Claire Fahey and Tara Lumley defend Doubles World Championship title
Van Der Zwalmen and Randjbar bring quality to high-class final
Claire Fahey has moved clear ahead of Penny Lumley as the most successful women’s doubles player of all time, partnering with Penny’s own daughter Tara Lumley to win their third World title — and Fahey’s eighth — at Newport on Saturday.
Having played out their singles final on Friday evening, Claire Fahey and Lea Van Der Zwalmen both returned to the court for the doubles final. Fahey was joined by Tara Lumley, with whom she has won two titles — in 2019 in Ballarat and 2023 at the Oratory. Van Der Zwalmen was paired with Margaux Randjbar, playing in a World Championship final in her first competitive tournament, though Van Der Zwalmen herself was the finalist in the previous edition. Unlike all previous editions, but in line with the singles final, the doubles final was played as a best-of-5 set match — the first occasion of the format being used for competitive women’s doubles.
Both singles finalists played back for their respective teams, sending their partners up to the galleries to test their volleying. The crowd were into the match very quickly, enjoying the long rallies and quick reactions from the players and eager to let their appreciation be known. The dynamic of the match was a battle over the service end. The French pair were noticeably more comfortable at the service end, with Randjbar picking balls out of the air with ease and not fussed with the pace of the ball coming at her. She was able to prevent most play going to Van Der Zwalmen’s backhand side, letting her focus on attacking the grille. However, when at the receiving end, they found progress more difficult, with Van Der Zwalmen covering more court than would normally be expected and play off the tambour proving challenging.
Fahey and Lumley quickly went up by two games at the start of the match, before getting stuck at the hazard end, allowing Van Der Zwalmen and Randjbar to draw level. The sixth and seventh games were key in deciding the first set. Both went to deuce and both were won by the defending champions with Fahey bringing the heat with her straight forces catching Van Der Zwalmen out. The tail end of the set saw the Britons deploying an uncommon tactic, sending Lumley up to defend the winning gallery to cut off Van Der Zwalmen’s determination to make the gallery bells ring. Fahey and Lumley eventually recovered the serve, going on to take the first set.
Going into the second set, Fahey was running hot, moving around the court well and hitting everything out of the middle of the strings looking almost as if she was willing to take their opponents on all by herself. Her streak lasted through the first four games before Van Der Zwalmen and Randjbar could neutralise the attack. Randjbar was quickly adapting to the tactics of the high standard of doubles play, growing in confidence at the hazard end of the court, while Van Der Zwalmen was able to capitalize on Fahey’s slight relaxation to bring them back into the set, buoyed by the play of her partner. Together, they brought back all four games before Fahey reawoke from her slumber, smacking the ball around as hard as she could. Fahey and Lumley won the next 15 consecutive points, including the last two games of the second set.
Fahey was back to playing her brilliant best at the start of the third set, including very nearly succeeding in pulling off a tambour boast — save for the ball feathering the underside of the out-of-court line. Van Der Zwalmen’s best counterplay remained targeting the winning gallery, once again drawing Lumley forward to defend. As in the second set, Fahey and Lumley could not maintain the intensity, stalling out on four games and letting their opponents back to 4-3. Both pairs had chances to win the eighth game, eventually falling to the defending champions. With the finish line now in sight, Fahey fired up once more, easing through the last game to take home the title.
After the match, Fahey reflected on the changed World Championship format: “This has been a first for women’s tennis and we are making history this week. A huge congratulations to everyone in the draw because without players traveling and competing it wouldn’t be as special as it is. It’s a huge step forward in the women’s game and hopefully everyone would agree that this week proved it.”
High level play will return to Newport in just over a week with the US Professional Singles playing for the Schochet Cup and the US Professional Satellite.
Match results:
Saturday 31 May:
2:00 PM (World Doubles Championship Final): Claire Fahey & Tara Lumley def Lea Van Der Zwalmen & Margaux Randjbar 6/2 6/4 6/3