British Championships 2025 – Review

The 2025 UK Racketlon British Championships delivered a thrilling showcase of racket sports at the stunning Parklangley Club in Beckenham last weekend, celebrating both seasoned champions and fresh faces. Congratulations to all the newly crowned British Champions!!

Men’s A Singles

1. Leon Griffiths
2. Jonathan Ritter
3. Anant Gupta

In the Mens A, defending champion Leon Griffiths secured his 6th British Elite singles title in convincing fashion. With tennis rackets gathering dust in his racket bag, Leon defeated Jonathan Ritter by +30 in the final. Anant Gupta beat Jamie Watkin-Rees by +13 to take 3rd place, showing his solid badminton and squash skills which saw him defeat #4 seed James Hempstead in an earlier round. Jamie Watkin-Rees also downed a seed, in #3 James Langworthy on his way to the elite semi-final.

Women’s A Singles

1. Matilda Parslow 
2. Beth Pye
3. Mollie Patterson

The women’s elite singles was a rollercoaster of an event from start to finish! Due to a late withdrawal from defending champion Holly Ranson, the draw was redone on the day, with two groups of 3 battling it out to make the final. In group A, #1 seed Matilda Parslow reached the final, no tennis needed, with wins over Kirsten Atkinson and Ellie Thomas. 

It was in group B where things were getting interesting! Satarra, Mollie and Beth all won one match and lost one match. Which meant… time for a gummi arm playoff! This saw the 3 women play 4 points of each sport, against each opponent. Most points after all four sports would make it to the final. Beth emerged victorious, on 20 points, and Mollie and Satarra tied on 14 points. This meant Mollie and Satarra had to play one final gummi arm point in tennis to see who would be playing for 3rd place – it was an excellent rally and Mollie came through.

In the final, Matilda and Beth traded point for point in the badminton for a 22-20 match, which Matilda capitalised on in the squash with a 21-2 win. Taking the tennis 7-5 meant Matilda secured her 2nd British Championship title! Mollie beat Kirsten to take 3rd place.

Men’s A Doubles

1. Leon Griffiths / Raymond Jordan
2. James Hempstead / Ross Wilson
3. Reuben Cox / Henry Jones

The Men’s doubles went according to seeding as favourites Leon Griffiths and Ray Jordan advanced into the final having needed minimal tennis scores in their two opening victories. They were met in the final by James Hempstead and Ross Wilson, but the number #2 seeds were facing an uphill task from the beginning, after losing the TT 21-6. Leon and Ray then took the badminton and squash to 15 and 14 respectively, to clinch the title. This is their 2nd title as a pair, having won the British Champs quite a while ago together!

Reuben Cox and Henry Jones clinched third following a doubles badminton and tennis masterclass against Jon Spinks and David Bennett.

Women’s Doubles

1. Matilda Parslow / Alice Flatman
2. Jo Shelley / Mollie Patterson
3. Beth Pye / Satarra Thaker

Mollie and Jo fought off the tough pair of Beth and Satarra, culminating in some nail-biting tennis, to get to the final, where it was all to play for against the new partnership of Alice and Matilda. In a great final, the #1 seeds showed their tennis skills and held their nerve to take the tennis 21-7, and with that, the match and the British Championship title. Beth and Satarra defeated Kirsten Atkinson and Susie Dilloway to take third place.

Mixed A Doubles

1. Jamie Watkin-Rees / Beth Pye
2. Jonathan Ritter / Mollie Patterson
3. James Hempstead / Satarra Thaker

The mixed doubles was a wide open draw – with neither Griffiths brother playing, it was anyone’s guess! On the way to their victory, Jamie and Beth defeated the #2 seeds Jamie and Satarra, backed up by an excellent 21-1 table tennis win, before edging past #1 seeds Jonny and Mollie in an incredibly close match, winning the tennis 21-14 to take the title with a +1 win. James and Satarra beat Reuben and Kirsten to take 3rd place.

Men’s +40 Singles

1. Peter Barton
2. Luke Penna

Peter Barton overcame Luke Penna in the +40 singles, helped in large part to an incredibly consistent 21-2 TT win. Despite a fight back in the badminton, Peter was able to find the necessary 9 points in tennis to take home the title.

Men’s Senior Doubles

1. Peter Barton / Ed Westmacott
2. Mark Jackson / Jeremy Krzystyniak
3. Peter Browning / Keith Lesser

 In a closely matched Seniors doubles event, Peter Barton and Ed Westmacott came out on top, winning by +8 against Mark Jackson and Jeremy Krzystyniak. After tight victories for both sides in TT and badminton, Peter and Ed pulled away in the squash before closing out the tennis at 11-14. 

 Last year’s winners Peter Browning and Keith Lesser took third with a +11  victory over Jonathan Graham and Mark Steeden.

Mixed Senior Doubles

1. Keith Lesser / Alice Flatman
2. Peter Browning / Sarah Ball
3. Simon Lau / Jane Galsworthy

There were close matches all around in this 3 way round robin, with plenty of tennis being played! Keith and Alice’s table tennis was too strong for the other pairs, leading them to victory. Peter and Sarah took 2nd place over Simon and Jane, with a convincing tennis win to seal the silver.

Women’s Senior Doubles

1. Sarah Ball / Jane Galsworthy
2. Sarah Austin /Katie Hill

The more experienced duo of Sarah Ball and Jane took the women’s senior doubles title with a convincing win over newer players Sarah Austin and Katie Ball, with the badminton being a close fight between them.

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Women’s +45 / +50 Singles

1. Alice Flatman
2. Jo Shelley
3. Sarah Ball

The women’s +45s and +50 singles categories were merged, meaning the highest place player out of Jo, Sarah and Katie would win the 50+s, and the winner would win the 45+s. 

Alice triumphed in the +45s, picking up her 3rd gold medal of the weekend. She was pushed all the way by +50s winner Jo, winning just +3, and by Sarah Ball, who subsequently picked up 3rd in +45s and 2nd in +50s. In the effective +50s final, Jo beat Sarah before tennis to pick up another +50s gold!

Men’s +50 Singles

1. Jeremy Krzystyniak
2. Mark Steeden
3. Ed Westmacott

Mens +50 singles was a closely fought category, Jeremy Krzystyniak coming out on top, defeating #1 seed Mark Steeden in a tremendous final. Ed Westmacott took 3rd after an equally tight battle with Jon Foulds, taking the match by just 2 points.

Men’s +55 Singles

1. Simon Lau 
2. Rakesh Gupta
3. Mark Jackson

In the over 55’s Simon Lau eased to victory, defeating GB compatriot Rakesh Gupta with a strong showing in badminton, squash and tennis. Mark Jackson took 3rd with victory over Simon Brown.

Men’s +65 Singles

1. Martyn Langston
2. Duncan Marlow
3. Ray Ryan

In a 4 man round robin Martyn Langston came out on top, winning all 3 games. Duncan Marlow pushed Martyn close, taking 2nd place and Ray Ryan beat Phil Pinto in another great match to take home 3rd.

Men’s B Singles

1. Ryan Bezer
2. Jack Taylor
3. Stuart Preston

 In the Men’s B, Ryan Bezer proved too strong for the rest of the field, powering past #1 seed Stuart Preston in the semi final, before defeating another badminton specialist, Jack Taylor in the final. Unfortunately Jack had to retire due to an injury during the squash and we wish him well in his recovery. Stuart Preston took 3rd with a +19 victory over Jordan Marcus.

Men’s B Doubles

1. Daniel Austin / Chase Burgess
2. Ricky Hardcastle / Stuart Preston
3. Raif Fontanelli / Mark Steeden

 Both finalists of the Mens B doubles came through 1st round scares with Dan Austin and Chase Burgess squeezing past Thomas Agombar and Ishan Bairoliya by a single point. In the other half of the draw, Stuart Preston and Ricky Hardcastle came through a nervy tennis set to win by +2 against Sam Barker and Nick Rate. In a dramatic final, Daniel and Chase once again held their nerve, using their fantastic tennis skills to take the match by a single point once again! 

Third place was taken by #1 seeds Raif Fontanelli and Mark Steeden.

Women’s B Singles

1. Kayleigh Chapman
2. Karen King
3. Olivia Clark

The more experienced racketlon players showed their skills in the women’s B event, with Kent’s Kayleigh Chapman sweeping up 3 victories to win the event. Her closest match was against long time racketlon player Karen King, with some brutally close scores! Olivia Clark came 3rd, only dropping 3 points in badminton in 3 matches. 

Mixed B Doubles

1. Jack Taylor / Olivia Clark
2. Andrew Heath / Kayleigh Chapman
3. Daniel Austin / Sarah Austin

Jack and Olivia showed off their serious badminton skills, losing just one point in two matches. This, coupled with steady squash and only needing 2 points of tennis, meant the B doubles title was theirs, beating Andrew and Kayleigh in the final. In the 3rd/4th place play off, mother/son duo Sarah and Daniel battled through. We look forward to seeing more Austin/Austin combos in the future!

Men’s C Singles

1. Ricky Hardcastle
2. Luke Penna
3. Kelvin Tse

TT specialist Ricky Hardcastle was victorious in the Mens C, brushing past #1 seed Adam Stagg in the semi final before staging a magnificent comeback against the experienced Luke Penna, taking the tennis 21-6 to win by +6. Kelvin Tse came in 3rd following a +16 win over Adam Stagg.

 An incredible stat to note is that in one match, Greg Roffey got 21 points in each sport…. And still lost the match! This must be the first time this has happened. He lost to Adam Stagg 21-15, 21-23, 21-23, 21-23! 

Men’s C Doubles

1. Jeremy Lo / Kelvin Tse
2. Richard Boreham / Duncan Marlow
3. Greg Roffey / Adam Stagg

 In the Mens C doubles, Jeremy Lo and Kelvin Tse proved a cut above the rest of the field as they cruised to victory, defeating the experienced Richard Boreham and Duncan Marlow by +24 in the final. 

 Greg Roffey and Adam Stagg used their badminton to good effect to beat Ray and Daniel Ryan to 3rd place.

Men’s D Singles

1. Jeremy Lo
2. Oleg Blyuss
3. Simon Bramwell

Jeremy Lo proved a class above in the Mens D, romping to victory and defeating Oleg Blyuss by +19 with strong performances in both badminton and tennis. Simon Bramwell claimed 3rd place with a +20 win over #1 seed over Pol Thill.

Junior U18 Singles

1. Chase Burgess
2. Raif Fontanelli 
3. Thomas Agombar

The 3 way round robin in the U18s draw had some fantastic matches, with all matches going to tennis and with some big scores! Chase Burgess was victorious overall, taking the title with two solid wins, while Raif and Thomas’s match for 2nd place went right to the wire, with Raif winning +1!

Junior U16 Singles 

1. Daniel Austin
2. Edward Baker
3. Joseph Fitches

U16 World Champ Daniel Austin showed us how it’s done, winning the U16 British Champs title without needing a tennis racket in this 5 player round robin! Relative newcomer Edward Baker had an impressive set of results, taking home a silver medal to go with his U14s gold medal, with another relative new player Joseph Fitches coming in 3rd.

Junior U14 Singles

1. Edward Baker
2. Henry Flatman
3. Henry Dobson

Edward Baker showed us his overall great racket skills, winning his group comfortably before defeating Henry Flatman in a very high-quality final. Henry Dobson got his revenge over Charlie Flatman, having lost to him in the U12s event just a few hours before, to take 3rd place. 

Junior U12 Singles

1. Charlie Flatman
2. Jack Ennis
3. Henry Dobson

9-year-old Charlie Flatman was the U12s winner, with some great performances in this 5 player round robin, needing to play tennis just once, versus Henry Dobson, in an excellently-fought match. New player Jack Ennis showed off his tennis skills, and general racket skills, to pick up a silver medal, while Henry Dobson took 3rd place.

A huge thank you must be given to all of the people who were involved in organising such a big event. Thank you to volunteers Andy Wilson, Karen Wilson, and Steve Bispham, who ran the tournament desk with excellent efficiency and always with a smile over the whole weekend. Not an easy feat! 

Thank you to Kieran Shelley for successfully running his first British Championships as tournament organiser – a lot of work goes in behind the scenes to make these events happen smoothly, and Kieran worked tirelessly to achieve this.

Full results of the UK Racketlon British Championships 2025 can be found on Tournament Software and remember to follow UK Racketlon Facebook and Instagram for the latest tournament news and updates. 

 Entry to the Ebbisham Open on Sunday 1st June is here: https://www.tournamentsoftware.com/tournament/C2E030AB-2439-4394-952D-CC4D095BB492 

 And read more about the upcoming Sprint Championships and County Championships here! 

https://racketlon.co.uk/2025/04/09/staffordshire-sprint-and-county-championships-2025/ 

Happy Racketloning!