England duo Nick Wall and Torrie Malik advanced to their maiden British National Squash Championships finals after launching thrilling comebacks on an action-packed semi-finals night at St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club in Weybridge.
The no.5 seeds both found themselves one game away from defeat in their respective matches against Curtis Malik and Alicia Mead, but fought back in dramatic style to set up dates with top seeds Joel Makin and Tesni Murphy in tomorrow’s finals.
After receiving a quarter-final walkover following the injury withdrawal of Mohamed ElShorbagy, Wall started his match against no.3 Malik without a single second of competitive action on the all-glass court this week.
Malik took full advantage of this in the early stages as he roared into a quick-fire two-game lead, with Wall struggling to find his marks at the front of the court.
However, Wall showed great guts to draw his way back into the contest, saving a match ball in both scrappy fourth and fifth games, before eventually sealing a thrilling 3-11, 8-11, 11-7, 15-13, 12-10 victory.
After the match, Wall said: “I was very frustrated in those first two games, I literally couldn’t keep the ball out of the tin. Curtis is always a tough opponent and I thought he played really well in those first two.
“After those first two, I said I’m going to let go of my ego, not worry about my squash and just try and battle it out and not give him six tins a game at least!”
Wall’s opponent in the title decider will be two-time champion Joel Makin, who produced a performance of the highest quality to overturn an early 1-0 deficit to defeat up-and-coming talent Jonah Bryant.
In a match filled with relentless, brutal rallies, it was World no.4 Makin who came on strong in the latter stages of the crucial third and fourth games to book his spot in the final by a 6-11, 11-2, 11-5, 11-4 scoreline.
Makin said: He [Jonah] brought some skill level, he’s got elastic speed, he’s quick into the front and he’s dangerous. He’s a nice lad and he’s going to be a problem as he gets older, but for now I’m going to keep dragging him into deep water and make it miserable for him as much as I can!
“I found a bit of a gap as the match went on, but I enjoyed that with him, he’s a good lad and there were probably five decisions and none were contentious, moving around each other, all four corners – you can’t complain.
Meanwhile, in the women’s draw, no.5 seed Torrie Malik continued her career-best run at the British Nationals with a five-game victory over no.7 seed Alicia Mead.
Mead, who was playing her first match of the week after receiving walkovers in her previous two matches against Lucy Turmel and Lowri Roberts, impressed for large portions of the match, using smart angles to disrupt the movement patterns of Malik.
However, after falling 2-1 down, Malik found a second wind to firstly force a deciding game, and then carry that momentum through to seal a 12-14, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-3 win.
After the match, the 21-year-old said: “She [Alicia Mead] played really well and coming into a semi-final match [without playing due to injury withdrawals] is never easy.
“She was match-ready anyway, she played really well and I had to make sure I was focused. I was a little bit tired in that third game, but then brought it back to 2-2 and I felt like I was moving better.”
Two-time champion Tesni Murphy was the last winner of the evening as she overcame no.4 seed Grace Gear in straight games.
The Welshwoman, champion in 2018 and 2019, ensured her quest for a third title continued following an impressive 11-8, 11-9, 11-4 win over 27-year-old Gear.
Results – Women’s Semi-Finals: British National Squash Championships 2025
[1] Tesni Murphy (WAL) bt [4] Grace Gear (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-4 (37m)
[5] Torrie Malik (ENG) bt [7] Alicia Mead (ENG) 3-2: 12-14, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-3 (50m)
Results – Men’s Semi-Finals: British National Squash Championships 2025
[1] Joel Makin (WAL) bt [3] Jonah Bryant (ENG) 3-1: 6-11, 11-2, 11-5, 11-4 (66m)
[5] Nick Wall (ENG) bt [4] Curtis Malik (ENG) 3-2: 3-11, 8-11, 11-7, 15-13, 12-10 (79m)
Schedule: Finals
15:00 [1] Tesni Murphy (WAL) v [5] Torrie Malik (ENG)
15:40 [1] Joel Makin (WAL) v [5] Nick Wall (ENG)