It’s quarter-finals day at the 2025 British National Squash Championships at St George’s Hill in Surrey, where all the main contenders still had their sights on the prestigious titles.
Top seeds Tesni Murphy and Joel Makin won through in the opening matches of the day, followed by 3/4 seeds Grace Gear and Jonah Bryant.
The evening session only had two matches after the withdrawals of Lucy Turmel and Mohamed ElShorbagy put Alicia Mead and Nick Wall through to the semis, leaving it to siblings Curtis and Torrie Malik to complete the semi-final lineups.
Read on to see how all the matches went …
[1] Tesni Murphy (Wal) 3-0 [5/8] Millie Tomlinson (Eng) 11-5, 11-4, 11-9 (44m)
[3/4] Grace Gear (Eng) 3-0 [5/8] Emily Whitlock (Eng) 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 (27m)
[5/8] Alicia Mead (Eng) w/o [3/4] Lucy Turmel (Eng) Lucy w/d injured
[5/8] Torrie Malik (Eng) 3-0 [2] Georgia Adderley (Sco) 13-11, 14-12, 12-10 (46m)
[1] Joel Makin (Wal) 3-0 [5/8] Adrian Waller (Eng) 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 (47m)
[3/4] Jonah Bryant (Eng) 3-1 [5/8] Patrick Rooney (Eng) 11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6 (46m)
[3/4] Curtis Malik (Eng) 3-1 [9/12] Tom Walsh (Eng) 11-5, 6-11, 12-10, 11-8 (62m)
[5/8] Nick Wall (Eng) w/o [2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (Eng) Mohamed w/d injured
Mead and Wall through to semis
5/8 seeds Alicia Mead and Nick Wall went through to the semi-finals after the withdrawal through injury of their quarter-final opponents Lucy Turmel and Mohamed ElShorbagy.
Malik downs Adderley to reach semis
[5] Torrie Malik (ENG) 3-0 [2] Georgia Adderley (SCO) 13-11, 14-12, 12-10 (46m)
No.5 seed Torrie Malik claimed the last win of the night at the British Nationals as she overcame No.2 seed Georgia Adderley in a hard-fought three-game duel.
Malik, who had never progressed beyond the first round of the Nationals, delivered a power-packed performance on the all-glass court at St George’s Hill to clinch three consecutive tie-breaks and book her spot in the semi-finals.
In a match which was filled with traffic issues in the middle of the court, it was the severity of Malik’s hitting which continually put the movement of Adderley under pressure.
Game balls came and went for both players in all three games, but it was Malik whose attacking capabilities served her best on the way to a 13-11, 14-12, 12-10 victory.
“I’ve played Georgia twice in the last year or so, and we’d both won one, so I was excited to play her today. I couldn’t wait to get on court,” Malik said after the match.
“I feel really good on court – I feel much more confident now when I’m playing. I’m happy with how the off-season has gone, and it has shown here.”
Malik Prevails Past Walsh
[4] Curtis Malik (ENG) 3-1 Tom Walsh (ENG) 11-5, 6-11, 12-10, 11-8 (62m)
No.4 seed Curtis Malik booked his spot in the semi-finals of the British Nationals after a gruelling four-game win over compatriot Tom Walsh.
World No.30 Malik, who will play either Nick Wall in the semi-finals tomorrow after the withdrawal of Mohamed ElShorbagy due to injury, overcame a second game drop-off to take the match by an 11-5, 6-11, 12-10, 11-8 scoreline.
The attacking options of Malik proved the difference-maker in the opening game, with the Englishman introducing his accurate short game at the right moments to open the court up and pull Walsh across all four corners of the court.
Walsh responded well in the early stages of the second, making a noticeable change to jump up the court, push the pace and volley whenever possible. This change, paired with Malik’s drop in accuracy, helped the 26-year-old level proceedings.
The two England teammates traded points into the latter stages of the third game, and despite not quite finding his best squash, it was the higher-seeded Malik who managed to clinch a crucial third-game tie-break.
Fine margins continued to separate the players as the match entered the fourth, with a couple of refereeing decisions and stray errors seeing Malik edge ahead in the latter stages. After 62 minutes of play, the 26-year-old advanced to the semi-finals of the British Nationals for the first time in his career.
After the match, Malik said: “I really think that Tom is one of the best at backing up a long match. I remember he backed up a 100-minute match at Europeans and he was fine, so I knew it was going to be a battle today.
“A few years back, with the strength of Mo and Marwan [ElShorbagy], and the way Patrick [Rooney] was playing, I never thought I was going to get in. It’s been so nice coming into that team. I think I have gone from strength to strength in that environment.
“I hope Mo is okay [regarding his injury]. It’s a big season coming up.”
Bryant Passes Rooney Test In Four
[3] Jonah Bryant (ENG) 3-1 [6] Patrick Rooney (ENG) 11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6 (46m)
No.3 seed Jonah Bryant produced a quality performance to see off No.6 seed Patrick Rooney in four games and advance to the semi-finals.
Both players found a high level right form the offset, with Rooney building some smart patterns of play and picking the right moments to take the balls in short. However, after heading into the mid-stages of the first level-pegging, 28-year-old Rooney offered up a couple of cheap errors which subsequently saw Bryant move through to take the opener 11-7.
The match continued in a similar vein in the second, with the two players well-matched into the latter stages. However, this time around, Rooney found his margins – combining with two unforced errors from Bryant – to come from 9-7 down to take the second game and level the match.
Bryant battened down the hatches early in the third, not giving Rooney any loose balls to feed off. The 20-year-old raced into an early 8-3 lead and had soon after moved within a game of the match.
Bryant continued to absorb the pressure which Rooney applied through his impressive speed and athleticism, forcing his opponent into hitting several winning shots per rally. The World No.26 got a lead early in the fourth and didn’t allow Rooney back in, eventually moving through to an 11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6 victory.
“Pat is such a hard player to play,” Bryant said after the match. “He’s always moving the ball and he has really good skills on him, which you know can be a problem when you leave the ball loose.
“There was good squash from both of us, no nonsense, and everyone was playing the ball, which is always nice to be a part of.
“My dad picked me up after the second game. I made a few unnecessary unforced errors, but after that, I was pretty happy with my performance.”
Gear advances to maiden Nationals semi-final
[4] Grace Gear (ENG) 3-0 [6] Emily Whitlock (WAL) 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 (27m)
No.4 seed Grace Gear progressed to the British Nationals semi-finals for the first time in her career following an impressive three-game victory over No.6 seed Emily Whitlock.
Gear, who from start to finish maintained an impressive level on the all-glass court at St George’s Hill, will face top seed Tesni Murphy in the semi-finals after her 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 victory over Whitlock.
Right from the get-go, England’s Gear held an effective game plan, bringing her opponent into the front corners with accurate drops before capitalising on the subsequent opportunities into the open court.
The 27-year-old played with great accuracy throughout the 27-minute contest and, after coming through a tight opening game, only moved from strength to strength.
After securing her career-best win at the event, Gear said:
“I haven’t actually claimed a win over Emily before today. We haven’t played too much, but it’s good to get my first win under my belt against her.
“She’s a really experienced player, she’s been near the top of the rankings, so I couldn’t take my foot off the gas as I knew she was capable of coming back.
“Two good matches under my belt, I’m happy with how I played in both. I’m hoping to build upon this and play well tomorrow.
“I’ve got my mum with me today, it’s nice to have her here to watch me play. I’m able to stay at home for this event as well, which is really nice. It’s always a bonus.”
Makin battles past Waller in three
[1] Joel Makin (Wal) 3-0 [5/8] Adrian Waller (Eng) 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 (47m)
Defending champion Joel Makin sealed his semi-final spot following a hard-fought three-game victory over No.7 seed Adrian Waller.
British No.1 Makin was forced to produce a quality performance against an attack-minded Waller, who threw everything in his armoury at the Welshman throughout the 47-minute encounter.
A well-contested 18-minute first-game kickstarted the match, with Waller starting brightly and moving into a 7-5 lead. However, it was Makin’s relentless accuracy which saw him claw back level and clinch the crucial opener when a Video Referee decision went in his favour at 10-9 up.
Makin continued to play with an aggressive ’T’ position after the contentious end to the opener, restricting the front-court opportunities of a visibly frustrated Waller with his incredible athleticism.
The World No.4 moved through the second game 11-5 and didn’t let up in the third as he secured the win by an 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 scoreline.
“In a situation like when playing Adrian, I was trying to hit straight lines, because I thought I was catching a bit of the side wall, so I was happy to trade down his forehand.
“I wanted to try and get a little bit more of a hold of that as I went on throughout the week. He’s been a top player for England throughout the years, he’s a big guy, long reach, skilful game and he added some confusion there in the match [regarding altercations with the referee].
“I didn’t know what he was referring to half of the time with the referee.”
Two-time winner Murphy marches into semis
[1] Tesni Murphy (WAL) 3-0 [8] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) 11-5, 11-4, 11-9 (44m)
Top seed Tesni Murphy continued her quest for a third British Nationals title with a three-game victory over No.8 seed Millie Tomlinson.
Murphy, back on the glass court on which she sustained tournament-ending injuries at the last two editions of the British Nationals, looked in confident form as she progressed past Tomlinson by an 11-5, 11-4, 11-9 scoreline.
After a patient start which saw a number of lengthy rallies down the backhand wing, it was World No.21 Murphy who began to target the front of the court with more regularity, using a smart combination of angles and deception to move through a pair of comfortable opening games.
Despite the 2-0 deficit, Tomlinson came out of the blocks well early in the third, moving into a three-point lead and making the match uncomfortable for Murphy as traffic became more regular feature in the middle of the court. The Englishwoman jumped higher on ’T’ whenever possible and took advantage of a dip in accuracy from Murphy to lead 8-5.
From this position though, Murphy regained her composure to firstly draw level, and move through to victory by winning six out of the next seven points.
“I played her earlier this year at Germany and we had an absolute scrap, so I knew exactly what to expect. We played in juniors together and she always beat me. Millie is so experienced and it’s so good to see her playing at this high level again, because she has obviously had many injuries over the years.
“I handled it really well in the first two games, but she came back at me really well in the third game and challenged me with a few different tactics.
“I think the main thing when it gets scrappy is to just go back to the basics. I think I play really well when I keep the ball straight, and Millie wants it open and in the middle.”
