Dylan Roberts and Emily Coulcher-Porter won the Under 19 Don Sanderson trophies to add their names to the Roll of Honour at the 2025 Squash Travel by Nirvana British Junior Championships in Sheffield.
In the 51st edition of the event, co-hosted by Hallamshire, Abbeydale and Fulwood squash clubs, Roberts (Kent) and Coulcher-Porter (Bucks), both second seeds, lifted the prestigious titles with victories of contrasting styles.
England no.3 Roberts battled back from two games down and a blood injury to his left knee to record a brilliant 11-13, 7-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-4 victory over [1] Ronnie Hickling (Surrey) in the BU19 showpiece on Abbeydale’s all-glass court.
Roberts, who claimed the BJC BU17 title two years ago, said: “The U19 is the big one everyone wants to win, so it definitely feels nice winning it. I’ve put in a lot of hard work recently, so I felt fine physically at 2-0 down. At that point, I told myself to push up, control the T and I managed to get the reward in the end.”
In the GU19 final, [2] Coulcher-Poulter (Bucks) lifted her second BJC title, having won the GU17 in 2023. The England and European no.1 showcased her unique ambidextrous style to great effect in beating [5/7] Megan Light (Hants) 13-11, 11-5, 11-6. On Friday, Light had knocked out an injury-affected Mariam Eissa (Warwicks), the top seed and defending champion, in the quarter-finals.
Coulcher-Porter said: “It’s an amazing feeling. This is a title I’ve been wanting to get for a long time. It’s been a tough few months as I’ve been quite ill, so bouncing back to where I was fitness-wise and winning here is something special. It means so much.”
[1] Harriet Broadbridge (Hants) defended her GU17 title with an 8-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-4 defeat of [2] Ameerah Ismail (Warwicks). Broadbridge won the French Junior Open U17 title earlier this year and played a starring role in England’s U17 European Mixed Team Championships-winning side in May.
In what was arguably Sunday’s best final, [2] Gabriel Chak (Surrey) clawed his way back from two games down to conquer county team-mate [1] Luke McBride 8-11, 11-13, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 in the BU17. Losing a tight second game to a contested no let decision seemed likely to deflate the England no.1, but he fought back valiantly to lift his first BJC trophy.
Gabriel’s younger sister, England no.1 and second seed Esther Chak (Surrey), earlier won the GU15 title by beating [1] Phoebe Griffiths (Hants) 11-5, 11-9, 11-5. Chak had twice been a BJC runner-up in 2021 (GU11) and 2023 (GU13).
There was a surprise in the BU15 as 5/8 seed Kai Miller (Warwicks) defeated top seed Alexander Koa-Wing (Middx) 11-4, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9.
In the BU13, second seed Logan Willstrop (Yorks) emulated the achievement of his father James by lifting the BJC title, toppling top seed Ben Lamond (Dorset) 11-6, 11-4, 11-6. Willstrop Snr was an eight-time former winner of BJC titles before going on to become world no.1, Commonwealth Games gold medallist and England’s all-time record appearance maker.
GU13 top seed Siona Mishra (Warwicks) collected her second BJC title, having won the GU11 in 2023, by conquering [5/8] Heidi Hales of Wales 11-6, 11-5, 12-10.
Like Mishra, [1] Archibald McLeod (Warwicks) marched to the BU11 title without dropping a game, the England no.1 finishing with an 11-6, 11-5, 11-3 triumph over [3/4] Mitaire Onoge (Lancs).
The top two seeds contested the GU11 final in which England no.1 Abigail Zeng (Avon) took the trophy with an 11-5, 11-7, 11-1 win over [2] Arya Knobbs (Warwicks).
[1] Maebh Lovely (Lancs) was a thoroughly dominant champion in the GU9, winning all four group matches in straight games including the concluding contest with second seed Lani Campion (Yorks) 11-0, 11-6, 11-3. [5] India Stone (Surrey) was runner-up.
[1] Cristian Law (Herts) added the BJC BU9 title to the English crown he won in February by defeating [2] Luke Woodward (Hants) 11-3, 11-3, 12-10, sailing through the draw without dropping a game. Logan Willstrop’s younger brother Bram won the bronze.
Re-watch Sunday’s action from the 2025 Squash Travel by Nirvana British Junior Championships on the official tournament website.
Squash Travel by Nirvana British Junior Championships – 2025 finals day results
B9 SF [1] Cristian Law 3-0 [3/4] Bram Willstrop 11-3, 11-2, 11-2
G11 [1] Abigail Zeng 3-0 [2] Arya Knobbs 11-5, 11-7, 11-1
B9 SF [2] Luke Woodward 3-0 [3/4] Oliver Hampshaw 11-9, 11-2, 11-9
B11 [1] Archibald McLeod 3-0 [3/4] Mitaire Onoge 11-6, 11-5, 11-3
G13 [1] Siona Mishra 3-0 [5/8] Heidi Hales 11-6, 11-5, 12-10
B13 [2] Logan Willstrop 3-0 [1] Ben Lamond 11-6, 11-4, 11-6
G15 [2] Esther Chak 3-0 [1] Phoebe Griffiths 11-5, 11-9, 11-5
B15 [5/8] Kai Miller 3-1 [1] Alexander Koa-Wing 11-4, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9
G17 [1] Harriet Broadbridge 3-1 [2] Ameerah Ismail 8-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-4
G9 1st [1] Maebh Lovely 2nd [5] India Stone round robin
B17 [2] Gabriel Chak 3-2 [1] Luke McBride 8-11, 11-13, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8
B9 F [1] Cristian Law 3-0 [2] Luke Woodward 11-3, 11-3, 12-10
G19 [2] Emily Coulcher-Porter 3-0 [5/8] Megan Light 13-11, 11-5, 11-6
B19 [1] Ronnie Hickling v [2] Dylan Roberts 13-11, 11-7, 4-11, 7-11, 11-4
