World No.4 Joel Makin made it back-to-back titles at the British National Squash Championships after overcoming No.5 seed Nick Wall in three games at St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club.
Top seed Makin looked in top form right from the outset of the 43-minute match, moving through to secure his third British Nationals title by an 11-4, 12-10, 11-3 scoreline.
As was the case in his semi-final match with Curtis Malik, England’s Wall was a little slow out of the blocks, offering Makin some notable unforced errors early in the first game. The Welshman took full advantage of these openings to move through a 13-minute first game 11-4.
Wall responded well in the second game, finding his targets with greater accuracy and displaying the levels which saw him battle back from 2-0 down to defeat Curtis Malik in yesterday’s semi-final.
The pair traded points in the latter stages of the second, but it was Makin who edged ahead in the crucial tie-break, doubling his advantage with a sharp backhand winner into the front left corner.
With a two-game lead in his back pocket, Makin returned to the court full of confidence and looked like the only ever winner of game three after racing into an early advantage on the scoreboard. Wall attempted to break down the defences of Makin with continual attacks, but the Welshman stood firm to take the 11-3 win and start the 2025/26 season in perfect fashion.
After the match, Makin said: “These guys are coming in as a bit of a free bet. Doesn’t mean I don’t think they can win but all the pressure is off and they can be really disruptive which he [Nick Wall] was. He’s got a lot of good skills about him: heavy ball striker, clean hitter, he created a lot of pressure in the second game and I had to revert back to what I was doing well which was hitting my spots and find my positions around the middle. It wasn’t straightforward.
“I think this tournament has got a lot of history to it and I like to be a part of that. I think it’s important we keep it going and hopefully the players going forward after I’ve finished they’ll carry on and keep the level high and put their names in amongst it as well.”
Result:
[1] Joel Makin (WAL) v [5] Nick Wall (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 12-10, 11-3 (43m)
