Finals Day at the Wimbledon of the North… Lexus Ilkley Open

The Lexus Ilkley Open has always impressed as an event. It’s not just an incredible tennis event, but there is so much character to the wider summer festival which makes the week one to remember year on year. 

I was delighted to be asked back, having missed the event in 2024, to fulfil the role of MC for finals day. This meant that I performed duties such as announcing players onto centre court, introducing their career bios to the crowd during the warm up, and also conducting the trophy ceremonies for both the men’s and women’s finals. 

The Lexus Ilkley Open is an ATP Challenger event and a WTA 125 event. 

This was my first time being an MC for a big event. Of course I was nervous, but mainly because I was so keen to do a great job for the tournament and didn’t want to let them down! 

I was really happy with how things went but if I am lucky enough to get another opportunity of this kind, there are things I’d love to improve on and develop. One thing stood out as a learning curve… it’s very easy to rush when there are hundreds of people watching you speak so make sure to take your time! I will definitely take this into the next opportunity. 

I want to say a massive thank you to the LTA and to the team at Ilkley for an amazing opportunity.