Yorkshire duo Kyle Edmund and Paul Jubb enjoy wins on return to Ilkley Tennis Open
East Yorkshire duo Kyle Edmund and Paul Jubb moved one step closer to main draw action at the Ilkley Open with victories on the tournament’s opening day.
Former Australian Open semi-finalist Edmund, 30, stormed to a 6-2 6-2 victory against qualifying’s number one seed – Yasutaka Uchiyama of Japan – in a rematch of last week’s Birmingham Challenger encounter.
“I’m very happy with the performance. I played him last week and got beat in a similar scoreline, so it’s about learning from that,” said Edmund, who once ranked 14th in the world.
Now sitting at a ranking of 466 after overcoming several injuries in recent years, the Beverley man is taking things one step at a time.
“I wanted to start the match off really solid, not making too many errors, but just imposing myself. The way the ball came off the racket as the match went along got better and better.
“I think the only time I’ve played in Ilkley was when it was David Lloyd Hull against Ilkley in a National League match when I was around 11 or 12.
“It’s as close to home as it gets, and it’s also nice because I spent a lot of time on the sidelines. There’s another one tomorrow to hopefully qualify, so I can’t get too ahead of myself.”
Meeting Edmund in the final round of qualifying is the highly-rated young American, Zachary Svajda, who reached the semi-finals in Ilkley last year and got his 2025 campaign underway with a 6-1 6-1 win over Britain’s Charles Broom.
Hull’s Paul Jubb returned to Ilkley for the first time since his breakout run to the third round in 2019. In a heavily rain-interrupted match, 25-year-old Jubb overcame Wales’ James Story, ranked 578, in three close sets 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 7-6 (7-4) in 2 hours 24 minutes.
“It was really tricky coming into the match. I flew in from America yesterday. So, jetlagged and literally had 30 minutes [practice] before the match, I just tried to do my best,” 254-ranked Jubb reflected.
He will face fellow-Brit Giles Hussey in a battle to make the main draw after the 28-year-old beat Omar Jasika of Australia.
Leeds-born Naiktha Bains, 27, fell in the first round of qualifying in three sets to China’s Han Shi 4-6 6-2 1-6. Ella McDonald, 20, of Preston made a winning start on her return to Ilkley after her quarter-final run in 2024, beating Manon Leonard of France, while British trio Amelia Rajecki, Stuart Parker, and Oliver Crawford all progressed to the final qualifying round.