Titles retained at the London Open

Alleyn’s School, Dulwich
Saturday/Sunday, 4-5 October 2025

Stop Press A Singles tournament heavily dominated by Paulines past and present, with all four semi-finalists from the Old Paulines and the winner of the Plate also. Ed Kay continued his remarkable run of tournament wins, clocking up his fourth regional Singles title in a row at the expense of Dan Tristao. It was Ed’s fourth time of winning this title. Ollie Arnold, returned now from a stint overseas, won the Plate.

10 pairs contested a high-quality Doubles competition, which produced several three-gamers, particularly in the later stages. At the end of a long day Dan Tristao & Charlie Brooks successfully defended their title, making it a hattrick for them. It was Charlie’s 4th time, having won previously with Tom Dean, and the 9th time for Dan, who had already won 6 times with Will Ellison. Lewis Keates & James Tilston fought off a strong challenge from Penn Chai & Terry McElvaney to win the Plate in a 4-pair round robin.

Organiser Penn Chai reports: An exceptional quality field assembled at Alleyn’s School for this year’s London Open, featuring several of the country’s leading players and a number of new faces. The tournament also saw the debut of the London Open Anthem, setting the tone for an enjoyable and competitive weekend of Fives.

Singles

The singles draw was particularly strong, with defending champion and current national No. 1 Ed Kay, eight-time National Champion Dan Tristao, six-time National Champion James Toop, two-time National Schools Champion Freddie Hammond Giles, and a number of promising younger players all taking part.

One of the most challenging paths to the title belonged to Ben Beltrami, whose route potentially included Toop, Hammond Giles, Tristao and Kay. Beltrami impressed throughout, notably defeating Toop in a high-quality game before losing to Tristao in three sets in the semi-final.

In the other half of the draw, Kay overcame Julian Aquilina in straight games in the semi-final, setting up a much-anticipated final between the top two seeds. As expected, the final produced play of the highest quality, with both players demonstrating remarkable shot-making and athleticism. After two tightly contested games, Kay retained his title 11–7, 11–8, winning his third consecutive London Open Singles title and his fourth overall.

Among the earlier rounds, Theo Vernacchio and Peter Hanton contested a close three-setter, as did James Tilston and Gwydion Wiseman, while Penn Chai and Ollie Arnold met in a well-fought “battle of the left-handers”.

The Plate competition was particularly strong this year, with Arnold, Wiseman, and Terry McElvaney among the front-runners. Arnold, returning to the circuit after two years overseas, improved with each match and ultimately secured the Plate with a 15–4 win over Wiseman in the final.

Doubles

Ten pairs contested a high-standard doubles tournament, with several matches going to three games. The event ran closely to seeding in the early rounds, though not without incident — including a notable injury withdrawal after a particularly powerful quarter-final performance.

The semi-finals both went to three games. Ben Beltrami & Dan Grant defeated Ed Kay & Theo Parker after an impressive display of attacking play, while defending champions Dan Tristao & Charlie Brooks came from a set down to beat Julian Aquilina & Ollie Arnold.

The final was a fitting conclusion to an excellent weekend. Beltrami & Grant took the opening game 11–9 before Tristao & Brooks levelled 11–5. The deciding game ebbed and flowed, but the defending champions showed their experience under pressure, producing key winners at 9–8 to take the match 9–11, 11–5, 11–9 and retain their title.

This win marked a hat-trick of London Open doubles titles for Tristao & Brooks, the fourth for Brooks (including one with Tom Dean) and the ninth for Tristao, six of those alongside Will Ellison.

The Doubles Plate was played as a four-pair round robin, with Lewis Keates & James Tilston emerging victorious after a close 15–13 win against Penn Chai & Terry McElvaney in the deciding match.

Scores

Singles

1st round: P Harrison bt M Ord 11-0, 11-3; E Thursfield bt A Irastorza-Fadrique 11-4, 11-2; T Vernacchio bt P Hanton 11-9, 4-11, 11-7; J Toop bt E Carr 11-3, 11-4; T McElvaney bt N Cortas 11-4, 12-10; N Geere bt J Garratt 11-6, 11-3
2nd round: E Kay bt Harrison 11-2, 11-2; J Tilston bt G Wiseman 7-11, 11-8, 12-11; L Keates bt Thursfield 11-6, 11-7; J Aquilina bt Vernacchio 11-0, 11-0; B Beltrami bt Toop 11-7, 11-7; F Hammond Giles bt McElvaney 11-5, 11-1; P Chai bt O Arnold 11-6, 11-9; D Tristao bt Geere 11-2, 11-2
Quarter-finals: Kay bt Tilston 11-0, 11-2; Aquilina bt Keates 11-7, 11-3; Beltrami bt Hammond Giles 11-6, 11-2; Tristao bt Chai 11-0, 11-2
Semi-finals: Kay bt Aquilina 11-0,11-7; Tristao bt Beltrami 11-5, 10-12, 11-7
Final: Kay bt Tristao 11-7, 11-8

Plate Semi-finals: Wiseman bt Vernacchio 15-5; Arnold bt McElvaney 15-7
Plate Final: Arnold bt Wiseman 15-4

Doubles

1st round: J Ferro & F Hammond Giles bt E Carr & P Harrison 11-2, 11-5; P Chai & T McElvaney bt J Birch & T Hebblethwaite 11-7, 11-3

Quarter-finals: C Brooks & D Tristao bt Ferro & Hammond Giles 11-2, 11-3; J Aquilina & O Arnold bt L Keates & J Tilston 9-11, 11-7, 11-2; B Beltrami & D Grant bt J Toop & G Wiseman 0-11, 11-6, 11-5; E Kay & T Parker bt Chai & McElvaney 11-8, 11-5

Semi-finals: Brooks & Tristao bt Aquilina & Arnold 10-12, 11-4, 11-3; Kay & Parker bt Beltrami & Grant bt Kay & Parker 11-5, 4-11, 11-4

Final: Brooks & Tristao bt Beltrami & Grant 9-11, 11-5, 11-9

Plate: 1st Keates & Tilston W3; 2nd Chai & McElvaney W2; 3rd Carr & Harrison W1; 4th Birch & Hebblethwaite