Oluwadare wins in Germany, Stewart shines on Challenger debut, Collins reaches W50 final

Oluwadare wins in Germany 

Hephzibah Oluwadare lifted the trophy at the J200 in Oberhaching, Germany, in her first tournament since the Australian Open. 

She started her campaign with a straight-sets win over Aiya Nupbay before coming through a three-set thriller against Amy Sucha 6-7 6-2 7-6 in the second round. 

Oluwadare, of the GB National Tennis Academy based in Stirling, then toppled second-seeded Julia Stusek, currently ranked 36 in the world, 7-6 6-4 to progress to the semi-final. 

She backed up her quarter-final win with a 6-2 7-5 victory over Czech Republic’s Eliska Tichakova to reach her first ITF final of the season. 

Oluwadare took on unseeded Tereza Krejcova and stepped up to the occasion by producing her most convincing performance of the week, defeating Krejcova 6-2 6-2 to be crowned champion. 

She also reached the final of the girls’ doubles event with partner Bella Bergkvist Larsson, falling to Dutch pair Joy De Zeeuw and Loes Ebeling Koning in the championship match. 

Stewart shines on ATP Challenger debut  

Hamish Stewart made his mark at his first career ATP Challenger Tour appearance at the Lexus Nottingham Challenger. 

Starting in qualifying, Stewart dispatched Brits Giles Hussey and Marcus Walters in straight sets to secure a spot in the main draw. 

In the first round, he faced former world number 35 Jiri Vesely, who reached the third round of the 2023 US Open. After edging a close first set, the Scot ran away with the match, winning 7-5 6-3.  

In the second round, he faced Paul Jubb, who he had recently beaten at the M25 Glasgow in October 2023. Stewart came out on top once again, winning 6-4 6-4. 

In the quarter-finals, Stewart played France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, ranked 198 in the world. However, it was not to be as Stewart was edged out in an incredibly tight 6-7 6-7 loss to the eventual champion. 

Stewart is back in action this week on home soil at the Lexus Glasgow Challenger, where he has made the most of his wildcard into a main draw by upsetting top seed Calvin Hemery. The main draw also features Aidan McHugh and Charlie Robertson. 

Collins reaches ITF final 

Top seeds Ali Collins and Lily Miyazaki reached the final of the women’s doubles at the W50 Edgbaston ITF event. 

The all-British combo progressed through the quarters and semis without dropping a set before facing third seeds Magali Kempen and Lara Salden in the final. 

It was the Belgian duo who got their hands on the trophy, edging a tight first set on a tie-break before taking the second 6-2. 

Gallacher and McKechnie reach Tennis Europe final 

Ray Gallacher and Caelan McKechnie reached the final of the boys’ doubles at the Lexus Junior International Liverpool, a 14U Tennis Europe event. 

Both players qualified for the main draw in singles and teamed up to play together in the doubles draw.  

The pair beat Max Lendrum and Keiju Yuto in the first round in straight sets before upsetting third seeds Joris Van Linde and Ivan Van Ruiten 6-3 7-5 to move on to the semi-finals. 

The Scots kept up their winning ways by defeating Maximus Demburg and Mohan Mehta 6-3 2-6 10-5 to book their spot in the final. 

It wasn’t to be for the Scots in the end as they fell in the title-deciding match 6-1 6-3 to fourth seeds Manu Seijas-Wright and Ruben Stanmore 1-6 3-6.