The 2026 British Nationals got under way today with Round ONE at St George’s – 15 of the 16 seeds through to the quarters, with Scotland’s John Meehan the only surprise winner.
Men’s Round One :
[1] Marwan ElShorbagy (Eng) 3-0 Heston Malik (Eng) 11-7, 11-7, 11-3 (34m)
[7] Rhys Evans (Wal) 3-2 Bailey Malik (Eng) 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 8-11, 11-6 (83m)
John Meehan (Sco) 3-2 [8] Ben Smith (Eng) 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9 (81m)
[4] Sam Todd (Eng) 3-0 Oliver Tate (Eng) 11-3, 11-7, 11-4 (33m)
[5] Simon Herbert (Eng) 3-0 Jake Sim-Baskar (Eng) 11-3, 11-2, 11-7 (27m)
[6] Perry Malik (Eng) 3-0 Kylen Calder (Eng) 11-3, 11-3, 11-4 (22m)
[2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (Eng) 3-0 Dylan Roberts (Eng) 11-8, 11-6, 11-8 (38m)
Women’s Round One :
[1] Gina Kennedy (Eng) 3-0 Alison Thomson (Sco) 11-4, 11-6, 11-1 (27m)
[5] Grace Gear (Eng) 3-2 Olivia Owens (Eng) 11-5, 11-7, 7-11, 5-11, 11-7 (46m)
[6] Saran Nghiem (Eng) 3-0 Isabel McCullough (Eng) 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 (30m)
[4] Torrie Malik (Eng) 3-0 Robyn McAlpine (Sco) 13-11, 11-5, 11-8 (32m)
[7] Alicia Mead (Eng) 3-1 Katie Malliff (Eng) 3-1: 9-11, 13-11, 12-10, 15-13 (46m)
[8] Millie Tomlinson (Eng) 3-0 Amelie Haworth (Eng) 11-6, 11-8, 11-7 (31m)
[2] Jasmine Hutton (Eng) 3-0 Ellie Breach (Wal) 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 (25m)
Draws & Results Live Scoring Watch Live & Replays Photo Galleries
Top seeds safely through in Afternoon session
The opening day of the 2026 British Nationals sees the top four seeds in both draws featured on the all-Glass showcourt, and in the afternoon session top seeds Gina Kennedy and Marwan ElShorbagy, plus fourth seeds Torrie Malik and Sam Todd all progressed to the quarter-finals in straight games on or around 30 minutes..
It was a different story on court one, where the matches between 5/8 and 9/16 seeds were fiercely contested. Fifth seed Grace Gear saw a two game lead disappear before seeing off Olivia Owens in five, while sixth seed Saran Nghiem beat Isabelle McCullough in three close games. The men’s matches both went the distance, as sixth seed seed Rhys Evans edged past Bailey Malik in 83 minutes and Scotland’s John Meehan concluded the session beating eighth seed Ben Smith 11-9 in the fifth in 81 minutes!…..
Seeds dominate in Evening session
Meehan’s win remained the only upset as the seeded players dominated the evening session, seven relatively quick straight-game wins, with seventh seed Alicia Mead the only one to drop a game as she saw off Katie Malliff in four close games.
Elsewhere Curtis and Perry Malik joined sister Torrie in the last eights, while former champions Jasmine Hutton and Mohamed ElShorbagy started their quests for third titles in confident fashion.
Tomorrow’s quarter-finals are all in the Glass Court, starting at 13.00 and 16.00
Selection of Day One Photos – more in the Gallery
