Cambridge Open serves Up a Barrage of Battles!

We were back on UK Racketball Series action after a little hiatus over April, and it was great to revisit a really friendly and welcoming club in the Peterborough Sports Club.

​With a two month gap since our previous Series event at the start of March, our players were ready and raring to go, and all draws were really busy! This is a crucial period in the Karakal UK Racketball Series calendar as we have the British National Championships looming soon in July, plus only a couple more qualifying events for England selection! So very much time to get down to business and win some tough games...

- In the A Grade, Ted Jeal & Calli Smith (both vying for England selection spots) managed to battle their way through to the final. Both having some decent tests along the way. Ted managing to overturn his 2025 British National Champs quarter final loss to Calli by taking the win 2/0 in an entertaining and flowing final!

- The B Grade was retained by the lefty Sam Morris, who took out regular opponent Tommy Meadows in a great 2/1 win. This is not Sam's first B Grade title, and with a cheeky little Squash57 Levels boost to his name, he may find himself bumped up into the A Grade jungle next time round!

- A really busy (12 in total!) Ladies draw was absolutely fantastic to see. Highlighting the positive increase in numbers we have had in this category in the last 18 months or so, and it was brilliant to have a mix of local and travelling players involved. Including some first timers! England Captain Jasmin Kalar was in fine form, taking the title without dropping a game, though she was pushed well in the final by emerging player Linda Pritchard, who's late season form is making her hopes of England selection look ever more possible!

- The usual battle royale recommenced in the O50s draw, with a lot of the top dogs back in action looking for vital Series and Selection ranking points. The current top 3 in the list - Speake, Smith and Hall all made it through to the finals group, where they proceeded to knock chunks out of each other! Once the dust settled, Andy Speake came through as champion, pipping Steve Smith 16/14 in the 3rd (2/1) to take the win. A quality effort to win through such a strong draw!

- With Osborn and Cordeaux sitting this one out, the O60s draw was wide open and there was a great chance for a bunch of players to scoop up some key points. Jim Muirhead and Darren Withey getting past some tricky early rounds to set up an important final, with both needing a title to really start to cement their selection chances. Muirhead playing a blinding match to beat Withey 2/0, showing that he could be a tricky customer and one to watch out for when it comes to the O60s Nationals in July...

- A great 8 draw in the O70s event feature a top line up of travelling regulars and some very tight matches across the day. National and British Open Champion Andy Mitchell not having it all his own way with a tough battle vs Paul Clarke in particular. the other box saw Graham Holmes and Paul Hudson-Oldnall tieing at the top, Paul scraping though based on overall points won across the matches! Mitchell however then reasserted his class and current dominance in the category, taking the final 2/0. A great effort by all though!

- The Doubles always throws up some entertaining fare, and this event was no exception, with 4 pairings in the A and then 6 in the B! Every single category covered, with players from the A and Ladies through to the O70s all involved, a great way to show how inclusive Racketball doubles can be! In the end, the A Grade pairing of Jeal & Marshall were too strong for the rest of the challengers, not dropping a game on their way through to getting the win. The Surrey duo of Hall & Burton battled through some great B Grade matches, managing to win 2/1 in each round, taking out the Dover team of Meadows & Tyler in a great final. (Tommy stepping in to replace poor Nic Barnes who managed to break one of his fingers in the very first doubles match of the day! Get fixed up ASAP buddy!)

A brilliant day of Series action with a fantastic group of players! A huge thanks to everyone who took part and made it all so fun. Also thanks to Andy & Tanya Ruff and the Peterborough Club crew who made us feel so welcome across the day. Bacon sandwiches to die for! We look forward to coming back again in 2027.

Full results from the day can be found here: www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-4-2026-Cambridge-Open-16th-May-Peterborough

And pictures from some of the matches on our Facebook page here (big thanks Michelle Meadows for taking the photo duty on the day!!): www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1940343110246567&type=3

See you all at the A/B/Ladies Intercounty Teams, or at the Welsh Open in Cardiff in June!