Youth trumps experience as Bezer wins Racketlon 2025
Sixteen hardy players took part in the Club Towers Racketlon at the end of September, a multi-racquets competition of skill and endurance in tennis, squash, racketball and table tennis. This was our 6th year of running the event, with reigning champion Ian Thomas chasing his 5th consecutive title. It was our strongest field yet and with national Grade B Champion Ryan Bezer in the mix it would be tough for Ian to defend his crown.
The event began with four round robin groups, with the top two players from each group then progressing to the quarter finals.
Simon Joyce, Joe Wille and Joe Masih were new to Racketlon and they all scored well, particularly Joe W in tennis and table tennis – and Simon winning several head-to head games in tennis, table tennis and squash. Ben Mann was also a first timer and strongly favoured following his victories in the squash and racketball championships earlier in the year.
Jools Cooper and Paul Armstrong scored well in the group stages and earned the right to progress to the quarter-finals, but the attrition of the event forced them to withdraw. Bad luck guys!
Our only lady in the field Sophie Cable scored very well, finishing a close second to Matt Towers in her group. No surprise as she works hard on all her racket sports, competing in the box leagues and runner-up in the Bedfordshire Closed Tennis Championships again this year.
Group 3 was neck and neck with 1 point separating Sam Morris, Paul Armstrong and Simon Marshall after they completed their third leg of squash, racketball and table tennis. This spurred Sam on in his least favoured tennis leg – and he came through as clear group winner in the end.
The accumulated points after all four sports were played were …
Group 1
Ian Thomas – 130 points
Jools Cooper – 88 (withdrew injured)
Joe Wille – 78
Manjit Ubhi – 72
Group 2
Ryan Bezer – 121 points
Ben Mann – 107
Pat O’Riordan – 102 (bad luck Pat! … so close to advancing to QF stage)
Joe Masih – 55
Group 3
Matt Towers – 129
Sophie Cable – 110
Simon Joyce – 95
Russell West – 85
Group 4
Sam Morris – 110 points
Paul Armstrong – 99 (withdrew injured)
Simon Marshall 93
Sam Berrill – 75
Eight players progressed to the quarter-finals, where Simon, Joe, Sophie and Ben would each be defeated – with the pick of the QF’s being Sam vs Joe W and Matt vs Ben.
Quarter Final Results
| Tennis | Table Tennis | Squash | Racketball | Total Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ian Thomas vs Simon Marshall | 11/3 | 11/6 | 11/6 | 11/2 | 44/7 |
| Matt Towers vs Ben Mann | 11/4 | 11/6 | 8/11 | 3/3* | 33/24 |
| Ryan Bezer vs Sophie Cable | 11/5 | 11/2 | 11/2 | 11/5 | 44/14 |
| Sam Morris vs Joe Wille | 5/11 | 4/11 | 11/2 | 11/1 | 31/25 |
The semi-finals were mouth-watering prospects, firstly with Matt and Ian resuming their rivalry in a see-saw affair across the four disciplines. It came down to the very last point in racketball … Matt taking the match by just one point!
Ryan hit his stride quickly in the other semi-final against Sam, building a strong lead in Table Tennis and Tennis, knowing that Sam would stretch him to the limit in squash and racketball. Somehow Ryan clawed a narrow victory in the squash leg, which gave him an unassailable lead. Bad luck on Sam as his strongest leg – racketball – was void and so not played as he could not catch up on overall points.
Semi Final Results
| Table Tennis | Tennis | Squash | Racketball | Total Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Towers vs Ian Thomas | 7/11 | 6/11 | 11/4 | 11/8 | 35/34 |
| Ryan Bezer vs Sam Morris | 11/2 | 11/4 | 11/9 | -* | 33/15 |
And so to the final between the youthful Racketlon specialist and professional tennis coach – Ryan– versus the vastly experienced Matt.
Once again Ryan took an early lead in tennis and table tennis, but after two legs Matt’s solid defence and long reach had kept him in touch. He clawed points back by clinching the racketball leg and the onlooking crowd speculated on Matt’s odds of taking his favoured squash leg too. …. He could win the title if he won the squash leg by 11-6 or better. But after 6 hours of hard-fought matchplay the younger Ryan came through with fresher legs. Yet another humdinger final!
Well done Ryan! You are a worthy champ and our first tennis specialist to take the title. Bad luck Matt and well played to all the participants again this year.
FINAL
| Tennis | Table Tennis | Racketball | Squash | Total Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Bezer vs Matt Towers | 11/6 | 11/8 | 7/11/` | 8/7* | 32/37 |
* denotes ‘not finished’ as the match was won at that stage
The official Uk Racketlon format is played with badminton instead of racketball. Think of triathlon but with rackets! You can learn more on the official website here https://racketlon.co.uk/
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