INTERVIEW: Cesca Sweet Preps for the World Challenge
Ahead of the Ladies Rackets World Singles Challenge this May, Cesca Sweet opens up about her preparation tactics, battling Claire Fahey, and the retirement of World Champion Lea Van Der Zwalmen, who she calls “a legend.”
Some names are synonymous with Ladies Rackets, and Cesca Sweet is one of them. She’s an Open Singles Championship winner (against Claire Fahey, in 2025), as well as an Open Doubles Championship winner (with Georgie Willis, in 2022) and a World Doubles Challenge winner (with Lea Van Der Zwalmen, against Fahey & Tara Lumley, in 2023). But despite making a name for herself in the game, she has only ever been in one World Singles Challenge, which she lost to Van Der Zwalmen, in 2022.
Now Sweet is once again eyeing the top Rackets crown and spectators will see if she has what it takes to win during this year’s Ladies World Singles Challenge, where she’ll be playing against her former Real Tennis teacher, Claire Fahey, at The Queen’s Club at 11am on 10 May.
The Challenge was called after Van Der Zwalmen announced her retirement earlier this year. As Lea is the first and only World Singles Champion of the ladies game, her decision to leave the sport means a new woman will finally have the chance to take the title – automatically making this Challenge one for the history books.
With just weeks to go until the much-anticipated event, the T&RA caught up with Sweet to get her thoughts on Lea’s retirement, how the trajectory of ladies participation in Rackets could get even better, and what spectators can look forward to from her on-court battle with Fahey.
T&RA: How do you feel about Lea’s decision to step away from the game, which leaves things open for you or Claire to take the World Champion title for the first time?
Sweet: Lea mentioned this possibility when we last played together in the World Doubles last year as she has started a new job in Bordeaux and felt it was time for a change with little or nothing left to prove in the game. My own feeling is that she will always be a legend now, having won the title so many times and never been beaten in Singles Rackets. She has been a wonderful role model and ambassador for the game and I am thrilled to be able to call her a friend as well as mentor.
What is your relationship like with Claire, and how do you feel about her as an opponent?
Claire has always been very gracious and friendly towards me and I do remember having a hit with her on the Real Tennis court when I was around fourteen. After she won the British Open, she gave me a huge boost by acknowledging my pro cricket contract with Hampshire. I definitely see myself as the underdog in our upcoming match, but I’m hoping to nick a few points if I play my best!
Are you focusing on anything specific in your training to help you challenge Claire?
Honestly, my focus has been on my professional cricket career and my Master’s degree. Between Hampshire training and my dissertation, I’ve only managed a few sessions with Lea. However, thanks to my S&C work, I should be able to compete throughout if the game goes long.
What are your thoughts about the growth of the Ladies game in the time you’ve been playing Rackets?
Credit must go to Ben Bomford at Queen’s; his Sunday sessions have been brilliant for bringing in new players. That said, I think we could do more by looking at the millions of women playing squash worldwide, which is how Lea started. If we can capture a fraction of that interest, Rackets could see the same momentum we’re seeing in women’s sports.
The T&RA also spoke with Claire Fahey about the 2026 Ladies Rackets World Singles Challenge. To read her interview, click here.
