2025 Ladies World Championships draws released under new challenge format
Fahey returns to defend titles while Van Der Zwalmen partners unknown quantity Randjbar in doubles
The full draw for the 2025 Ladies World Championship in Newport has been released, with 11 players from 5 nationalities vying for the title under the new challenge format.
Claire Fahey will return to defend her title that she has held continuously since 2011. She is seeking her eighth title in both the singles and doubles draws. If successful, she would push her past Penny Lumley as the most prolific doubles player in the history of the event — a record she already holds in the singles draw. The new format sees her qualifying directly to the final, awaiting a challenger to emerge from the main draw. For the first time, she will defend her title in a best of 5 set format, as opposed to the best of 3 format the event has used for the rest of its history.
Lea Van Der Zwalmen will challenge for the third occasion, having played in the last two World Championship Finals. She will be buoyed by her US Open doubles title that she claimed earlier this year alongside Annie Clark in Philadelphia — her second doubles title and second win over Fahey in all real tennis competitions. The incumbent World Rackets Champion has firmly established herself as the world number 2 over the last eight years, and receives a bye to the last round of the challenger process as a result. She is a strong favourite to reach the challenge, seeking to become the first Frenchwoman to win the title.
World numbers 3 and 4 Saskia Bollerman and Tara Lumley round out the main draw. Lumley will partner Fahey in defending their doubles title. Together, they will have a final tuneup at the 2025 Ladies British Open, where Lumley will be the second seed. Bollerman, who lives and trains in the Netherlands without access to a court, was the runner up in the doubles draw of the previous edition, but this year will have a new partner in Nicola Doble. In the singles, Lumley and Bollerman will each play a qualifier then — should they both win through — will play against each other for the right to challenge Van Der Zwalmen. The playoff match will be one of the most intriguing matches of the tournament, as Lumley and Bollerman are separated by less than a point on handicap and the two went to a deciding game in their last meeting at the 2024 Bathurst Cup in Melbourne.
The qualifying draw features seven out of a maximum of eight players, each looking to win through to the main draw to play Lumley or Bollerman. Nicola Doble will benefit with a bye in the first round. She will also have a final tune up at the Ladies British Open, where she is the third seed. Meanwhile, Australian Amateur champion Jo See Tan teams up with Jess Garside for the first time playing together for the doubles draw, having the unenviable task of playing the defending champions in their first match. Both players will also play in the first round of the singles qualifying.
The biggest unknown going into the tournament is that of Margaux Randjbar. The Franco-Iranian padel instructor has no record of playing any matches on Real Tennis Online — let alone playing in a competitive tournament. Nonetheless, the Bordeaux based player will play alongside Lea Van Der Zwalmen in the doubles draw, and will play in the first round of the singles qualifying. As such, her standard and play style are a mystery, with a nominal handicap of 48 in singles and 35 in doubles assigned to her by the Bordeaux professional staff. She will play Tan in the first round of the singles qualifying, which will be the first chance for the rest of the world to see how she plays.
The qualifying draw is rounded out by three local players. Australian-born Xanthe Ranger, who now plays out of the Tuxedo Club will face Aiken’s Kadi Meldrum in the first round of qualifying, while Claire Voegele will play Garside. None of the three will play in the doubles draw.
The week long event will start on Saturday 24 May and run until the doubles final on Saturday 31 May, with the singles final on Friday 30 May. Further information can be found at www.2025lwc.com
Full schedule (all times EDT)
Saturday 24 May:
10:00 AM: Kadi Meldrum vs Xanthe Ranger
11:30 AM: Jess Garside vs Claire Voegele
1:00 PM: Margaux Randjbar vs Jo See Tan
Sunday 25 May:
10:00 AM (Qualifier 1): Nicola Doble vs Winner 24 May 10:00 AM
11:30 AM (Qualifier 2): Winner 24 May 11:30 AM vs Winner 24 May 1:00 PM
Monday 26 May:
10:00 AM: Saskia Bollerman vs Qualifier 1
11:30 AM: Tara Lumley vs Qualifier 2
Tuesday 27 May:
4:00 PM: Winner 26 May 10:00 AM vs Winner 26 May 11:30 AM
Wednesday 28 May:
5:00 PM: Lea Van Der Zwalmen vs Winner 27 May 4:00 PM
Thursday 29 May:
2:00 PM (Doubles Semi Final 1): Claire Fahey & Tara Lumley vs Jo See Tan & Jess Garside
3:30 PM (Doubles Semi Final 2): Nicola Doble & Saskia Bollerman vs Lea Van Der Zwalmen & Margaux Randjbar
Friday 30 May:
5:00 PM (World Championship Challenge): Claire Fahey vs Challenger TBD
Saturday 31 May:
2:00 PM (World Doubles Championship Final): Winner Semi Final 1 vs Winner Semi Final 2