Johannus Monday & Amelia Rajecki headline British success at Lexus British Pro Series Sunderland
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It was a week to remember for our British tennis players at the Lexus British Pro Series Sunderland, with Brits featuring in all four finals in the combined ITF M25 and W35 event.
In the men’s singles, Johannus Monday bounced back from an early exit in the Lexus Nottingham Challenger a fortnight ago to lift his first ITF title of 2025 season and his seventh overall.
He came up against fellow Brit Ryan Peniston in the final, who has has been easing back into tournaments following a recent injury layoff. After sailing through to the final without dropping a set, third seed Monday capped off a perfect week in Sunderland with a 6-4, 6-2 victory to seal the title.
Monday now rises to a career-high of world No.315. Speaking after the match, he said, “It’s good to come home with the trophy, there’s a lot of good players here so I must have done some stuff right. I knew the final was going to be tough, Ryan’s an incredible player, so just happy to get over the line today.”
On the women’s side of the draw, Amelia Rajecki enjoyed a great week of tennis, reaching the finals of both the singles and the doubles.
She came up just short in the singles final, losing out to 18-year-old Czech rising star Nikola Bartunkova 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in just over two hours. However, in the doubles Rajecki and her doubles partner Anna Rogers from the USA justified their status as number one seeds, defeating second seeds Sohyun Park and Hong Yi Cody Wong.
Rajecki and Rogers fought back from a set down to take the second and force their third match tie break of the tournament, where they prevailed 2-6, 6-3, 10-8 to take home the silverware.
Reflecting on her week with Rogers, who attended the same college as Rajecki (North Carolina State) in the USA, Rajecki said, “It’s been tough. I’ve never played with her, but it was really nice to get the win together.
"We fell into a nice rhythm, the first time playing with someone is tough, but we managed to, by the end of the week, work it out. We had a lot of match tiebreaks as well, which are tough, but I’m really glad we got this together.”
In the men’s doubles, Hamish Stewart captured the title with Czech partner David Poljek after the all-British pair of Giles Hussey and James Story had to withdraw.
Speaking following the conclusion of the event, Tournament Director Sarah Wooding said, “It was a busy week in Sunderland for the combined M25/W35 Lexus British Pro Series Sunderland - players, officials and spectators are made to feel very welcome by the Sunderland Tennis Centre team.
"Special thanks to the Centre’s Tennis Development Manager Graham Fowler for all his hard work before, during and after the event!”
This week sees more Brits compete on the ITF World Tennis Tour, as the Lexus British Pro Series heads to Scotstoun Community Indoor Tennis Centre in Glasgow for a combined ITF M25 and W35 event.
View the full 2025 LTA Competitions Calendar below:
