The 2025 Capital International Senior Restricted (Opens) Tournament took place on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th September.
Saturday began with the Open Singles. In Group A, top seed Alex Buck topped the group after a competitive final group match against Matt Gawne, winning 21–16, 21–17, and booking his place in the final. In Group B, Martin Cheung secured top spot to reach the semi-finals, where he faced Tommy Cheng, the winner of Group C. Cheung prevailed in straight games, 21–15, 21–13, to reach the final against Buck. The final proved to be one of the closest of the weekend. Martin took the first game 21–10 before Alex fought back to win the second 16–21. In the deciding game, 17-year-old Martin held his nerve to win 21–15, claiming his first, and surely not his last, senior singles title.
In the Ladies singles no1 seed Kitty Thomas took group A comfortably beating Ameya Malikreddy 21-10 21-8, and in Group B Abbi Mellor secured her spot in the final after a close game with Jess Thornton winning 21-17 21-19. In the final, Kitty continued her excellent form, taking the title convincingly 21–11, 21–8, her third Island singles title.
Later on Saturday, the doubles events began. In Group A of the Open Doubles, defending champions Matt Nicholson & Martin Cheung topped the group, winning all three matches comfortably in straight sets. In Group B, the experienced pair Baillie Watterson & Steven Quayle also advanced with relative ease. The final was a fiercely contested affair, with Nicholson & Cheung defending their title 21–18, 21–17, despite late scares in both sets when their opponents closed the gap from 20–13 and 21–14. This marked their second title as a pair and an eighth Island doubles title for Matthew.
The ladies’ doubles followed a similar pattern. Top seeds Mia Kirk & Annelise Mellor topped Group A, while Philippa Li & Kitty Thomas led Group B, neither pair dropping more than 11 points in a game.
In the final, Philippa and Kitty took control early, winning the first game 21–11. They maintained their dominance in the second, sealing the match 21–10. It was their first title together as a pair, Kitty’s first doubles title, and Philippa’s fourth.
Sunday saw the mixed doubles event, with a strong entry of 13 pairs promising a competitive day.
In Group A, it was great to see Tobey Cheng back on court after his Achilles injury in March. Partnered with Philippa Li, he narrowly missed out on the semi-finals after a tight match against Baillie Watterson & Kayleigh Callow, losing 22–20, 21–19.
Group B was dominated by Matt Nicholson & Mia Kirk, while Group C saw Martin Cheung & Annelise Mellor top the standings. In Group D, the closest group match of the day came between double champion Kitty Thomas and partner Benji Li and Tommy Cheng & Jess Thornton. After Thomas and Li won the first game 21–8, Cheng & Thornton fought back to take the second 21–16, and led for much of the third before narrowly losing 21–18.
The first semi-final was an epic. Cheung & Mellor took the opening game 21–16 against Watterson & Callow and led 19–13 in the second before Watterson & Callow staged a brilliant comeback to take it 22–20. The deciding game followed a similar pattern, with Cheung & Mellor holding match points at 20–16, only for Watterson & Callow to pull off another stunning comeback to win 23–21.
In the other semi-final, Nicholson & Kirk were dominant, defeating Li & Thomas in straight sets. They carried that form into the final, beating Watterson & Callow 21–7, 21–13 to claim their third mixed doubles title in five years.
A massive thank you to our sponsors Capital International for their ongoing support, to the umpires for their dedication throughout the weekend, and to Roberta Cannell, Chairman of the IOMBA, for presenting the trophies.
