NOTTINGHAM, July 21, 2025 (LTA Press Release)
China’s Zhang Shuai rounded off a dominant week by defeating France’s Harmony Tan 6-4 6-2 to claim the Lexus British Pro Series Nottingham singles title on Sunday.
A rain-affected final saw the players have to move indoors, but that didn’t throw off number one seed Shuai, who had not dropped a set all week at the Lexus Nottingham Tennis Centre. The former Wimbledon and Australian Open singles quarter finalist showed her pedigree against France’s Tan, who sat more than 200 rankings places below her opponent at the start of the week, and after riding out a tight first set began with five consecutive breaks of serve, steadied the ship to take the first 6-4. An early break in Shuai’s favour set the tone for the second set, which saw Shuai race into a 5-1 lead, and after a brief fight back from the Frenchwoman, saw Shuai seal the match 6-2.
Speaking after her win, Shuai said, “I feel super happy, it’s been a few years since I played ITF events, but… I can learn from each different opponent. I came here to try and get more points and build my singles ranking, but for sure I will come back next year!
In the doubles, the Lexus Nottingham Tennis Centre played host to a second consecutive all-British final, after last week’s Lexus Nottingham Challenger also saw an all-British showdown. The match saw the number one and two-seeded pairs face each other, with top seeds Naiktha Bains and Holly Hutchinson looking to add to their W35 title won on the same courts in early May. However, with second seeds Amelia Rajecki and Victoria Allen coming into the match having only dropped seven games all tournament, a tight affair was on the cards, and so it proved, with the first two sets decided by late breaks each way. In the champions tiebreak, Rajecki and Allen flew out of the blocks into a 3-0 lead and never let it slip, taking it and the match 10-6.
After the match, the pair said, “It was a good week, it was tough with the rain and some delays but we dealt with it really well. The final was an incredibly high level, congrats to Holly and Naiktha, and it’s unfortunate it has to go down to a tiebreak, but we started really well in the tiebreak and that was the difference.”
Tournament Director Luke Gallen spoke following the conclusion of the singles final, saying, ‘There were a few challenges with the weather but the quality of tennis throughout the week shone through here in Nottingham. It was fantastic to see so many British players competing in singles and doubles throughout the week, alongside quality players like former Wimbledon and Australian Open quarter-finalist Zhang Shuai.
A huge thank you the Lexus Nottingham Tennis Centre team, and to all the amazing ball crew, officials, supervisor, physios, stringer and drivers who all played their part in making it a great week off the back of the grass court season.’’
International tournaments such as the Lexus British Pro Series Nottingham are part of the LTA’s Performance Competitions Calendar (PCC) which provides significantly enhanced opportunities for British players at each age and stage of the performance player pathway on home soil. The calendar is designed to provide comprehensive opportunities for British players to play, earn ranking points and win prize money at home, throughout the year.
