Lumley wins second Champions Trophy title
Confident win over Howell in final match before World Championship Challenge
John Lumley has won the 2025 Champions Trophy at the Royal Tennis Court at Hampton Court Palace, with a dominant display against Nick Howell in the final on Sunday, in front of a sell-out crowd.
The clubrooms of the Royal Tennis Court were buzzing awaiting the arrival of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, with sponsors, fans, dignitaries, security, members and the general public awaiting the start of the final. John Lumley and Nick Howell had each won one of the last two editions of the event. Both had progressed through the draw having won a bye to the semi-finals, and both had to battle hard against determined opposition.
Lumley won the first few nervy games, scraping everything back but remaining very coy and defensive. The Philadelphian settled into the match faster, as when Howell tried to increase his intensity, it lead to a number of unfortunately timed unforced errors. Lumley wasn’t playing with power of fanfare, instead focussing on precision and placement. He never tried to press the ball harder than needed to, being patient and waiting for the perfect opportunity to hit the grille or dedans. Howell could only find two games in the first set as he looked in vain for a way to make progress.
The second set began much like the first, barring a short stoppage for the plaster dust to be cleaned up under the winning gallery where the players had been returning railroads. Howell continued his method from the semi-final of switching between different rackets for serving and receiving, but nothing he tried could break through Lumley’s defence. Lumley never gave Howell the opportunity to hit his power shots. Lumley’s play was impeccable as he won the second set without dropping a game.
Lumley’s victory makes him the third player to win multiple Champions Trophies after Camden Riviere and Robert Fahey. It marks an important milestone in his preparation for September’s World Championship Challenge by underlining that he is the superior challenger to Riviere.
“I was expecting him to pump a few more dedans past me — maybe it was my serving, but he had a little off day on hitting the dedans and I was able to capitalize on it,” said Lumley after the match. “I felt good today, moving around the court so was excited to put him under pressure with some of my movement. I couldn’t really find the target to start so I was just trying to find the floor and move him around. Then the game plan changed as I started to hit more grilles.”
For now, Lumley can put all his effort into the World Championships. “It’s straight back into aggressive training. I’ve been training quite hard before this, and now its full steam ahead until September.”
The trophy was presented to Lumley by Prince Edward and Hans-Joerg Hinkel from Mitsubishi Electric, the title sponsor of the event. All players will now enjoy a short off-season before returning for either the World Championship in Newport or the French Open in Paris in late September.
Match results:
11:30 AM: John Lumley (1) def Nick Howell 6/2 6/0
Please inform HRH Duke of Edinburgh that I haven`t given permission for anyone else to sit in my seat in the dedans.
Ron Booth
Congrats John and as ever Ben amazing coverage ...Thank you