Welsh Open 2026 Report!

On Saturday 20th June we headed back to Cardiff Squash Club for the second edition of the Welsh Open Racketball Championships. This year saw more local entrants than ever before at one of our competitions in Wales, and it was fantastic to see them mixing with our regular travelling players. The game continues to grow steadily across Wales, with a number of clubs now boasting strong box leagues and club night setups. We're excited to see how the sport develops over the coming years.

On to the action! While it wasn't quite as hot as the temperatures forecast for the rest of the week, it was certainly warm enough, and everyone had to battle hard to secure their wins in the heat.

With all draws well subscribed, there was top-quality action throughout the day. The excitement started from match one, where in the A Grade Doubles, Gregory and Giles narrowly escaped defeat against Smith and Cassley, grinding out a hard-fought 2/1, 45-minute victory.

That match set the tone for the rest of the tournament, with plenty of excellent contests taking place across all categories. In fact, only two title winners made it through their draws without dropping a game. In the Men's A and Ladies' events, Mike Harris and Roxy Keshavarz came through unscathed, winning every match 2-0. However, both faced spirited resistance in their finals from Calli Smith and Linda Pritchard respectively.

In all the other draws, the champions had to work hard for their titles. Carl Elsby coming through a tough group stage to eventually take our Frankie Pill in the final. (Great to see another Junior in the mix for these events, great stuff Frankie!) Alexis Smith defeated Mike Gregory 2-1 in the Over 40s, while Andy Speake upset Chris Morris in a titanic 70-minute Over 50s final. Richard Murphy was also pushed all the way by Nick Billington in the Over 60s.

One of the standout matches of the day was the Over 70s final between John Herbertko and Graham Holmes. John emerged victorious 2-1, but both games went to tie-breaks, making it an incredible battle from start to finish. (10/12, 13/11, 12/10!!)
Speake and Holmes then teamed up to win the B Grade Doubles title, while Giles and Gregory overcame some early-morning sluggishness (hangover??) to claim the A Grade Doubles crown.

A huge thank you goes to Cardiff Squash Club, James and Archie Turnbull, and Rhian Davies for hosting us so well. We look forward to returning at the same time next year.

Full results can be found here:
https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-5-2026-Welsh-Racketball-Open-20th-June-Cardiff

Pictures from the day here:
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1971851823762362&type=3

And our Youtube stream of the show court here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNX9bpL4wjU&list=PLnyCpoPOuc9y-GSNN5_Dqfm-ofTEfLGY_

In the meantime, there is still time to enter our July, August and September events. None of them are fully subscribed yet, so check out the links below and get your name in the mix!

BRITISH NATIONALS - 17TH/19TH JULY:
https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/The-British-National-Racketball-Championships-2026

LONDON OPEN BEXLEY - 8TH AUGUST:
https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-7A-London-Racketball-Open-8th-August-Bexley

HARROGATE OPEN SATELLITE - 8TH AUGUST: 
https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-7B-2026-UK-Racketball-Harrogate-Open-Satellite-2026

IPSWICH OPEN SATELLITE - 5TH SEPTEMBER:
https://www.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Event-8-2026-Ipswich-Open-Satellite-5th-September