St George’s Hill Knights have been crowned the Optasia Squash Super League champions after they claimed a thrilling 3-2 victory over Leamington Royals in the 2025/26 Grand Final in Weybridge.
After falling 2-1 down early on to the defending champions, the Knights drew on the experience of British duo Jasmine Hutton and Joel Makin to overturn the deficit and clinch victory thanks to respective wins over Katie Malliff and Declan James in the final two rubbers of the night.
The first match of the evening certainly set the tone for the quality that was to come at the St George’s Hill Lawn & Tennis Club, with the Royal’s Owain Taylor and the Knights’ Miles Jenkins putting on a brutal display of squash, which eventually saw Taylor clinch victory by an 11-10, 8-11, 11-9 scoreline after 58 minutes of play.
The Knights hit back thanks to England’s Asia Harris, who dispatched compatriot Olivia Besant in a quick-fire 11-5, 11-10 win, holding off a late charge from the 21-year-old to seal victory in a sudden-death second-game tie-break.
The see-saw nature of the contest continued in the next match, as the Royals moved to within a match of the title thanks to a clinical two-game victory for World No.37 Sam Todd.
Just a couple of months after defeating Switzerland’s David Bernet at the European Team Championships, England’s Todd once again got the better of Bernet, this time by an 11-7, 11-8 scoreline.
However, the Knights weren’t done yet, with local club favourite Jasmine Hutton – a winner of a British National Championships on the all-glass court inside St George’s Hill – putting on a power-packed display to draw her side level.
The World No.12 barely put a foot wrong against England compatriot Katie Malliff as she sent the Grand Final down to the deciding rubber following an 11-5, 11-4 victory.
The final match of the evening lived up to expectations, with World No.7 Joel Makin and World No.23 Declan James going toe-to-toe for 52 minutes of all-out play.
Despite falling a game down and looking in physical discomfort at numerous points of the contest, three-time British National Champion Makin battled back in trademark style to seal a 9-11, 11-7, 11-5 victory over James and see the Knights lift the 2026 title.
Full replays from the Grand Final are available to watch for FREE on the England Squash YouTube Channel.
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Results:
Owain Taylor [LR] bt Miles Jenkins [SGK] 2-1: 11-10, 8-11, 11-9 (58m)
Asia Harris [SGK] bt Olivia Besant [LR] 2-0: 11-5, 11-10 (16m)
Sam Todd [LR] bt David Bernet [SGK] 2-0: 11-7, 11-8 (28m)
Jasmine Hutton [SGK] bt Katie Malliff (ENG) 2-0: 11-5, 11-4 (19m)
Joel Makin [SGK] bt Declan James [LR] 2-1: 9-11, 11-7, 11-5 (52m)
