With the 2025 British National Squash Championships just around the corner, we’ve taken a deeper look into some of the favourites for the title come next Saturday evening.
Here are the main contenders for this year’s British Nationals crowns.
Joel Makin
Arriving as defending champion, British No.1 and current World No.4 – there are certainly plenty of reasons why Joel Makin will enter the British Nationals as the pre-event favourite in the men’s event.
The Welshman has been playing some of the squash of his life over the last 12 month, surging from the fringes of the world’s top ten all the way to World No.4. Makin’s last outing on the PSA Tour saw him land the biggest title of his career to date, defeating both Diego Elias and Mostafa Asal on his way to the PSA Squash Tour Finals title.
Makin last year lifted the British Nationals title after edging out Mohamed ElShorbagy in a thrilling 84-minute final, and more widely has reached the final of this event for five straight years. It would take a brave person to bet against the 30-year-old being in the mix this week in Weybridge.
Mohamed ElShorbagy
Mohamed ElShorbagy needs no introductions. As a former World No.1 and former World Champion, the 34-year-old has already cemented himself as one of the greats of the sport, and he is still not done yet.
In his three appearances at the British Nationals, ElShorbagy has never failed to reach the final, with the Bristol-based player lifting the coveted trophy in 2022 and 2023. Last year, ‘The Beast’ fell just short of becoming just the second male player to lift the title on three straight occasions, losing out to Joel Makin in the title decider.
Never one to be written off, ElShorbagy will be looking to add to his already stacked trophy cabinet when he arrives at the 2025 British Nationals as the No.2 seed next week.
Jonah Bryant
Despite competing in the main draw of the British Nationals for just the second time in his career to date, up-and-coming English star Jonah Bryant is certainly a player to keep an eye out for this week in Weybridge.
Bryant, 20, burst onto the PSA Tour last year with a string of superb displays, picking up his first World Events title at the Budapest Open and, more recently, coming within two points of stunning World No.1 and World Champion Mostafa Asal at the British Open.
Despite his lack of experience, Bryant’s potential is sky-high. The World No.26 has shown the skill level, but equally importantly, the maturity, to deal with big matches over the last 12 months and will be looking to make his mark ahead of another busy season on the PSA Tour.
Curtis Malik
After the withdrawal of Marwan ElShorbagy, England teammate Curtis Malik has moved up into a top-four seeding position and will be eying a career-best performance at the British Nationals.
Along with the ElShorbagy brothers, Malik has become a staple member of the England Team at the World & European Team Championships over the past couple of years, with the 26-year-old’s game only moving from strength to strength.
A rock-solid back-court game, with the physicality to match the world’s best, Malik has all the ingredients to pose a threat to the top seeds over the coming week in Weybridge.
Georgina Kennedy
British No.1 Georgina Kennedy captured her first British Nationals crown last year after defeating Sarah-Jane Perry in the title decider, and will return with back-to-back successes on her mind.
Kennedy has been a mainstay in and around the top ten in the women’s rankings over the last few seasons, with the 28-year-old consistently challenging the very best players in the world at major events on the PSA Tour.
Throw into the mix her most recent performances at the PSA Squash Tour Finals, which saw her become the first Englishwoman to reach the semi-finals of the event since Laura Massaro in 2017, and Kennedy’s billing as the top seed is certainly justified.
It will take an impressive showing from someone in the field to stop ‘The Whirlwind’ from sweeping through to her second British Nationals title.
Tesni Murphy
As a two-time champion of the event, Wales’ Tesni Murphy is no stranger to delivering her best squash at the British Nationals.
Murphy, winner in 2018 and 2019, arrives as the No.2 seed this year and will be hoping to join the likes of Sarah-Jane Perry with three successes to her name.
The Welshwoman’s sublime racket skills can trouble any player in the world on her day, but recently at the British Nationals, it is her body which has ended her bids for the title. In 2023, she was forced to retire in the fifth game of her final with Jasmine Hutton, while withdrawing in similar circumstances last year when well-placed in her semi-final with Georgina Kennedy.
Lucy Turmel
A four-time quarter-finalist and one-time semi-finalist at the British Nationals, Lucy Turmel will be hoping to go one better over the coming week and put herself in a position to capture her first British Nationals crown.
The World No.23 has been a consistent feature in Team England’s strong performances over the last few years at both the European Team Championships and World Team Championships – now possessing the experience to push her game to the next level.
If she is to win the title, she will likely have to overturn a 0-5 record against No.2 seed Tesni Murphy, with the pair having been named in the same half of the draw.
Georgia Adderley
Scotland No.1 Georgia Adderley will enter the 2025/26 season full of confidence, sitting at a career-high rank of World No.22.
Adderley has been renowned for her speed and physical brand of squash since arriving on the scene, but the 24-year-old has added more attacking weapons to her game in the last 12 months – work which brought about results such as a runner-up finish at the Irish Open and a semi-final appearance at the Malaysia Cup.
If she is to lift the title come next Saturday evening, she will have to deliver a career-best performance at the British Nationals, having never progressed beyond the quarter-finals at the event. However, she has never been better placed to hit these new heights.
The 2025 British Nationals will take place at St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club in Weybridge between 26-30 August, with all of the action available to watch live on SQUASHTV.
You can secure your tickets for the event right here. For more updates, visit the official tournament website or follow England Squash on Facebook and Instagram.
