Lloyd Glasspool, Julian Cash, Luke Johnson & Alastair Gray make title-winning starts to the 2025 season
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The Brits have made an electric start to the 2025 tennis season with a pair of ATP doubles titles in only the first week of the year. We recap the title winners and big moments from the opening events of the season.
Glasspool & Cash clinch silverware in Brisbane
British doubles duo Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash were crowned champions at the Brisbane International over the weekend – their second ATP title together adding to the Tokyo Open at the end of 2024.
The Brits capped off an impressive week by defeating singles champion Jiri Lehecka and Jakub Mensik 6-3, 6-7(2), 10-5 in the final.
Glasspool and Cash won each of their matches in Brisbane in match tie-breaks – saving four match points in their second round clash with No.1 seeds Nikola Mektic and Michael Venus.
For former world No.7 Glasspool, this is the third ATP title won in Australia in the last three – retaining the trophy he won in Brisbane last year with Jean-Julien Rojer and adding to his 2023 triumph in Adelaide. The 31-year-old now boasts six ATP titles in his career.
Meanwhile, Cash’s fourth ATP trophy has seen him rise to a new career-high ranking at world No.31.
Johnson makes winning start to 2025
One of last year’s biggest risers, Luke Johnson, kicked off his season with the second ATP doubles title of his career at the Hong Kong Tennis Open.
Metz Open champions Johnson and Sander Arends overcame top 20 singles stars Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev 7-5, 4-6, 10-7 in an entertaining final in Hong Kong.
Johnson and Arends have formed a formidable partnership in the last six months – winning four titles together on the ATP and ATP Challenger Tours – and the British No.7 will make his Australian Open debut with the Dutch star next week.
In the Hong Kong Tennis Open singles, Cam Norrie also made a strong start to the year, reaching the quarter-final where he lost out to eventual runner-up Kei Nishikori 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
GB United Cup team reach quarter-finals
The GB team managed to reach the quarter-finals of this year’s United Cup before bowing out to runners-up Poland.
The Brits – led by Katie Boulter and Billy Harris defeated Argentina in their opening rubber, thanks to inspired performances from Boulter in both the singles and mixed doubles.
The British No.1 continued her form into the next tie against Australia and her victory over Olivia Gadecki confirmed GB’s spot in the quarter-finals, despite the Bri’s losing the tie 2-1.
Up against Poland, Harris put in a strong performance against former world No.6 Hubert Hurkacz but lost out 7-6(3), 7-5.
Boulter faced a tough challenge against world No.2 and five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek and came within a few points of the biggest win of her career but eventually lost out 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-4.
Gray returns to winners circle
Britain’s Alastair Gray bagged his first title of the year competing at the M25 Indore last week – coming off the back of a injury-ridden 2024 campaign.
The 26-year-old enjoyed a perfect week in India, winning the title without dropping a set. In the final, American Samir Banerjee was forced to retire with the Briton leading 6-3, 1-1.
This is the first title that Gray has won since the M15 Madrid at the end of 2023 and he’ll be hoping it can prove the catalyst for a season where he can return to around his career high at No.237.
Gray will stay in India for the M25 Bhopal this week.
Elsewhere, Giles Hussey made the final of the M25 Bali but lost out to former world No.19 Hyeon Chung 6-1, 6-2 in the final.
