Howell wins second Champions Trophy title
Virgona defeated in straight sets but result bodes well for World Race
Nick Howell has won the Champions Trophy for the second time in his career, defeating Steve Virgona in a dominant display in the final at the Royal Tennis Court on Sunday.
Steve Virgona lined up for his first Champions Trophy final against the former winner Nick Howell. The end of their seasons was a repeat of the final of the season opener at the French Open in Paris. Both of them came through the second chance pathway having lost their first round matches. Howell was faster off the blocks, finding his range on his force from the very first ball and immediately throwing Virgona off his service line. Howell’s retrieval from the service end restricted Virgona’s ability to find chases, with the left-hander throwing big boasts into the main wall to try and get the ball to come across his opponent. Virgona tried everything to re-find his groove — including playing out one game and one game only with a cap on. But nothing seemed to work, not helped by all of the 50-50 balls going against him. Howell pushed his early lead into a 6/2 victory in the first set.
Virgona kept experimenting to try and find a chink in Howell’s armour through the start of the second set, but each time Howell had the response ready, and with interest to boot. His serve gave Virgona nothing to work with, with the Chicago pro often finding himself on the back foot from the first stroke of the reste. It took until the fourth game of the set for Virgona to win his first. Howell was unperturbed, taking the last few games with ease. Upon hitting the final point, he raised both arms in the air with a massive grin on his face.
Howell’s victory is his first piece of singles silverware for the season, having reached the finals of both the French and British Opens. It is his second Champions Trophy victory — having previously won in 2024 — and joins Camden Riviere, Rob Fahey and John Lumley each with two wins.
Steve Virgona ends the event just 4,583 points short of Ben Taylor-Matthews in the World Race, where the top four players qualify for the World Championship Eliminators. Taylor-Matthews currently sits in fourth place with three eligible events remaining: the French Open, the IRTPA Players’ Championships and the British Open.
Match results:
11:30 AM: Steve Virgona (4) lost to Nick Howell (1) 2/6 2/6