loskas loot broxbourne medals!

It was a Ryan and Paul double act at the Silverhook sponsored East of England Open at Broxbourne on Saturday! 

We returned for another year to one of our most popular series event venues - Broxbourne Sports club in Hertfordshire. This club is home to Ladies National Champion Amber Marshall and has always drawn a packed out entry list. This year was no exception, with draws like the A Grade, over 40s, over 50s and Doubles all very well subscribed with some fantastic players in the mix.

With matches running from 9am through to 8pm across the five courts, it was a flat out day of action and those that came through on top at the end certainly earned their medals!

Paul Loska has already thrown down the gauntlet in the over 70s category it seems, as he took the title on Saturday over a strong lineup including John Herbetko in the final. Off of the back of his Scottish open win in January, he is fast looking like being one of the front runners in the age group this year.

A full 16 draw in the over 60s is always fantastic to see, this time headed up by the two tyrants of the category, Patrick Osborn and Jon Cordeaux. Good friends and doubles partners, they fought their way through the MONRAD draw to another final against each other, where John turned the tables once again, taking the win to one. Patrick’s heart rate hitting over 210 bpm at one point! We could see a very interesting back and forth between these two this year...

Another strong over 50s lineup had several players all looking for vital top finishing positions to benefit their England selection push. Nick Billington getting a great win against Mervyn Davies in the group stage, but then being overturned by Phil Hall in the semis. In the end, the languid lefty Steve Smith proved that his meteoric rise over the last six months in the age group is no fluke, taking down Hall once again in the final 2/0. 

The over 40s draw saw the return of Alexis Smith to the category, and with the memory of their feisty battle in this event last year in the back of their mind, Ryan Loska must’ve been well up for the challenge. Another no holds barred battle insured, Loska getting one back on Smith taking the title in a well fought 2/1 final.

It was great to have a Ladies draw with seven entrants and a couple of new faces alongside some top players such as Amber Marshall, Jasmin and Danni Kalar. There was no stopping Marshall however, as she took out both of the sisters in an imperious display on her home turf to take the title without dropping a game.

In a busy B Grade, there was a great mix of matches across the day, ending up in a final showdown between two South Coast sluggers in James Dean and Paul Sitch. Dean has not had much luck in the finals of B grades, having reached several over the last year or so without pushing through with a win. However this time he finally overturned that streak, taking down Paul two games to one! A great win for one of the nicest guys in the series (who now may have to play up in A Grade...)

We had an incredibly punchy A grade lineup with a lot of our top series regulars in the draw, fleshed out by the addition of 2024 British Open Semifinalist Gary Naidoo, and one of Racketballs most talented hitters Ted Jeal. Despite Gary‘s metronomic retrieval and precision play, Ted hitting ability and nous was too much for the South African, giving him a hard fought 2/1 win.

Finally to the Doubles. And with the first match of the day between Marshall and Bishop against Smith and Lloyd going the distance for an incredibly tight 2/1 win to the former, we knew that we were in for a day of entertainment. In the end it was the home duo of Bishop and Marshall who came through the obstacle course of opponents, being particularly pushed by Fennel and Osborne in the group stage as well (second game going to 21/19), and also a highly entertaining final against Kershaw and Norton. Talk about earning the victory!

A really top day of games at Broxbourne, a massive thank you to Silverhook motor supplies for sponsoring the event, your support is really appreciated and helped make a great day for the players. Thank you also to Nicky Horn and Nick Jenkins for running the event in Mike’s absence, you guys did a fantastic job to keep it all going smoothly and finishing on time.

Full results can be found on Sporty HQ here :

www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-2-2025-East-of-England-Racketball-Open-8th-February-Broxbourne

Our next event are the 22nd of March North East of England open at Hallamshire, there are still spaces left in the entry. Don’t miss out and get your name down here:

https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-3-2025-North-East-of-England-Racketball-Open-23rd-March-Hallamshire-Sponsored-by-Abbe​

Following this we then have the 19th of April Central open at East Gloucestershire Squash and Tennis Club in Cheltenham, this one is also starting to get very busy, get your entry in here:

www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-4-2025-19th-April-Central-England-Open-Cheltenham

Both the 2025 Series and England Road to Selection rankings will be updated by the end of this week so keep an eye out, otherwise thanks everyone for playing and look forward to seeing you soon!