Eight individuals can call themselves national champions after day one of the Mark Bates Ltd U10-13 National Championships.

Amber Lemmon, Violet-Lily Marquis, Dimitar Dimitrov and Pablo Ramirez Rioja all won singles titles across the Under-11 and Under-13 age groups.

Sisters Soraya & Serene Rahmani-Walentynska and Theo Kniep & Teagan Khazal took the Under-13 doubles titles at WV Active Wolverhampton.

Photos by Michael Loveder

The event concludes tomorrow with the Under-10 and Under-12 age groups.

Under-11 Boys’ Singles

Dimitar Dimitrov lived up to top billing as the first seed took the title with  a 3-1 (11-8, 11-8, 11-7) victory over second seed Li Hao Chen in the final.

It completed the perfect tournament for Dimitrov, who did not lose a game all day.

Bronze medals went to fourth seed Malek Shamakh, who was defeated 8, 7, 9 by Dimitrov, and Saisurya Prasanna Kumar, seeded three.

That second semi-final went the distance as Chen staved off a comeback by Kumar to win 3-2 (11-7, 11-6, 7-11, 8-11, 11-8).

All the quarter-finals were decided in three games – Dimitrov overcoming Zacharia Sarri, Shamakh defeating Christopher Darby, Kumar getting past Bartosz Koszyk and Chen beating namesake Jayden Chen.

Group highlights

Group 6 had a three-way countback which saw Bartosz Koszyk and Tyler Shalson progress at the expense of Vivaan Karalkar. The closest match in the group, however, saw Benjamin Bailey win 3-2 (14-16, 12-10, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8) over Luis Archard.

Sam Sturmer had a great win, 12-10 in the fifth, over Thomas Ellis to take the runner-up spot in Group 5 behind Jayden Chen.

Vivaan Babbar had a good comeback to beat Jacob Vogl 3-2 (7-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7) in Group 2, but it was not enough to qualify as Li Hao Chen and Isaac Davies went through.

Thomas Yau came from 2-1 down to beat Khanh Nguyen 3-2 (4-11, 11-7, 2-11, 11-6, 14-12) in Group 8, thought it was not enough to get into the top two places.

Christopher Darby was extended to a fifth by Suni Desai before winning 3-2 (5-11, 11-2, 8-11, 11-8, 11-1) on his way to taking top spot in Group 7. He also needed five to beat Oliver Glowacki 3-2 (11-9, 11-13, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8).

The unfortunate Desai was also beaten in five by Gowacki, despite a good comeback, as Glowacki won it 3-2 (12-10, 11-7, 6-11, 9-11, 11-9).

Under-11 Girls’ Singles

Top seed Amber Lemmon took the title in style, not dropping a game all day.

Her Archway Peterborough team-mate Cindy Xiao, the second seed, had no answer as Lemmon won the final 11-6, 11-6, 11-6).

The semi-finals had shown the two Archway players at their most ruthless, Lemmon defeating Phoebe O’Brien 3-0 (6, 2, 1) and Xiao overcoming Serene Rahmani-Walentynska, also in three (6, 6, 5).

Three of the quarter-finals were also done in three, the exception O’Brien’s 3-1 (11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 11-3) victory over Bethany Yang.

Group highlights

With the top four going through to the knockouts, there was plenty to play for in the two groups.

Cindy Xiao won Group 2, ahead of Serene Rahmani-Walentynska ,who she defeated 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-5).

Xiao did lose a match, however, to Bethany Yang, who had a great comeback prevail 3-2 (7-11, 2-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-9).

Yang also beat Sakinah Damji in five – the score in that one was 11-8, 8-11, 11-13, 11-7, 11-6 – Yang went on to finish third in the group.

The fourth player to make it through was Rozlyn Payne, who finished ahead of fifth-placed Rabani Ahluwalia, whom she beat in four.

In Group 1, top seed Amber Lemmon did not drop a game as she topped the standings, ahead of Phoebe O’Brien, Evie Main and Naomi Adjei.

Main had a good 3-2 win over Mia Wilson – the scoreline was 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-13, 11-4) in the only game in the group to go to a decider.

Under-13 Boys’ Singles

Top seed Pablo Ramirez Rioja beat the unseeded Teagan Khazal in four to take the title – having saved match points in the quarter-finals earlier in the day.

It was tight throughout but Ramirez Rioja had the edge after taking the first 13-11 and went on to win 3-1 (13-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-7).

Ramirez Rioja had to dig mighty deep in the semi-finals, finally defeating fourth seed Aarav Parihar 3-2 (18-16, 9-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-6).

Khazal, meanwhile, ended the hopes of Lewis Wu in the battle of the unseeded players in the other semi-final – it was 3-1 (11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6) to Khazal.

In the quarter-finals, Ramirez Rioja warmed up for his epic semi with an almost equally epic 3-2 (6-11, 5-11, 12-10, 14-12, 11-8) win over Zihan Lin, who held a match point in the third and also in the fourth.

Wu defeated sixth seed Oscar Nikolli in four and Parihar overcame Noah Byrne-Smith in three and it was also three straight for Khazal against fifth seed Theo Kniep.

Back in the last 16, second seed Ryan Goodier was toppled by Khazal in five games. Khazal, a previous under-10 and under-11 champion, had a 2-0 lead but eventually won it 3-2 (11-9, 11-9, 2-11, 8-11, 11-9).

Third seed Sinan Surensoy, a recent silver medallist on the WTT circuit, also departed, knocked out by Wu, the scoreline 3-2 (9-11, 11-8, 15-13, 9-11, 11-5) in Wu’s favour.

At the same stage, Byrne-Smith same from 2-0 down to defeat Taha Shamakh 3-2 (7-1, 12-14, 11-4, 11-8, 11-7), while Lin overcame Parsia Ahsani in five (8-11, 11-7, 11-13, 11-7, 11-9).

Group stage

There was a three-way tie at the top of Group 7, between Noah Byrne-Smith, Teagan Khazal and Finley Aitken, who were the top three in ranking order.

They each notched a 3-1 win over one of the others in the mini-group – Khazal beat Aitken, but lost to Byrne-Smith, who in turn was beaten by Aitken.

The abacus was located and it went in ranking order as Byrne-Smith went through, followed by Khazal.

Taha Shamakh emerged from a three-way countback for second place in Group 3 behind group winner Sinan Surensoy.

Shamakh got the mathematical verdict ahead of Harrison Hill and Wilson Zheng, both higher-ranked. Shamakh beat Zheng, who in turn overcame Hill, who beat Shamakh, all in four games. So it went down to points, Shamakh coming out on top.

Shamakh’s 3-2 (11-7, 7-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-8) win over Mateusz Niedzielak also proved to be important.

Theo Kniep and Zaid Aldilimi made it through Group 5 in the order expected, Kniep winning their personal tie 7, 7, 7. The only match in the group to go to a decider saw Harry Tomlinson defeat Finley Howes 3-2 (11-7, 9-11, 9-11, 11-2, 11-6).

The top two were also relatively untroubled in Group 4 as Aarav Parihar and Lewis Wu made it through – the higher-ranked Parihar won their meeting 3-0 (12-10, 11-6, 11-6).

Mazin El-Hassan enjoyed a couple of super comeback wins – 3-2 (6-11, 15-13, 6-11, 11-9, 11-8) against Charlie Ma and an even more impressive 3-2 (13-15, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7) over Anirudh Anchan.

In Group 2, the top two went through in the expected order, but only after a five-set match between them – Ryan Goodier defeated Parsia Ahsani 3-2 (7-11, 12-10, 11-9, 8-11, 11-4). Ahsani was on the right side of a decider as he beat Charlton Ngitngit 3-2 (4-11, 11-5, 11-5, 10-12, 11-4).

Aarav Pahwa recovered from 2-1 down to beat James MacQuillan in five, but MacQuillan later pulled off the same feat against Joshua Freeman.

Top seed Pablo Ramirez Rioja dropped a couple of games in Group 1, notably when Kanayo Onuma won the third 14-12 to force a fourth game. Ramirez Rioja won that and topped the group ahead of Rishaan Sawant.

Daniel Chai won two games in the fifth – against Parsa Pahlavanijoo and Louis Green, while Onuma also won on five against Green.

Oscar Nikolli and Charles Donald safely navigated Group 6, though second-placed Donald was troubled by three players, who all took him to a fifth.

Connor Godley was the first, Donald eventually beating him 3-2 (11-9, 3-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9). He followed with a 3-2 (11-6, 4-11, 11-8, 6-11, 12-10) victory over William Richards and finally a 3-2 (11-7, 10-12, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8) scoreline against Arjun Anchan.

In Group 8, top-ranked Nishil Shah withdrew, but Ryan Holland was called in as a replacement, and finished second behind last year’s U11 champion, Zihan Lin.

Lin needed a fifth against Adam Riadi, winning it 3-2 (9-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5, 11-8).

Under-13 Girls’ Singles

Third seed Violet-Lily Marquis beat fourth seed Soraya Rahmani-Walentynska 3-0 (12-10, 11-9, 11-6) to become national champion.

In the semi-finals, Marquis knocked out the second seed Alyssa Nguyen 3-1 (10-12, 11-2, 11-5, 11-6).

The other semi was much more protracted as Rahmani-Walentynska saw came from 2-1 down to defeat top seed Hannah Saunders

Marquis had an amazing match in the quarter-finals as she overcame Maahi Malde 3-2 (6-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8, 15-13) as both girls had match points in a dramatic and high-quality end to the match.

Saunders got past Grace Liu in in four and it was also four for Rahmani-Walentynska against Zeina Negm. Nguyen knocked out Maisha Patel in three.

Group stage

Hannah Saunders won the group for the loss of only one game, to Maahi Malde, the third-ranked player. Malde had earlier beaten second-ranked Chloe Kniep 3-0 (6, 5, 3) and that was the key result which allowed her to finish second behind Saunders.

Meba Endashew had a fine comeback win over Isabelle Bradly, claiming it 3-2 (11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 13-11, 11-5).

There was a similar result in Group 2, where the third-ranked Zeina Negm beat second-ranked Zoe Gonpot 3-2 (7-11, 10-12, 14-12, 11-4, 11-8). Alyssa Nguyen won the group without dropping a game.

There were two other five-game matches – Sienna Svoboda beat Jessica Larkin 3-2 (4-11, 4-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-5) and Gonpot beat Svoboda 3-2 (11-9, 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6).

The third-ranked player also climbed above the second in Group 3, as Grace Liu defeated Assil Sarri 3-2 (11-4, 11-9, 10-12, 1-11, 11-5). That took Liu through behind top-ranked Violet-Lily Marquis, who only dropped one game, to Sarri.

Harriet Goodwin won in five against Amelia Rothwell, coming back from 2-1 down to win 3-2 (8-11, 11-3, 4-11, 11-9, 11-9).

Group 4 was the only one which saw the top two players in the rankings go through – Soraya Rahmani-Walentynska first and Maisha Patel second – the expected order. It was 3-0 (11-4, 11-7, 11-6) to the group winner in the tie between the top two.

Under-13 Girls’ Doubles

Sisters Soraya & Serene Rahmani-Walentynska won the title in thrilling fashion, saving four match points in the fourth and going on to win the decider.

The final was between the third and fourth seeds after they had between them knocked out the top two pairs in the semi-finals.

The Rahmani-Walentynskas had the distinction of ending the hopes of the top seeds as they overcame Hannah Saunders & Amber Lemmon 3-0 (13-11, 11-3, 11-4).

In the bottom half, Assil Sarri & Alyssa Nguyen eliminated Maisha Patel & Violet-Lily Marquis in three (11-8, 11-8, 11-9).

The final therefore featured three London Academy players – the exception being Nguyen, who had won this title last year in partnership with Evie Knaapen, who is no longer eligible for the age group.

And it was a classic as the sisters took the first, but then trailed 2-1 and 10-6 before coming back to win, reeling off six successive points in the fourth and then winning in the fifth on their second match point.

Earlier, the Rahmani-Walentynskas had beaten Chloe Kniep & Zeina Negm 3-1 (11-4, 5-11, 11-9, 11-7) in the only quarter-final to go beyond three games.

Under-13 Boys’ Doubles

Teagan Khazal & Theo Kniep won a spellbinding final, seeing match points go by the board in the third game before finally sealing it in the fifth.

Opponents Zihan Lin & Lewis Wu never gave up in the final match of the day, but Khazal & Kniep got over the line at 3-2 (11-9, 11-4, 13-15, 10-12, 13-11).

In the semi-finals, Lin & Wu were twice pegged back by Oscar Nikolli & Noah Byrne-Smith before making their lead stick in the fifth – the final score 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9.

Khazal & Kniep also went to a decider against top seeds Dimitar Dimitrov & Pablo Ramirez Rioja – and they ended their opponents’ hopes, winning it 3-2 (5-11, 11-8, 12-10, 8-11, 11-6).

Lin & Wu saw off the second seeds, Sinan Surensoy & Aarav Parihar, in three in the quarter-finals (7, 9, 7).

Goodier & Zheng had a terrific comeback in the first round, recovering a two-set deficit to Goodier’s Brighton team-mates Finley Aitken & Mazin El-Hassan to win 3-2 (9-11, 3-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-4).

At the same stage, Nikolli & Byrne-Smith came from 2-1 down to get past Jian Jun Liu & Dhruv Datta 3-2 (11-3, 7-11, 12-14, 11-5, 11-9).

But the tie of the round was Kniep & Khazal’s epic victory over Rishaan Sawant & Soumyajit Dasgupta, which they finally won 3-2 (11-6, 5-11, 11-9, 13-15, 14-12).