Teenager on the roll of honour at The Shrewsbury Club
Teenager Lilly Folland joined Asif Abbasi and Gary Cox on the Lexus Wheelchair Tennis National Finals roll of honour as the three players triumphed in the senior singles draws at The Shrewsbury Club.
Abbasi added the men’s doubles title to the men’s singles title and Folland left Shrewsbury with victories in the women’s singles, doubles and 18U junior doubles.
Folland beat 2023 women’s singles champion Naomie Tarver for the first time in domestic competition after winning their semi-final 6-3, 6-4 and went on to defeat top seed Mariam Ayeni 6-4, 6-3 in Sunday’s final, having already partnered Cheshire’s Tracy Vallance to remain unbeaten in their women’s doubles campaign.
Abbasi secured his second men’s singles title since 2018, having also triumphed during the event’s first year at The Shrewsbury Club.
Teenagers Will Barton and Matthew Knoesen both impressed before Barton edged a thrilling men’s semi-final 7-5, 2-6, (10-7) to book his place in the final.
Meanwhile, top seed Abbasi defeated 2023 champion Philip Fielding 6-2, 6-2 in the other semi-final and went on to beat Barton 6-1, 6-0 to end the weekend with four straight sets wins.
It was a similar story in the men’s doubles as top seeds Abbasi and South Wales’s Kevin Lewis eased to three straight sets victories.
Cox made it five quad singles titles, defeating runner-up Dan Pennington-Bridges 6-3, 6-2 in his decisive round-robin contest to complete a quintet of titles in Shrewsbury since 2018.
Meanwhile, for Pennington-Bridges and his partner Melvil Vedrenne-Cloquet there was victory in the quad doubles after they beat Edward Barret and Andy Guy 6-2, 6-0.
Knoesen reversed the result his men’s singles semi-final against Barton, defeating Barton 6-4, 6-3 in the 18U boys’ singles semis before beating second seed Lucas de Gouveia 6-4, 6-2 in the final.
Meanwhile, teenager Foyster secured straight sets wins against Ellen Tribley and Imogen Ashwell-Rice to win the 18U girls’ singles title.
Summing up four days of fascinating competition, tournament director and LTA wheelchair talent pathway manager Matthew Grover said: “We’ve witnessed some incredible tennis over the past four days in Shrewsbury. The passion, drive, and sportsmanship displayed by all the players is nothing short of inspiring. Each match was a testament to the talent, determination, and love for the sport that defines our wheelchair tennis community.”
