Leamington Royals have got their 2025/26 Optasia Squash Super League campaign off to a strong start after they staged an impressive comeback against St George’s Hill Knights.
The away team were able to draw 2-2* on the second night of the season, as they captured the extra point on the scoreboard as both teams won two games on the evening, so the result was determined by points won.
Read below for the report and results from this Optasia Squash Super League fixture.
If you missed out on the action, full replays will be available to view on the England Squash YouTube Channel.
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St George’s Hill Knights v Leamington Royals
Leamington Royals staged an impressive comeback against St George’s Hill Knights, with the Royals coming from two matches down to tie the contest 2-2*.
The travelling team were able to win the match overall and earn the additional point, with the contest being tied on overall games won, so, it was decided on total points won throughout the evening.
Despite being 2-0 down, the efforts from Satomi Watanabe and Declan James, who battled hard on the court, were enough to level the scoreline.
Opening the evening, club hero Charlie Lee got the home team off to a winning start as he staged an impressive comeback against the Royals’ Owain Taylor. Despite going one game down, losing the opener 11-7, and being 9-5 down in the second, he was able to fight back in a gruelling 50-minute match and claim the victory.
In the second match of the night the Knights were able to extend their lead further in the U25s encounter, as Asia Harris was able to show her dominance on the court, winning the match 2-0 within 18 minutes.
Nonetheless with the Knights’ winning the first two matches World No.6 Satomi Watanabe needed to guarantee a win to keep the Royals in the contest. The subsequent women’s match proved to be a three-game thriller, with the Japanese No.1 edging out her opponent after 31 minutes, winning the third match 11-8.
Heading into the final match of the night, Declan James was able to restore the tie back to level-scoring after he was able to battle through a 28-minute match against Patrick Rooney. His efforts were rewarded as the difference in points during this tie, with James winning 11-5, 11-7, was enough to determine the Royals an additonal point on the leaderboard.
Results:
Charlie Lee [SGK] bt. Owain Taylor [LR] 2-1: 7-11, 11-9, 11-6 (50m)
Asia Harris [SGK] bt. Oliva Besant [LR] 2-0: 11-9, 11-9 (18m)
Satomi Watanabe [LR] bt. Alicia Mead [SGK] 2-1: 11-8, 5-11, 11-8 (31m)
Declan James [LR] bt. Patrick Rooney [SGK] 2-0: 11-5, 11-7 (28m)
