england claim a clean sweep of titles for 2025
Team England produced a quality weekend of Racketball across the various categories at the 2025 International Teams by securing each title in emphatic fashion! With the addition of the Men's and Women's Open draws alongside the O40s, O50s, O60s, O70s events from the previous year, there was a great variety of styles and matchplay on show, and the English crew showed their class across all the draws.
It was really impressive to see the improvement and depth of players from the Welsh, Scottish and Jersey sides though, and we can guarantee that in future iterations of the event they will be hitting back in full force to caoture titles themselves. Kudos to the Welsh Women's team in particular who came into the event with little Racketball experience under their belts, but competed really well alongside the strong English side.
Wales the host Nation had a really positive improvement in particular over their first foray in 2024, finishing runners up in the Men's, Women's, O40s, 50s and 60s draws, with the England B team pipping Scotland to the post in the O70s. It was great to see such enthusiasm from the Welsh players and we hope that with 2x UK Racketball events in 2026, plus the start of a Welsh Racketball team league, we can continue to see the Dragons pushing on.
With the dates for 2026 set in the diary already - 4/5/6th September at Woodford Wells and Connaught Clubs in London, we are looking forward to seeing what news sides we can get in the mix, and what strength they can bring with them!
Full results from the weekend can be found here: www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/International-Racketball-Teams-2025-Cardiff
Pictures from across the action here: www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1739940136953533&type=3
And finally some choice matches uploaded on to our Youtube Channel here: www.youtube.com/@UKRacketballGB
A huge thank you to Cardiff Squash Club and the Welsh Institute for Sport for hosting us so well at their great facilities. Made it a very easy and fun weekend having two top venues to play at. Also to Price of Bath who as the headline sponsor and ball provider for the event made it possible to get off the ground and help us grow the game to this stage. Something 18 months ago we really couldn't have imagined happening!
Until next time!
It was really impressive to see the improvement and depth of players from the Welsh, Scottish and Jersey sides though, and we can guarantee that in future iterations of the event they will be hitting back in full force to caoture titles themselves. Kudos to the Welsh Women's team in particular who came into the event with little Racketball experience under their belts, but competed really well alongside the strong English side.
Wales the host Nation had a really positive improvement in particular over their first foray in 2024, finishing runners up in the Men's, Women's, O40s, 50s and 60s draws, with the England B team pipping Scotland to the post in the O70s. It was great to see such enthusiasm from the Welsh players and we hope that with 2x UK Racketball events in 2026, plus the start of a Welsh Racketball team league, we can continue to see the Dragons pushing on.
With the dates for 2026 set in the diary already - 4/5/6th September at Woodford Wells and Connaught Clubs in London, we are looking forward to seeing what news sides we can get in the mix, and what strength they can bring with them!
Full results from the weekend can be found here: www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/International-Racketball-Teams-2025-Cardiff
Pictures from across the action here: www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1739940136953533&type=3
And finally some choice matches uploaded on to our Youtube Channel here: www.youtube.com/@UKRacketballGB
A huge thank you to Cardiff Squash Club and the Welsh Institute for Sport for hosting us so well at their great facilities. Made it a very easy and fun weekend having two top venues to play at. Also to Price of Bath who as the headline sponsor and ball provider for the event made it possible to get off the ground and help us grow the game to this stage. Something 18 months ago we really couldn't have imagined happening!
Until next time!
Just Two Weeks To Go Until the Big weekend...
With just two weeks to go until the Price of Bath sponsored International Racketball Teams weekend in Cardiff it's time to take a look at the sides and how they line up in their charge for the titles!
Men's Open: England / Scotland / Wales. First year of the event
The three sides involved are all putting out very well balanced line ups, sure to provide some great battles. England led by 8x British Champion Mike Harris look to be the favourites, but Scotland have their trump card in No 1 Matt Bedwell, their 4x National Champion, and will be looking to upset the top seeds. Hosts Wales have a solid side full of Cardiff talent and with PSA Pro Lewis Poole at the top end they can't be discounted!
Women's Open: England / Wales. First year of the event
Unfortunately due to drop outs we only have an England vs Wales Head to Head battle for the title this year. Nevertheless it is really positive for the Women's game to be able to get to this stage and we look forward to building on it in future iterations. England look to be the favourites with a very strong line up of quality and long time Racketball players, but the Welsh on home turf could spring some suprises and you never know what a vocal home crowd could bring to the table!
O40s: England / Wales / Scotland. Holders England
Last year's Champions England are back once more with a quality line up of UK Racketball Series regulars. Captained by Paul Norton, all players in the squad have beaten each other over the selection period, showcasing the strength in depth. Wales and Scotland have strengthened up since last year's inagural event however so the English guys won't have it all their own way. The Scots in particular have some really good depth themselves with the likes of Griffiths and Duff in particular showing their class over their Road to Selection process. Could be some great games across the Saturday!
O50s: England / England B Invitational / Wales / Scotland. Holders England
This could be the strongest section of the weekend and one we are really looking forward to seeing play out. England go into it as holders and with another strong line up looking to recapture the title, but Wales have pulled their own trump cards out of the bag. O50s British National Champion Jon Davies at #1 string and O55s Champion Dave Evans at #3 string for them, giving them incredible depth to their squad. With England B and Scotland bringing in a host of their respective Series regulars to battle it out too this could go down to the wire by Sunday lunchtime!
O60s: England / Jersey / Scotland / Wales. Holders Jersey
Jersey come in to this as both holders and also relative unknowns! Barring the Jersey Racketball festival we don't get to see many of their players in action so it will be interesting to see how their line up fares in their title defense. England are coming out all guns blazing as they look to recoup their loss last year, with the likes of Pat Osborn, Darren Withey and Mike Wardle joining last year's No1 John Cordeaux, giving the side some serious firepower. Scotland also lok in good shape, with their recent National Championships throwing up some great battles between their players across the 60s and 65s categories, showing how evenly balanced their team is across the strings!
O70s: England / England B Invitational / Scotland. Holders Scotland
Unfortunately again due to some drop outs we are a couple of teams short from this category, but with holders Scotland bringing the same punchy line up as last year there is certainly a lot of work for the English sides to do. The England A side led by Mr Unbeatable (currently anyway) Ian Graham, will be out for blood, and certainly have the line of players capable of bringing the trophy back down south of the wall.
It should be a brilliant weekend of Racketball action, a huge thanks to Cardiff Squash Club and Squash Wales for their support in hosting the event. Also to all the Team Managers and Captains for helping to get their sides organised and together.
Tune in via the UK Racketball Facebook page or the Racketball International Teams Instagram across the weekend of 20 + 21st September to catch updates and live streams of the action!
You can check out the team line ups here:
https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/International-Racketball-Teams-2025-Cardiff
Men's Open: England / Scotland / Wales. First year of the event
The three sides involved are all putting out very well balanced line ups, sure to provide some great battles. England led by 8x British Champion Mike Harris look to be the favourites, but Scotland have their trump card in No 1 Matt Bedwell, their 4x National Champion, and will be looking to upset the top seeds. Hosts Wales have a solid side full of Cardiff talent and with PSA Pro Lewis Poole at the top end they can't be discounted!
Women's Open: England / Wales. First year of the event
Unfortunately due to drop outs we only have an England vs Wales Head to Head battle for the title this year. Nevertheless it is really positive for the Women's game to be able to get to this stage and we look forward to building on it in future iterations. England look to be the favourites with a very strong line up of quality and long time Racketball players, but the Welsh on home turf could spring some suprises and you never know what a vocal home crowd could bring to the table!
O40s: England / Wales / Scotland. Holders England
Last year's Champions England are back once more with a quality line up of UK Racketball Series regulars. Captained by Paul Norton, all players in the squad have beaten each other over the selection period, showcasing the strength in depth. Wales and Scotland have strengthened up since last year's inagural event however so the English guys won't have it all their own way. The Scots in particular have some really good depth themselves with the likes of Griffiths and Duff in particular showing their class over their Road to Selection process. Could be some great games across the Saturday!
O50s: England / England B Invitational / Wales / Scotland. Holders England
This could be the strongest section of the weekend and one we are really looking forward to seeing play out. England go into it as holders and with another strong line up looking to recapture the title, but Wales have pulled their own trump cards out of the bag. O50s British National Champion Jon Davies at #1 string and O55s Champion Dave Evans at #3 string for them, giving them incredible depth to their squad. With England B and Scotland bringing in a host of their respective Series regulars to battle it out too this could go down to the wire by Sunday lunchtime!
O60s: England / Jersey / Scotland / Wales. Holders Jersey
Jersey come in to this as both holders and also relative unknowns! Barring the Jersey Racketball festival we don't get to see many of their players in action so it will be interesting to see how their line up fares in their title defense. England are coming out all guns blazing as they look to recoup their loss last year, with the likes of Pat Osborn, Darren Withey and Mike Wardle joining last year's No1 John Cordeaux, giving the side some serious firepower. Scotland also lok in good shape, with their recent National Championships throwing up some great battles between their players across the 60s and 65s categories, showing how evenly balanced their team is across the strings!
O70s: England / England B Invitational / Scotland. Holders Scotland
Unfortunately again due to some drop outs we are a couple of teams short from this category, but with holders Scotland bringing the same punchy line up as last year there is certainly a lot of work for the English sides to do. The England A side led by Mr Unbeatable (currently anyway) Ian Graham, will be out for blood, and certainly have the line of players capable of bringing the trophy back down south of the wall.
It should be a brilliant weekend of Racketball action, a huge thanks to Cardiff Squash Club and Squash Wales for their support in hosting the event. Also to all the Team Managers and Captains for helping to get their sides organised and together.
Tune in via the UK Racketball Facebook page or the Racketball International Teams Instagram across the weekend of 20 + 21st September to catch updates and live streams of the action!
You can check out the team line ups here:
https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/International-Racketball-Teams-2025-Cardiff
The 2025 International Racketball / Squash57 Teams event will be hosted by Squash Wales in Cardiff on 20th & 21st September, split between Cardiff Squash Club and the Welsh Institute for Sport.
It is great to have the running event for its second year in Wales as we continue to try and grow the game there. With the inaugral Welsh Open also taking place on the 5th July 2025, there are great things happening over the Severn Bridge!
It is also really exciting to have Price of Bath as our headline sponsors for this year's event. Their support is making a huge difference as to what we can do with developing the event, and also with how we are trying to grow the European game. We are looking forward to using their Racketball balls for the tournament and they themselves will be on site across the weekend with event specific deals and offers to take back with you!
The 2025 International Teams will feature the below categories, all teams will be 4 players per side:
Men's Open - new event this year!
Ladies Open - new event this year!
Over 40s - current holders - England
Over 50s - current holders - England
Over 60s - current holders - Jersey
Over 70s - current holders - Scotland
The event will abide by the WSF Rules and Regulations for Racketball / Squash57 as can be found on the below link:
https://www.worldsquash.org/squash-57/squash-57-rules/
Full info on the tournament including rules and regulations can be found on the document below, if you have any questions or you would like to enter a side please contact Mike Harris at [email protected]
It is great to have the running event for its second year in Wales as we continue to try and grow the game there. With the inaugral Welsh Open also taking place on the 5th July 2025, there are great things happening over the Severn Bridge!
It is also really exciting to have Price of Bath as our headline sponsors for this year's event. Their support is making a huge difference as to what we can do with developing the event, and also with how we are trying to grow the European game. We are looking forward to using their Racketball balls for the tournament and they themselves will be on site across the weekend with event specific deals and offers to take back with you!
The 2025 International Teams will feature the below categories, all teams will be 4 players per side:
Men's Open - new event this year!
Ladies Open - new event this year!
Over 40s - current holders - England
Over 50s - current holders - England
Over 60s - current holders - Jersey
Over 70s - current holders - Scotland
The event will abide by the WSF Rules and Regulations for Racketball / Squash57 as can be found on the below link:
https://www.worldsquash.org/squash-57/squash-57-rules/
Full info on the tournament including rules and regulations can be found on the document below, if you have any questions or you would like to enter a side please contact Mike Harris at [email protected]
| international_racketball_team_championships_rules_2025.docx.pdf |
