GB Students take historic gold medal at Master’U BNP Paribas Championships

The annual event sees the world’s best student tennis players compete against each other in a similar event style to the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup finals. Each tie is a best-of-seven rubbers: two men’s singles, two women’s singles, one men’s doubles, one women’s doubles, and one mixed doubles. The squad for this year’s championships, supported by the LTA and British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) was made up of:

Eliz Maloney in action against Reese Brantmeier in the first on Sunday's singles rubbers (Credit: Etienne Jeanneret)

Having come in second place to the USA every year since 2018, GB’s squad came into this year’s event determined to go one step further. The team began their campaign by defeating Switzerland 4-2 in the quarter-finals, and followed this up with another strong performance against Australia in the semi-final to win 4-2, setting up yet another final against the dominant USA.

With both teams equally determined to take home this year’s crown, the tie was a closely fought, back-and-forth affair, with GB going behind on three occasions before drawing level each time. After Finn Murgett and Oliver Okonkwo levelled the tie with a 6-4, 6-4 victory in the men’s doubles, it all came down to the mixed doubles, with Sofia Johnson and James Connel facing the USA’s Luciana Perry and Nicolas Kotzen in a winner-takes-all showdown.

Johnson and Connel flew out of the blocks in the first set, dominating the American pair to take the first set 6-1. Yet in keeping with the rest of the tie, momentum swung back in the Americans’ favour, as Perry and Kotzen fought back to take the second set 6-4, and take the deciding rubber to a deciding championship tie-break.

After battling their way to a championship point, sharp work at the net from Johnson forced the USA’s Kotzen into a desperate lunge, send the ball long and sparking jubilant scenes as the GB bench emptied onto court to celebrate their first title in eight years.

There were jubilant scenes after clinching the Championship title, as the squad swamped James Connel and Sofia Johnson after defeating Luciana Perry and Nicolas Kotzen (Credit: Etienne Jeanneret)

Speaking after the match to BUCS, Team Captain and LTA Universities Manager Alistair Higham said, “I couldn’t be prouder of this incredible team who fought hard throughout the competition, supporting each other all the way. The support and wishes we have had from the wider British university programme, including former team members, has been tremendous. To beat the US team in the final is the icing on the cake, especially when it came down to the final match tie breaker of the deciding match.”

Eliz Maloney, who was named 2025 BUCS Sportswoman of the Year earlier this year, was competing in her second Master’U event and third event for GB Students overall. She spoke of her joy at the win, saying, “I’ve loved representing GB, especially with such a great team. Beating the US, in such a dramatic final day, definitely is one the best tennis experiences I’ve had!”