Lumley wins British Open with dominant performance at Queen's
Howell stuggles to make inroads in final
John Lumley has won the 2025 British Open after winning in the final on Monday at the Queen’s Club, putting in a complete all-round performance against last year’s finalist Nick Howell. It was his second victory at Queen’s, after having previously won the title in 2021.
The Queen’s Club crowd packed out to see the top two seeds of the tournament, John Lumley and Nick Howell, lock horns again in battle. Despite the Open featuring plenty of upsets, fairytale stories and drama, both had been on cruise control through much of the tournament, with neither player yet to drop a set. Both players had stood on this stage before, with Lumley winning the tournament in 2021 and Howell the runner-up in 2024. The form book suggested Lumley was the favourite, having beaten Howell in the Final Eliminator earlier in the year, but Howell had looked strong all week, especially in his semi-final against Rob Fahey, and the four sets he had won in that Eliminator on the second day loomed as an example of what could happen if he brought his best to the final.
The match was marked under the experienced hand of Andrew Lyons, resuming his place at the net where he had marked umpteen British Opens and World Championships. The opening stanza was cagey, with neither player hitting their targets and the match quickly descending into a series of scrappy rallies. Howell served high serves from the beginning of the match, just as he had done on Day 2 in Aiken in May, and Lumley responded in kind. Lumley was ready for Howell’s tactics, opting to step away and take the ball off the floor, sending it into Howell’s backhand. He then backed himself to win the subsequent backhand to backhand rally by wearing down his opposition. He earned himself a two-game lead early, before the play tightened up. Howell was trying to hit short chases, no worse than 2, which helped him hold even with Lumley for the next four games. Howell missed opportunities to draw level with Lumley in the 3/2 and 4/2 games, each time getting suckered into playing on his backhand side or making an error off the penthouse. Instead, Lumley pulled ahead to a 5/2 lead.
With Howell 30-15 up in the next game, Lumley turned on a tight bobble like a left-hander, smacking a thick boast towards Howell’s backhand. Howell was side-stepping across to play it before his left foot buckled underneath him. He lost his balance, pulling himself up alongside the wall before dropping to the floor in agony. It took him a moment to recover, shaking it off with Lyons and Lumley checking in to see if he was okay. He resumed play shortly after, but with a grimace on his face. Howell served twice as many balls as Lumley in the set, but won four fewer points.
The second set was a strange affair. After losing the serve at 1/0, Howell did not hit another chase until the 4/1 game as Lumley bricked him up at the hazard end. Even when Howell did return to the service end, Lumley hit back with a chase immediately. Howell tried to hit Lumley off the court, before also trying to beat Lumley at his own game by targeting the backhand corner, all while ignoring the existence of the galleries. Lumley was more than happy to bounce around the service end, easily putting the ball back into play and waiting for another error to inevitably come.
Lumley continued to put Howell to the sword in the third set, winning the first two games before finally some resistance came from Howell. Howell was earning more chases now, including his first shot into the galleries of the match, albeit from a mishit from a ball hitting the tambour. He put away his high serve as well, opting instead for an under-arm twist served from the back-middle of the court. The crowd were eager to see the match extend into a fourth set, but Lumley wasn’t going to let that happen easily. Though Howell recovered a couple of games towards the end of the third set, there was never a chance of Lumley being beaten. He reached his first match point with a better than 2 chase pending. After he struck his shot into the backhand corner, he paused momentarily awaiting the marker’s call, pumping his fist thinking he may have won before Lyons called “chase-off.” It was just delaying the inevitable, as he struck the same ball moments later to lay chase 2. Although Howell’s initial force was on target, Lumley was able to fend it away — nearly into the winning gallery — before turning to the crowd and rasing his arms in celebration as the next shot went wide.
Lumley becomes the seventh player in the Open era to win the British Open on more than one occasion, and the third British player to do so after Chris Ronaldson and Julian Snow. It puts him equal with Chris Bray and Tim Chisholm with five career open titles, and seventh overall. Howell was left to lick his wounds after losing a second final in a row, with eyebrows sure to raise about his tactical choices. However, he can take plenty of positives away from the tournament, especially his semi-final victory over Fahey.
The British Open concludes on Tuesday evening, with both finalists from the singles taking to the court one more time; Lumley partnering Vaughan Hamilton and Howell partnering Rob Fahey.
Match results:
6:00 PM: John Lumley (1) def Nick Howell (2) 6/2 6/1 6/3
Order of play for Tuesday (all times GMT):
6:00 PM: Robert Fahey & Nick Howell (1) vs Vaughan Hamilton & John Lumley (2)
The report for the doubles semi-finals incorrectly stated that should Hamilton win, he would be the newest doubles open winner since Ben Taylor-Matthews at the French Open in 2018, which is incorrect. He would instead be the newest doubles winner since Nick Howell at the Australian Open in 2018.