Champions Trophy draw promises to thrill audiences on historic court
Past champions Howell and Lumley to return to battle at Hampton Court Palace
The 2025 Champions Trophy draw was conducted at the Royal Tennis Court at Hampton Court Palace on Thursday, ahead of July’s tournament which will feature seven of the top ten real tennis players in the world taking to the historic court.
The Champions Trophy operates differently from most other major tournaments, with the first four seeds eligible for a repechage should they lose in their first round matches. With the first four seeds playing off against each other in the first round, the tournament produces entertaining and competitive tennis from the first ball.
John Lumley will play his first tournament outside the United States since the 2024 Australian Open. He enters as the first seed and was drawn to play Leon Smart in the first round. Smart, by virtue of his rise in the IRTPA World Rankings over the past few years, will play as fourth seed, safe from elimination in the first round. Smart will be looking to improve on his previous appearances at the tournament, having not won a match in his last two appearances. The first round loser will play either sixth seed Bryn Sayers or a qualifier. Sayers returns to the Champions Trophy firing fit after having to retire from the last edition with an injury.
Defending champion Nick Howell will enter the tournament as the second seed, thrust immediately into a rematch of last edition’s final against third seed and four-time runner-up Ben Taylor-Matthews. The two also exchanged barbs in the recent World Championship Eliminator, so will be intimately familiar with each other’s games. Neither will want to face a potential repechage quarter final against an ever-improving Robert Shenkman, who as fifth seed will play a qualifier in the first round.
The qualifying groups will also provide intrigue, with eight players fighting for two main draw spots being split into two groups of four. Matches will be played as a single first-to-9 game set, rewarding fast starts and players willing to take their chances. The Prested pair of Levi Gale and Vaughan Hamilton will fancy their chances of upsetting the first seeds in their groups, Lewis Williams and Darren Long respectively, with both having recorded victories in tournament play against their opponents in the last two months. Gale and Williams will also have to hold back the rising stars of Bertie Vallat and James Medlow, both of whom will make their Champions Trophy debuts. In the other group, Louis Gordon could prove a dark horse on the only court with a wider dedans than his home court of Petworth, while home professional Jack Josephs will make his major tournament debut.
Qualifying will take place across Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd of July, with main draw matches running from Thursday 24th through Sunday 27th of July. Tickets are on sale now via Eventbrite. Full tournament details are available through the Royal Tennis Court website.
Qualifying:
Group A: Lewis Williams, Levi Gale, Bertie Vallat, James Medlow
Group B: Darren Long, Vaughan Hamilton, Louis Gordon, Jack Josephs
Main Draw:
Match 1: John Lumley (1) vs Leon Smart (4)
Match 2: Bryn Sayers (6) vs Qualifier A or B
Match 3: Qualifier A or B vs Robert Shenkman (5)
Match 4: Ben Taylor-Matthews (3) vs Nick Howell (2)
Match 5: Loser Match 1 vs Winner Match 2
Match 6: Winner Match 3 vs Loser Match 4
Match 7: Winner Match 1 vs Winner Match 6
Match 8: Winner Match 4 vs Winner Match 5
Match 9: Winner Match 7 vs Winner Match 8