Leamington Royals aim for place in SSL final

The Royals are the only unbeaten team in the SSL, having won four games – including a 3-1 win in February in the reverse fixture against Thursday’s Surrey-based opponents, St George’s Hill Knights - and one draw.

The Royals lie second in the table, with the top two going to the Final in Winchester on Friday, June 20, and the Royals’ destiny is very much in their own hands. Chichester Centurions, who have completed their fixtures, are top and await either the Royals or the third placed Knights.

Mathematically, the Royals need to win only one of the four games on Thursday to secure their final spot but will be looking to ensure they complete the group stage unbeaten.

It has been a fantastic 12 months for the Leamington club; on top of their successes in the SSL, the club’s Men’s team was crowned National Club Champions for the first time in 2024 and went on to finish fourth in the European Club Championships.

Last weekend the Men’s team joined the Ladies’ Team in qualifying for the semi-finals of the 2025 National Club Championships. The Men had a 3-1 win at Hunts County in Cambridgeshire, represented by their two Warwickshire League pros, Owain Taylor and Rory Richmond, and their top two juniors, Sam Cross and Harry Mander.

The Ladies had already reached the semi-finals, winning their group earlier in the month through Leonie Holt, Becky Symmons, Aimee O’Connell and Nic Howell-Manning.

Last time out in the SSL, the Royals all but qualified for the Final, winning 3-1 at the Bristol Buccaneers. Only a last-ditch win by Bristol’s 2017 World Champion and former WR1, Mohamed el Shorbagy, pushed matters out to the deciding weekend after wins for Ben Smith, Sam Osborne-Wylde and Satomi Watanabe had put the Royals in a commanding 3-0 lead.

With the world’s best players in the Midlands for the British Open starting on Saturday, the packed house at the Royals is in line for a mouth-watering set of games, as both teams name their top male and female professionals for this fixture.

It promises to be a great match up and all streamed globally live on Squash TV.

The Royals’ team will be spearheaded for the third time by Victor Crouin (WR14) - the talismanic French #1 and the reigning European champion. Crouin may be unbeaten in the SSL so far, but he will be the underdog tomorrow as he faces the Welsh #1 and WR5 Joel Makin.

Makin is on his way back from an injury which forced him out of the 2025 World Championships earlier this month but will be eager to put on a show for a crowd who know him well from his many years training down the road in Solihull.

The ladies’ pro match sees Royals’ Satomi Watanabe (WR9), the Japanese #1, fresh off the back of finishing second in the Palm Hills Open in Cairo on Tuesday, looking to continue her unbeaten run in a Royals shirt against another in-form player in Jazz Hutton (WR18 and England #2). Hutton recently won the deciding game for England in the European Team Championships in Poland and will be looking for revenge after Watanabe just pipped her in the reverse fixture.

The U25 game is a female clash and again promises to be a stunner, with an all-England cross-pennine thriller between two players who are well known to each other through the England Squash junior circuit. Manchester’s Saran Nghiem (WR56), Harvard’s#1 and the 2024 CSA Individual National Champion, makes her Royals’ debut against the Knights’ Asia Harris (WR93), the 2023 European Junior Champion from Pontefract.

The team captains and Club ‘heroes’ will be first on court and both sides have opted to give their best juniors airtime tomorrow.

The Royals will be led by 16-year-old Sam Cross, who beat fellow junior Damian Duckett (Coolhurst Cavaliers) on night one of SSL 24/25. Cross is currently ranked #4 in England at U17s and will be taking on the Knights’ Indie Flint, who was England #4 at U17 until he turned 17 this month. With Squash Levels of c11000 vs 10900 and a win over each other in the last 12 months, it promises to get the evening off to an exciting start.

Royals’ team manager and head coach, Jason Pike, said: “We’re really looking forward to our final group fixture against the Knights. Both teams are stacked with quality. Tickets sold out in less than ten minutes and the crowd are sure to be in for a great night of entertainment.

"We want to remain unbeaten and so qualify for the Final, but the main (and first) aim is to ensure we get to the Final by winning one of the matches. However, every game is too close to call, so any result is possible. Hopefully, we can get the job done early and relax and enjoy the rest of the evening. It will be a special night for all, but especially for Sam and Indie playing as club heroes and captains in front of such a big crowd and live on TV.

“As always, none of this would have been possible without our sponsors, Napton Cidery and Arrow Precision Engineering, who are both associated with the club, and who have agreed to support this opportunity and help bring world class squash to our doorstep. A massive thanks to them for their continued support.”