With the 2026 British National Squash Championships just around the corner, we’ve taken a look back at last year’s edition of the event, which saw Welsh duo Joel Makin and Tesni Murphy claim three-peats at St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club.
Qualifying
In the men’s event, 18-year-old Dylan Roberts moved through to his debut main draw appearance at the British Nationals after springing a seeding surprise on Perry Malik in four games on the all-glass court.
Roberts, making just his second appearance at the event, delivered an impressive performance filled with smart, accurate play to defeat his more experienced opponent by an 11-6, 11-6, 8-11, 11-4 scoreline.
Meanwhile, on the traditional court, Heston Malik was required to dig deep to overcome old-school friend and training partner Jake Sim-Baskar in four games, setting up a first-round tie with former World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy.
England’s World No.90 Ben Smith and World No.185 Noah Meredith were the other two players to progress to the main draw in the men’s event.
In the women’s draw, all four qualifiers will be making their debuts in the main draw of the British Nationals tomorrow, with Olivia Owens, Isabel McCullough, Emily Coulcher-Porter and Olivia Besant all claiming respective wins in the evening session at St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club.
Round One
England’s Tom Walsh progressed to the quarter-finals of the British Nationals for the first time after edging past No.8 seed Simon Herbert in a thrilling five-game clash.
Despite letting four match balls slip through his grasp in a nerve-filled fourth game, it was Walsh who held on to seal victory by an 11-7, 5-11, 14-12, 10-12, 11-9 scoreline.
Elsewhere in the men’s event, tournament top seed and No.2 seed Joel Makin and Mohamed ElShorbagy both booked their quarter-final spots in straight games. World No. 4 and defending champion Makin defeated Ben Smith in a commanding style, while ElShorbagy ended the run of qualifier Heston Malik in an entertaining duel, which saw the young Englishman more than play his part.
Women’s top seed Tesni Murphy, meanwhile, opened her account in dominant fashion as she raced past first-time qualifier Isabel McCullough in just 21 minutes.
Returning to the glass court on which she sustained tournament-ending injuries in both the 2024 and 2025 British Nationals, two-time champion Murphy settled well in the opening game before moving through to the quarter-finals by an 11-4, 11-4, 11-2 scoreline.
Throughout the rest of the women’s draw, the seeded players dominated proceedings, with the likes of No.2 seed Georgia Adderley, No.3 seed Lucy Turmel and No.4 seed Grace Gear all claiming comfortable straight-game victories.
Quarter-Finals
Torrie and Curtis Malik claimed the standout wins of quarter-finals day at the 2025 British Nationals after they defeated Georgia Adderley and Tom Walsh in impressive style to reach their maiden semi-finals in Weybridge.
On a day when six players achieved first-time quarter-finals, No.5 seed Torrie delivered a power-packed performance on the all-glass court to overcome No.2 seed Adderley in three tightly fought games.
In a match which was filled with traffic issues in the middle of the court, it was the severity of Malik’s hitting into the front two corners which ultimately proved decisive, with the 21-year-old winning three consecutive tie-breaks by 13-11, 14-12, 12-10 scorelines.
Meanwhile, Torrie’s older brother, Curtis, got the better of England teammate Tom Walsh in a gruelling four-game clash.
World No.30 Malik, who set up a semi-final with No.5 seed Nick Wall after the withdrawal of Mohamed ElShorbagy due to injury, overcame a second game drop-off to take the intensely fought match by an 11-5, 6-11, 12-10, 11-8 scoreline.
Elsewhere, there were wins for the likes of top seeds Joel Makin and Tesni Murphy, Grace Gear, Alicia Mead and Jonah Bryant.
Semi-Finals
English duo Nick Wall and Torrie Malik starred on an action-packed semi-finals day after launching thrilling five-game comebacks in Weybridge.
The No.5 seeds both found themselves one game away from defeat in their matches against Curtis Malik and Alicia Mead, but fought back in dramatic style to set up dates with top seeds Joel Makin and Tesni Murphy in men’s and women’s finals.
After receiving a quarter-final Walkover following the injury withdrawal of Mohamed ElShorbagy, Wall started his match against No.3 Malik without a single second of competitive action on the all-glass court this week.
However, the Englishman showed great guts to edge out a stop-start 3-11, 8-11, 11-7, 15-13, 12-10 victory over his higher-ranked compatriot.
Elsewhere, top seeds Joel Makin and Tesni Murphy underlined their favourite status with commanding three-game wins over No.3 seed Jonah Bryant and No.4 seed Grace Gear.
The final match of the evening saw Torrie Malik continue her career-best run at the British Nationals after she overturned a 2-1 deficit to clinch victory against No.7 seed Alicia Mead.
Mead, who was playing her first match of the week after receiving Walkovers in her previous two matches against Lucy Turmel and Lowri Roberts, impressed for large portions of the match, using smart angles to disrupt the movement patterns of Malik.
However, after falling 2-1 down, Malik found a second wind to firstly force a deciding game, and then carry that momentum through to seal a 12-14, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-3 victory.
Finals
Top seeds Makin and Murphy lived up to their billing in Sunday’s finals after the pair claimed respective wins over English duo Nick Wall and Torrie Malik to lift their third Nationals titles.
Then-World No.4 Makin, competing in his sixth straight final at the British Nationals, defended the coveted title following a comprehensive three-game victory over No.5 seed Wall.
Makin had looked in supreme form all week and finished off his near-faultless week of squash, which included a high-quality victory over up-and-coming star Jonah Bryant, with an 11-4, 12-10, 11-3 win over the Englishman.
Despite a level-pegging second game, which saw Wall force a tie-break with impressive attacking squash, Makin stood firm to edge that crucial moment and power through to victory after 43 minutes of play.
Meanwhile, the first match of the afternoon saw Murphy and Malik meet for the first time in their careers, and despite the gulf in experience, 21-year-old Malik continually pushed the Welshwoman all the way to the finish line.
After falling 2-0 down, Malik pulled back the third game and later saved two match balls in a tight fourth game. However, Murphy ultimately proved too strong, taking the title 11-9, 11-5, 7-11, 11-9.
