British titles galore as Wimbledon star Tarvet leads home tennis stars at Lexus British Pro Series Roehampton
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British players enjoyed a standout week in South West London at the Lexus British Pro Series Roehampton, with home players featuring in all four finals, three of which were all-British ties, in a week which demonstrated the ever-growing depth of the sport in Britain.
The event saw a second consecutive ITF World Tennis Tour women’s W35 event at the National Tennis Centre, along with a men’s M25 event.
In the men’s event, Wimbledon breakout star Oliver Tarvet continued his strong summer by claiming his sixth ITF singles title, and first on home soil. The number one seed reached the final without dropping a set, including in a strong semi final win over former Wimbledon Boys’ champion Henry Searle, and faced fellow Brit and number two seed Paul Jubb for the title. Jubb looked all set to claim his third title of the year, taking the first set 6-4 and leading 5-2 in the second, but Tarvet managed to find another gear and roared back to win the next nine games, taking the second set 7-5, and racing into a 4-0 lead in the third. Jubb managed to get just a solitary game on the board in the final set, as Tarvet went on to secure victory 4-6 7-5 6-1.
Following his win, Tarvet will continue his rise up the rankings to a new career-high of 385, once rankings are updated
In the second all-British final of the weekend, James MacKinlay and Connor Thomson secured their first title as a pair, overcoming third seeds James Story and Matthew Summers 7-5 5-7 10-7. The title is MacKinlay’s third of the year and second of the summer, having won the ATP Lexus Nottingham Challenger title in July, whilst the title is Thomson’s first since an ITF M25 title with current British star Jacob Fearnley in Edgbaston in 2023.
Connor Thomson (left) and James MacKinlay (right) claimed their first title together as a pair at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton.
After claiming the women’s doubles title in Roehampton the previous week, Alicia Dudeney claimed her first senior ITF singles title, defeating rising British star Hannah Klugman in Sunday’s final. Dudeney enjoyed some strong performances throughout the week, coming through three-set battles against fellow Brits Emily Appleton and Brooke Black, as well as beating number one seed Tiantsoa Rajaonah, en-route to the final. Facing a confident Klugman, who came into the final having not dropped a set all week, Dudeney raced into an early lead, dominating the first set to take it 6-1. Klugman responded in the second set, and at 4-1 up looked to be taking the match to a decider, before Dudeney reeled off five games in a row, claiming the title with her first match point 6-1 6-4.
After claiming the title, Dudeney said, “I played really well and I’ve been building on my matches all week. Today I came out and I really tried to just play my game and I thought I did that really well.” Dudeney will be certain of a new career-high singles ranking once rankings are updated, with the 22-year-old sitting at 701 in the current live rankings.
In the women’s doubles, Naiktha Bains, along with India’s Rutuja Bhosale, came out on top in a close final against American duo Mary Lewis and Brandy Walker. After losing a tight first set, Bains and Bhosale, stormed back to take it to a champions tiebreak, ultimately coming out on top 4-6 6-1 12-10.
Naiktha Bains (right) claimed her 27th career ITF doubles title alongside India Rutuja Bhosale.
Tournament Director Annabel Graham said, The Lexus British Pro Series Roehampton here at the National Tennis Centre was a great week of tennis. We had a strong player field across the draws, and British representation was testament to the excellent work of the LTA performance and pathways team. To have all Brits in the singles finals for the Men’s and Women’s and British representation in the doubles was wonderful for the spectators and tournament alike.”
International tournaments such as the Lexus British Pro Series Roehampton are part of the LTA’s Performance Competitions Calendar (PCC) which provides significantly enhanced opportunities for British players at each age and stage of the performance player pathway on home soil. The calendar is designed to provide comprehensive opportunities for British players to play, earn ranking points and win prize money at home, throughout the year. This week, the action moves to Aldershot Tennis Centre, as the Hampshire venue hosts a joint ITF W35/M25 event.
Performance Competitions Calendar
Head to the Performance Competitions Calendar pages to discover more about some of the pro-level competitions that take place around Britain each year.
