The Champions Trophy is an annual real tennis tournament held at the Royal Tennis Court at Hampton Court Palace, London, England. It is a ranking point tournament for the purposes of qualifying for the Real Tennis World Championship.[1] The event is the only professional real tennis tournament to feature a repechage system for the top four seeds after the first round.[2]
| Champions Trophy | |
|---|---|
| Tournament information | |
| Event name | Champions Trophy |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Editions | 6 |
| Location | London United Kingdom |
| Venue | Royal Tennis Court, Hampton Court |
| Category | IRTPA |
| Draw | 8S / 8Q |
| Website | royaltenniscourt.com |
| Current champions (2024) | |
| Singles |  Nick Howell |
The event was conceived as a season-end meeting of the top real tennis players in the world, bringing regular, high-quality tennis to oldest existing court in the world.[3] The inaugural event was won by incumbent World Champion Camden Riviere. Both Riviere and Robert Fahey have won the event on two occasions. Ben Taylor-Matthews has been a finalist on four occasions. In 2024, the event expanded from 4 qualifiers to 8 qualifiers, and reduced the match format from best-of-5 sets to best-of-3 sets.[4]
Past finals
edit| Year | Champions | Runners-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |  Camden Riviere |
 Ben Taylor-Matthews |
6/2 6/1 6/0 |
| 2018 | Camden Riviere |
Chris Chapman |
3/6 6/0 6/1 6/2 |
| 2019 | Robert Fahey |
John Lumley |
6/2 6/4 6/4 |
| 2020–2021 | Not held | ||
| 2022 | Robert Fahey |
Ben Taylor-Matthews |
6/2 4/6 6/2 6/3 |
| 2023 | John Lumley |
Ben Taylor-Matthews |
6/2 6/4 6/4 |
| 2024 | Nick Howell |
Ben Taylor-Matthews |
3/6 6/2 6/4 |
References
edit- ^ "Tournaments with ranking points". International Real Tennis Professionals Association. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ "Champions Trophy 2024". International Real Tennis Professionals Association. 18 June 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ "Real Tennis Champions Trophy 2024". Sports Tourism News. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ White, Tom (11 June 2024). "Royal Tennis Court announces dates for new-look Champions Trophy at Hampton Court Palace". Woking News & Mail. Retrieved 6 October 2024.