Ladies World Singles Challenge Set for May
The recent retirement of longtime Ladies Rackets World Singles champion Lea Van Der Zwalmen leaves room for a new player to take the crown, and one will do so this Spring.
The T&RA is proud to announce that the next Ladies Rackets World Singles Challenge will be taking place at The Queen’s Club on Sunday, 10 May. In a Best of 7 Games format, two of the sport’s most accomplished players – Cesca Sweet and Claire Fahey – will be facing off to take the title Lea Van Der Zwalmen has held for nearly a decade.
The Ladies Challenge first came into being in 2015, where Lea beat Fahey 3-1. Lea then went on to win every Ladies Challenge since, beating Georgie Willis 3-0 in 2017 and 2019, Sweet 3-0 in 2022 and Fahey 3-2 in 2024.
Sweet’s high points in Rackets include taking the Ladies World Doubles title in 2023 with partner Lea; the Ladies Open Singles title in 2025; the Ladies Open Doubles title in 2022 with partner Willis; the Ladies Amateur Singles title in 2024 and 2025; and the Ladies Amateur Doubles title in 2025 with partner Georgia Toosey. Sweet was also awarded T&RA’s Lillibet Bowl for Leading Performance by a Lady Rackets Player in 2022 and 2025.
Fahey’s accomplishments in the sport include taking the Ladies Open Singles title in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 (as Claire Vigrass), as well as in 2023 and 2026; and the Ladies Open Doubles Championship title in 2024 and 2025 with partner Tara Lumley. Fahey was also awarded T&RA’s Lillibet Bowl for Leading Performance by a Lady Rackets Player in 2023.
In her letter announcing her retirement, the current World Champion wrote about how much the ladies game has grown in recent years.
“When I first picked up a Rackets racquet in October 2013, there were perhaps a dozen women playing in the country. Ladies’ Rackets was still in its infancy,” she shared. “Over the past decade, the game has grown beyond anything we could have imagined; thanks to the commitment of the T&RA, the dedication of the UK professionals, and the steady emergence of opportunities to compete. Mixed doubles tournaments multiplied, school and Open tournament participation strengthened, a proper ranking system was established and regular World Championships in Singles and Doubles became a reality.”
“I am proud to have been part of that pioneering generation who helped push the women’s game forward,” Lea continued. “Today, the Queen’s Club Ladies’ Rackets community alone counts more than 150 players, a powerful marker of how far we’ve come.”
Further details about the Ladies World Singles Challenge between Sweet and Fahey will be announced soon.
