A $40,000 (£30,000) professional women’s tennis tournament is in its final two days at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton. The singles semi-finals start this morning at 10:00, the doubles final follows this afternoon, and the singles final is on Sunday. The British story this week has been quieter in singles than in doubles, where three of the four finalists are British.
What is this tournament?
The Lexus British Pro Series Roehampton is part of the ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour, the professional pathway that sits one level below the WTA Tour. Think of it as the Championship to Wimbledon’s Premier League. Players at this level are ranked roughly between 100 and 500 in the world, competing for points and prize money that can lift them toward the top tier. A strong week here can meaningfully shift someone’s career.
The tournament is part of the LTA’s domestic professional calendar, designed to give British players competitive opportunities on home soil before the grass court season begins. The NTC hosts two more Pro Series events later in the year.
Where is it?
The National Tennis Centre is on Priory Lane in Roehampton, five minutes’ walk from the Fairacres bus stop on Roehampton Lane (buses 72 and 265 among others). Opened in 2007, it is the headquarters of the Lawn Tennis Association and the training base for Britain’s professional squads. The centre has 20 courts across every Grand Slam surface. This week’s tournament is played on outdoor hard courts, the same surface as the US Open. Wimbledon qualifying takes place here each summer.
Entry to Pro Series events at the NTC appears to be free, but there is no ticketing page for this event and it is worth calling ahead to confirm: 020 8487 7296. If you cannot make it in person, the LTA streams live coverage free on YouTube. Search LTA Tennis.
Today’s doubles final: a very British affair
Today’s most unmissable match is the doubles final. Emily Appleton partners with Slovak second seed Viktoria Hruncakova as the top seeds. They face Freya Christie and Eden Silva, who are both British and seeded third. Three of the four players in the final carry the GB flag. The match follows the singles semi-finals on Court 3, with a start time to be confirmed.
Appleton and Hruncakova have been the top seeds throughout, beating Du Pree and Wagner in the quarter-finals. Christie and Silva beat Alicia Dudeney and Amelia Rajecki in their semi-final, an all-British match.
The singles semi-finals
The singles semi-finals are on Court 3 this morning, starting at 10:00:
- 10:00: Carolyn Ansari (USA, fifth seed) vs Viktoria Hruncakova (Slovakia, second seed)
- Followed by: Lina Glushko (Israel, qualifier) vs Vendula Valdmannova (Czech Republic, third seed)
Glushko’s run has been the story of the week in singles. She came through qualifying, won every match, and beat seventh seed Amandine Monnot 6-0, 6-1 in the quarter-finals. If she wins on Sunday, she will have gone from qualifying draw to title match without dropping a set.
How the British singles players did
Nine British players entered the singles main draw and qualifying combined.
Alicia Dudeney, seeded eighth, went furthest. She beat Ophelia Korpanec Davies in the first round and reached the semi-finals before losing to Hruncakova in three sets, taking the second-set tiebreak before going down in the third. Alice Gillan reached the quarter-finals, losing to Valdmannova. Katy Dunne and Allegra Korpanec Davies both reached the second round. Indianna Spink, entered as a wildcard, also won her first-round match. Esther Adeshina, Amelia Rajecki, Ruby Cooling and Victoria Allen all competed in the main draw.
The final
The singles final takes place on Sunday 26 April at the National Tennis Centre, Priory Lane, Roehampton, SW15 5JQ. Previous Roehampton tennis coverage.
