Qualifying Finals Round-Up: Roberts & Owens Among Main Draw Debutants

The main draw for the British National Squash Championships 2025 has been set after an intense day of qualifying matches saw eight players successfully advance at St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club in Weybridge.

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.

After the match, Roberts said: “I’m really happy to get over the line this evening. I always knew it was going to be a tough game. I had a clear game plan and I stuck to it well.

“I had my dad in the corner today, his advice was to hit straight lines, and to keep Perry off the middle of the court.

“I wasn’t expecting to get through to the main draw, to be honest. I’m really excited for tomorrow’s match against Curtis [Malik].”

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.

After losing a tight opening game 11-9 and entering the latter stages of the second level-pegging, 19-year-old Malik found his accuracy when he needed it most, managing to level proceedings, before moving through an eventual 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-9 victory.

Malik will face former World No.1 and World Champion Mohamed ElShorbagy in tomorrow’s main draw.

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. 23-year-old Smith ended the run of local club pro Ruudi Clarke – who earlier in the day had overcome Matt Gregory in front of his home fans – with an accomplished four-game victory. Smith will face defending champion and top seed Joel Makin in the first round of the main draw.

Meredith, meanwhile, claimed a 12-10, 11-5, 11-4 victory over Michael Mattimore to secure a spot in the main draw in his debut appearance at the British Nationals.

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.

18-year-old Owens, who earlier in the day had come through a back-and-forth five-game tussle with Reka Kemecsei, returned to court just hours later to secure her second win of the day – this time defeating Jasmin Kalar in four games.

Having competed in the World Junior Team Championships for England earlier this summer, Owens put this experience to good use as she defeated the higher-seeded Kalar by an 11-4, 3-11, 11-3, 11-2 scoreline.

Elsewhere in the women’s draw, England’s Isabel McCullough saw off the challenge of Hayley Openshaw-Blower in three well-contested games. In a match which was punctuated with superb winners but a series of unforced errors from both players, it was World No.141 McCullough, 20, who clinched two crucial tie-breaks in the opening two games, before moving through to the win after 26 minutes of play.

Fellow English rising talent Coulcher-Porter and Besant will join McCullough and Owens in the main draw of the British Nationals after the former dispatched Annie Openshaw-Blower to the loss of just seven points, and Besant defeated Nia Seren Thomas in four games.