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INTERVIEW: Claire Fahey On Her Rackets Journey and Prepping for the Ladies World Challenge

Claire Fahey is quite the record-breaker in the game of Real Tennis. She is the first female to play in the main draw of three of the four Men's Opens, the first female player to reach a semi final stage in the Men’s Opens, and she recently won an impressive 50th Open title, which ties her with her record-breaking husband, Rob Fahey. She is now eyeing yet another feat that would land her in the history books: being the first player to hold both the Real Tennis World Champion and Rackets World Champion titles. 

Fahey will be battling for the Rackets crown at The Queen’s Club on 10 May during the Ladies World Singles Challenge, where she’ll be going head-to-head with Cesca Sweet in what’s already being called a momentous occasion. 

The Challenge was called after Lea Van Der Zwalmen announced her retirement earlier this year. As Lea is the first and only World Champion of the ladies game, her decision to step aside means a new woman will finally have the chance to claim the title.

With just weeks to go until the World Challenge, the T&RA caught up with Fahey to get her take on Lea’s retirement and how it affects the game, the growth of ladies participation in Rackets, and what spectators can expect from her on-court battle with Cesca Sweet, who Fahey says is her equal in this challenging, fast-paced sport. 

T&RA: This interview is obviously about the Rackets World Challenge, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t first congratulate you on winning your 50th Open title in Real Tennis!

Fahey: Thank you so much.

What does that achievement mean to you? 

It was a really nice milestone to tick off. Boston did a great job when they hosted. They were very generous and I got an honorary membership of the club, so there were lots of things to kind of mark that milestone. I didn't really think of it a lot, but it's nice to be reminded when you get to a big number like that. 

And maybe even more worthy of celebration as it ties you with your husband, Rob Fahey, who also has 50 Open wins! 

That's right. When I got back I said, "Well, are we going to celebrate?" And he goes, "Why? You haven't [beat me yet]." [Laughs] This is a tough household to crack! We did celebrate a bit, but there's one more to go before I can claim to be best in the house!

He was in retirement but we're all a little bit unclear of his status, as he's played in some tournaments since, so is there a possibility he'll enter into more events so that you can't officially take over?

There's always that worry! [Laughs] With him, you never know. There is always that worry. 

Speaking of retirement, the Ladies World Challenge is obviously taking place on the heels of Lea Van Der Zwalmen announcing her retirement. How do you feel about her decision to step away from the game, which leaves this open for you or Cesca to take the title?

I am just focused on playing Cesca and preparing the best I can.  Lea has decided to retire and that’s her decision.  I’m focusing on what I can control and that is my preparation for the match.

In the history of the challenge, you've been the one who has come closest to toppling Lea from her position as World Champion, and considering you're in fantastic shape at the moment and have really been proving yourself in the game, are you disappointed to not have the opportunity to challenge her and prove that you DO have what it takes to beat her and become World Champion in your own right?

My focus is on becoming World Champion, regardless of who I play.  I respect Cesca and know I’ll have to be at my very best to beat her. I learned a lot from the last World Challenge.  Last time round I was hitting and hoping and now I have a much deeper Rackets knowledge and experience.  I know I'm a better Rackets player now than I was then.  Full respect to Cesca -- I think we're probably honours evens in our head-to-head, and by no means do I think I am going into this with an advantage or as the better player. Sure it’s shame that Lea doesn't want to step out there and put everything on the line, but it doesn’t change anything for me.  If I want to win, my performance needs to be worthy of a world title, no matter who it’s against.

Are you focusing on anything specific in your training to help you take on Cesca?

No, but just more broadly speaking, I’m playing more Rackets. Last time I was lacking in match practice, so I've played a lot more matches, which is really key on the serve and the return. It felt like last time I was just running around and hitting a ball and it was just going well, but obviously you need all that experience on those big moments to call upon, and I didn't really have that. I was going on blind luck. So this time, I'm coming at it hopefully with some more luck, but also obviously with a lot more experience. 

You have definitely proved that when you focus on something, you can pretty much achieve anything. In the videos that you share on social media, we see that you put in the work and you don't just rely on luck. You work hard to get where you are. 

A lot of the scorelines can sometimes reflect that it's very easy and that you can go out there and just wander around, but every match is really hard and you're only gaining those results because of the hard work that is going on behind the scenes. People see a scoreline and think it's all very easy, "Did you break a sweat? Was it hard?" And I say, "Yes. Every single match is hard." Whether it's Real Tennis or Rackets, matches are phenomenally hard, and I think this new format of Best of 7 will not only be a battle tactically, it's going to be huge physically and mentally, as well. It's totally new, so that throws something different out there, too. 

What is your relationship like with Cesca?

I coached her a bit when she was a junior for Real Tennis, just before she won the Junior Real Tennis world title, deservedly so. She came through the LRTA Junior Academy. Other than that, we largely haven't passed each other on the Real Tennis court in a competitive situation, but from memory, we have had maybe three or four Rackets matches...  I have huge respect because she's such a good athlete and she's a very fair competitor. I remember losing to her [in the 2025 British Open] and coming off court and shaking hands and being like, "I just got beaten by the better person." And again, I hope that has made me into a better player today, because you're learning from that. So it was nice the last time [at the 2026 British Open] to turn the tables, but by no means do I feel in any way, shape or form that that is a right of passage to run through this world title. For me, it's definitely a 50/50. 

Both Real Tennis and Rackets are quite small worlds and we see a lot of the same people playing each other, so I think it’s exciting for the spectators to see two people who don't play each other very often.

Absolutely! And not like someone has got a huge head-to-head record, 10-1 or whatever it may be. So it is fun that it's live. I mean obviously all matches are live, but with the greatest respect to all of my Real Tennis competitors at the moment, the finals are probably not live. It's definitely an element of, "If Claire does everything right, there shouldn't be too much of a stress for who is going to take the title." But I feel like on the Rackets court, it's a bit [more unpredictable]. 

Do you know how the process worked of how you and Cesca were chosen for the Challenge? It's a little different than usual with Lea having made the decision to retire. 

I believe there was a precedent set in the men's game when James Stout abdicated the title and then it went to a straight challenge between the top two, between Tom Billings and Alex Duncliffe-Vines. I think that was the reasoning behind it, like, "That's what happened with the boys, and we're just going to do it that way again." And I respect that, and I also agree with that in one sense. Cesca and I are complete outliers with our ranking points, so there is an argument to be made of, "These are the outright two leaders without Lea in the question." But what I think is unfair, is that those two people missed out on challenging-- India Deakin, Sophia Mordant, maybe Tara Lumley, I can't remember how that looked -- but anyway, they've been working really hard let's say for two years, and then just because someone else doesn't want to play, it's like, "Oh, you don't get the chance." The strength of women’s Rackets is improving all the time and to change the goal posts close to the match, it’s really hard. Obviously I'm on the right side of things, but I don't want to not voice that just because it fell in my favour. I know full well that two years is a very long time to wait, so I’d probably be advocating for a world title challenge quite soon, maybe in one year instead of two years. I think that would be a nice middle ground and would generally be fairer for all involved, and to those who missed out.

You have a long history in Real Tennis, but you actually started playing Rackets some time ago as well, right?

Yes, I kind of dabbled in Rackets when Rob and I were both based at Queen's Club. We were based there from 2011 or 2012 to 2015, and that was just around the time when Neptune was a major sponsor and they were sponsoring some Women's Rackets and it was kind of a "Will you come and play? We're trying to get Women's Rackets off the ground." So I think I probably played in the first British Open way back when. It was kind of hilarious because it was made up of a couple of Real Tennis players and a couple of squash players -- there weren't actually any female Rackets players, it was just conversions of other sports. But you've got to start somewhere. 

Exactly, and now look where Women’s Rackets is!

Which is crazy, right? It's quite cool, to come full circle, but it looks like my Rackets career is a lot longer than perhaps I consider it to be. I remember very vaguely my first match with Lea, where she won the world title. It was kind of this, "We're going to have a world title for the first time, do you want to play?" And I remember coming off court, I lost 3-1, and I just thought, "Argh, I probably should have played a bit. I should have taken some lessons and just played." But anyone can say that about anything! "I could have won if I had just worked harder." [Laughs] But it's certainly been fun to come back. I think it was Izzy Candy, about four years ago, asked me to play some doubles, and I said, "Yeah, why not. I'll dust off the racquet." And then the next thing I knew, I was playing in the British Open. And it's been fun to get back involved. I think the level has definitely gone up, and it's continuing to go up. The amount of schoolgirls playing is amazing. 

Do you train any differently for Rackets events than you do for Real Tennis events?

Only in a sense that my training at the moment is all to do with a high level of fitness... I said to my trainer, "I have no idea where the ball is going, so I need to be really fit, because I might have to cover twice as much court,” whereas Real Tennis, so much of it is natural instinct; I know where that ball is going to go. So not really, but there is a much bigger shift toward being physically fit, cardio-wise. 

And a Rackets ball moves at an incredible speed.

Yes, and when Cesca cocks that forehand, Jesus it goes quick! So I'm not sure any matter of training will get me fit enough to cover that, but so much of it is overlapping. You've got to be strong and powerful and explosive, but to cover those big, long balls that go down the court, and not to stop early, you've just got to be fit. 

Have your kids [Sophie and Freddie], who are 9 and 7 now, shown any interest in following you and Rob into Real Tennis or perhaps even into Rackets?

They're not saying at the weekend that they're desperate to go hit some balls, but they do play almost every week, and they are upset if they don't get to play, which is quite sweet. My son especially, he alternates from doing one week football, one week Real Tennis, and of course all of his mates are doing football. We do a weekly thing and a Sunday thing, and he'll definitely take two Real Tennis sessions if he can, which is quite sweet. He absolutely loves it, and that's really nice. 

Do you think they're old enough to understand how prolific you two are in the sporting world?

It's very sweet -- I think they're starting to. I probably get a better rep because they're watching me play, which is lovely, and they see less of Rob. If they could have watched Rob in the 2018 World Challenge, for example, or remember that... that would have been great. But it's very sweet. The other day, they were doing a Year 3 public speaking "Who's Your Hero?" and Freddie chose me, and it was the most beautiful thing. There are a lot of great heroes out there, and I was up there with Martin Luther King, Elizabeth Fry and David Attenborough, and he stood up there and [said me]. It was gorgeous and so lovely. He got a massive round of applause, and he threw in the Rackets thing, he said, "My mummy is trying to do something that no woman has ever done before," and of course, then I had all the parents saying, "Where is it? When is it? We're going to come watch." So it's a beautiful, beautiful thing. They're really starting to understand what we're doing.