Fahey reigns at record-breaking Ladies British Open
World Champion becomes most prolific British Open player in history
Claire Fahey has continued her reign at the top of women’s real tennis, winning both the singles and doubles tournaments at the Ladies British Open in Seacourt on Sunday, with and against her doubles partner Tara Lumley.
Fahey lead the match from start to finish, playing with a calmness and determination that saw her making very few mistakes. She was exemplary with the weight of her shots, taking the pace off to play for length troubling Lumley into the corners, before mixing it up with some pace on shots catching Lumley flat-footed. The counterplay Lumley found was attacking Fahey’s backhand corner, but after Fahey switched to a railroad — not her usual side-wall type serve — that avenue for winning points was cut off. Lumley came close to winning a game on a couple of occasions, but was quickly shut down by Fahey playing her excellent length into the corners. The defending champion won the title without dropping a game.
The double bagel victory was the second such scoreline in a final of the Ladies British Open in at least the last three decades, the other being in the 2022 final between the same competitors. The win marks Fahey’s 13th British Open, drawing clear ahead of Penny Lumley’s 12 such titles. It also puts her level with her husband Robert Fahey with 13 British Open titles, and just four Open wins away from his overall record of 50 Open titles.
Fahey and Lumley took to the court together for the doubles final, playing Nicola Doble and Katherine Carney, both playing their first British Open final. The incumbent World Champions were a level above Doble and Carney, plucking out volleys from the air with devastating effectiveness. Doble tried as hard as she could to dig out ball after ball onto her left-handed backhand, while Carney displayed a good tactical awareness as a net player, but neither had the quality to match the clean, hard-hitting shots of Fahey and Lumley. The final lasted just under half an hour, with Fahey and Lumley winning together for the second time — Fahey had won 10 previous tournaments with her sister Sarah Vigrass.
In the minor competitions, Leamington’s Rachel Hollington defeated Holyport’s Lucie Grosset in the plate singles, while Jane Taylor and Caroline MacDowell defeated Rosie Law and Sarah Sullivan in the plate doubles. The handicap doubles saw Sophia Lewis and Kureha Yamaguchi defend their title against a rapidly improving Lydia Compton-Burnett and Georgia Toosey.
Matcb results:
10:00 AM (Singles Plate Final): Rachel Hollington def Lucie Grosset 6/2 6/1
11:00 AM (Doubles Plate Final): Jane Taylor & Caroline MacDowell def Rosie Law & Sarah Sullivan 6/4 6/3
12:00 PM (Singles Final): Claire Fahey (1) def Tara Lumley (2) 6/0 6/0
1:00 PM (Handicap Doubles Final): Sophia Lewis & Kureha Yamaguchi def Lydia Compton-Burnett & Georgia Toosey 8/3
2:00 PM (Double Final): Claire Fahey & Tara Lumley (1) def Nicola Doble & Katherine Carney (3) 6/0 6/0