitment from everyone who attended,” said Catherine.
“We were unfortunately missing a few players through injury and other commitments, but hopefully next year we can grow the numbers and have even more players competing.
“We also had a fantastic Junior Deaf Tennis session with 12 young players. It was brilliant to see so many young Deaf players enjoying their tennis, meeting other Deaf players and experiencing what Deaf tennis is all about.
"A huge congratulations to all the winners and well done to everyone who took part.
“For me, weekends like this are about finding and connecting with more Deaf tennis players. There are so many potential players out there who may not yet know that Deaf tennis exists or have the opportunity to get involved.
“We need to keep growing from the grassroots upwards - more juniors, more players, more opportunities and a stronger future for Deaf tennis.”
Understanding deaf tennis
To be eligible to compete in Deaf tennis, a player has to have an average hearing loss of 55dB or more in their best ear.
Players must remove cochlear implants and hearing aids before starting the warm-up before the match to ensure all competing players have a level playing field.
The LTA run performance programmes for deaf, learning disability, visually impaired and wheelchair tennis and this gives individuals the opportunity to train in a high-performance environment and represent Great Britain on the world stage.
In 2026, the LTA has significantly increased investment in disability tennis competitions and exhibitions by nearly 25%, providing more opportunities to compete in formats like deaf, learning disability and autism, visually impaired and wheelchair tennis.
For those looking to compete, the LTA stages a year-round disability tennis competitions calendar to give disabled people and those with long-term health conditions a chance to compete in learning disability and autism, deaf, para standing, visually impaired, and wheelchair tennis.
